Ohka OK, Then Not OK

February 26, 2011

Ken Ohka knows how to keep himself busy when it comes to promoting for Union. He showed up at yesterday’s NEVER.5 show at New Japan to sell tickets for the upcoming DDT and Union shows. He approached an NJPW staff member and passionately begged him for New Japan to use some Union wrestlers for their future shows. He also talked to the person about Tsuyoshi Kikuchi’s campaign to enter this year’s Best Of The Super Juniors tournament. Meanwhile, DDT and Union affiliated wrestlers were part of the NEVER show. Kazuki Hirata, Shigehiro Irie and Daisuke Sasaki all lost their matches but Madoka grabbed a win in the semi-main event.

NEVER.5, 24/02/2011
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
350 Fans

1. Hiromu Takahashi defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Fisherman’s Suplex (6:48).
3. Tomoaki Honma defeated Shigehiro Irie with a Crab Hold (9:37).
4. Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Dodon (13:28).
6. Madoka defeated Taichi with a Crucific Hold (9:44).

That isn’t all that Ohka has been up to. He acts as Yoshiaki Yago’s spokesman in SMASH, speaking for him outside of the shows and standing at ringside during his matches. In the lead up to SMASH.14, TAJIRI asked Yago to help him out in dealing with the Triple Tails joshi group of Kana, Mio Shirai & Io Shirai in a 2 On 3 Handicap match. Ohka got himself involved to make it an even Six-Person Tag. Well, that turned out to be a mistake as Ohka lost the match for his team after Kana kicked him full force in the unmentionables and rolled him up for the pin.

SMASH.14, 25/02/2011
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans

Kana, Mio Shirai & Io Shirai defeated TAJIRI, Yoshiaki Yago & Ken Ohka when Kana pinned Ohka with an Inside Cradle (8:47).

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Ibushi In NJPW, TKG48 & Honda In FREEDOMS

February 15, 2011

Kota Ibushi isn’t done with New Japan Pro Wrestling yet. He competed on today’s NJPW event at Korakuen Hall, teaming with KUSHIDA to defeat Jado & Gedo.

NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 2/15/11
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,500 Fans

Kota Ibushi & KUSHIDA defeated Jado & Gedo when KUSHIDA pinned Gedo with the Midnight Express (12:24).

There will be some DDT talent appearing at New Japan’s upcoming NEVER event on 24th February. Shigehiro Irie and Kazuki Hirata will be there along with KO-D Tag Team Champion and freelancer, Daisuke Sasaki. Also there will be Union regular and SS Susan member Madoka.

NJPW “NEVER.5”, 2/24/11
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Hiromu Takahashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Tomoaki Honma Vs Shigehiro Irie
4. Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. Taichi Vs Madoka

It’s only just today that I noticed that FREEDOMS often uses DDT talent for their shows. I shouldn’t be surprised by it as the promotion is run by Takashi Sasaki, who was a DDT wrestler from the company’s very first show until he got the deathmatch bug and joined Big Japan Wrestling somewhere between 2004 and 2005. I often forget when the company holds their shows so I’ll try to keep an eye on them from now on.

Sanshiro Takagi’s stable, the TKG48 entered the promotion in December and started a conflict with the Kojika Army. Last month a match between The Great Kojika & GENTARO against TKG48’s Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Shigehiro Irie had to be constantly restarted because the matches kept on ending in Double DQs. This led to TKG48’s main guns of Takagi & Munenori Sawa coming in to fight Kojika & GENTARO on yesterday’s FREEDOMS show. The stakes were high as a stipulation was added where the wrestler who dropped the fall on the losing team would be banned from ever wrestling in FREEDOMS again. Takagi got the win with a Sanshiro Stunner on the Great Kojika, forcing the veteran out of the company.

Antonio Honda is also a regular participant in FREEDOMS shows and was part of the winning team on yesterday’s show, siding with the devious Brahman Brothers to defeat Ricky Fuji, Keita Yano and a third wrestler who has a name that no one among the puro fansites have been able to figure out yet. I forgot to mention this during the annual contract signings but Antonio Honda let his DDT contract run out a couple of years ago to become a freelancer. As you can see, this didn’t affect his relationship with DDT one bit as he is still a regular name for the company.

Freedoms, 14/02/2011
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
187 Fans – No Vacancy

2. Antonio Honda, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated Ricky Fuji, Keita Yano & ??? when Honda pinned ??? with a School Boy (12:29).
3. Kojika Army Vs TKG48: Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa defeated Great Kojika & GENTARO when Takagi pinned Kojika with a Sanshiro Stunner (15:36).

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Golden Lovers Lose IWGP Jr Tag Titles

January 23, 2011

NJPW “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2011”, 23/01/2011
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jado & Gedo defeated Máximo & Danshoku Dino when Jado submitted Dino with the Crossface Of Jado (10:39).
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (c) when Taguchi pinned Omega after the Black Sunday (16:32).
*Golden Lovers fail in V3. Apollo 55 become the 28th Champions.

A bad day of results for DDT in New Japan. After a period of dominating their rivals in both promotions, Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega lost the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles to the previous champions Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi in the main event.

Meanwhile, Danshoku Dino found a kindred spirit in the form of CMLL luchador Máximo. Unfortunately they fell to Jado & Gedo in the opener, with Jado getting revenge for his Super J Cup 1st Round loss to Dino back in 2009.

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Golden Lovers & Dino Return To NJPW

January 5, 2011

NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2011”, 1/23/11
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Danshoku Dino & Maximo Vs Jado & Gedo
6. Double Main Event II – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (c) Vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi

DDT will have three wrestlers sent over to New Japan for the company’s co-promoted shows with Mexico’s CMLL. Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega and Danshoku Dino will appear on Night 2 of “FANTASTICA MANIA 2011” in Korakuen Hall.

Can the Golden Lovers make it three for three over Apollo 55? With the IWGP Jr. Tag Title victory taking place in New Japan and victory in the rematch over at DDT, Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega will face Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi for the belts one more time. Both teams are usually really over with the Korakuen fans, so expect a really hot crowd for this match.

The idea of Danshoku Dino and Maximo teaming together is not that odd now that I think of it. I mean, if Maximo can handle teaming with Mr. Niebla then hanging out with Dino should be no problem for the exotico. Plus Dino will be reunited with Jado, who he had a wonderful time with at the 2009 Super J Cup. Gedo might be pissed off with Dino for using his patented move the Gedo Clutch and renaming it the Gay-do Clutch. But then again Gedo is always pissed off, so never mind that.

DDT and CMLL do have a previous connection. The KO-D Tag Team Championship was originally created in CMLL where Takashi Sasaki & NOSAWA became the first champions. To this day DDT still includes “CMLL” in their title’s name even though they haven’t been defended in the Lucha Libre promotion ever since.

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Ibushi Fails To Dethrone The Prince

January 4, 2011

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM V IN TOKYO DOME”, 4/1/11
Tokyo Dome
42,000 Fans – No Vacancy

0. World Wrestling Invitation Match: Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kenny Omega & Taichi when Taguchi pinned Taichi (8:04).
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) defeated Kota Ibushi with the Avalanche Bloody Sunday (16:22).
*V4 for Devitt.

Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega both came out in the losing end of New Japan’s biggest show of the year. Early word for Ibushi Vs Prince Devitt has it being a very exciting match with a hot crowd. Both Ibushi & Omega have now failed to win the IWGP Jr. Title from Devitt, but they can be happy with the fact that they are still the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions.

In other news, former DDT referee Megumi Grace Asano stepped out of retirement for one night only on New Year’s Eve to officiate the final match in NEO history as the promotion unfortunately closed its doors for good.

I’ve done a little updating to the Rosters page and the Title History. The Union page now includes wrestlers who appear on a regular basis but are not under contract to either DDT or Union. Plus I will include all of the members of the TKG48 as they are revealed, even if it becomes a one time only kind of thing. The Title History for the KO-D Tag Team Championships will be added soon. I just need to figure out how many title defences both the Nuru Nuru Brothers and Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa had during their respective reigns.

One more thing, a more in depth report on  “NEVER MIND 2010” is now uploaded. It includes a very detailed run through of the Danshoku Dino Vs Makoto Oishi match, which turned out to be one of the crazier matches DDT has had in a while. Seriously, the stuff I typed really did happen.

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Ibushi Vs Devitt At The Dome!

December 14, 2010

Kota Ibushi will cross paths with Prince Devitt once more, this time on the biggest stage of the Japanese wrestling scene the Tokyo Dome! Ibushi will get a chance to win Devitt’s IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title to go along with his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, which he also won from the Irishman. When the two last met in singles action it was Devitt who grabbed the win while Ibushi was left with a dislocated shoulder. Since then, Ibushi has bounced back into contention in New Japan’s Junior Division. Now it all comes to a head at the Tokyo Dome.

Kenny Omega will also be taking part on the day in a pre-show tag match. The Golden Lovers Vs Apollo 55 feud will also happen here as Ryusuke Taguchi will be on the opposing team. If both Ibushi & Omega win their matches then the Golden Lovers will continue their recent dominance over “Moon☆Child” & “The Funky Weapon”.

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS!~”, 12/23/10
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt Vs Satoshi Kojima & Kota Ibushi

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM V IN TOKYO DOME”, 04/01/2011
Tokyo Dome

0. World Pro Wrestling Invitation Match: Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Kenny Omega & Taichi
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) Vs Kota Ibushi

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DDT In NEVER.4, HMV, Union News

November 19, 2010

DDT had three wrestlers involved in the latest NEVER event from New Japan. Keisuke Ishii now has two wins in two appearances for the brand, defeating Hiromu Takahashi with the Kneel Kick. Daisuke Sasaki however is at two losses in two appearances when he was defeated by Tomohiro Ishii. Finally Antonio Honda was involved in the match that attracted the most attention, losing to the returning Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

NJPW “NEVER.4”, 11/18/10
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
450 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi with the Kneel Kick (7:04).
4. Tomohiro Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki with a Lariat (11:56).
5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan Return Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Antonio Honda with the Anaconda Vice (13:07).

Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & DJ Nira are now a faction. The new stable is called HMV, which stands for Hagure Metal Vampire.

On the Union side of things, the brand is looking for foreign wrestlers who are interested in working for the promotion. Those interested can find the contact information over at the Union website.

Isami Kodaka will be in the semi-main event of SMASH.10. He will be feeling right at home by taking part in a Hardcore 6-Man Tag Team match with KUSHIDA & Super Crazy versus the Fight Club Finland trio of Hajime Ohara, Häijy-Heimo Ukonselkä & Jessica Love.

Union, 03/12/10
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Hiro Tsumaki Vs Kento Miyahara
2. Cherry & Kengo Ohka Vs Yuki Miyazaki & Madoka
3. Isami Kodaka & Keita Yano Vs Survival Tobita & X

X will be a new monster Survival Tobita discovered on his travels. Keita Yano might be doing a Doink The Clown meets The Joker gimmick for the match.

Cherry will be promoting her fourth Fantasy Illusion show on the 23rd December with the main event being an hour long Ironman match between herself and Yuki Miyazaki from the NEO promotion. This match comes just over a week before Miyazaki’s retirement from wrestling.

Fantasy Illusion 4, 23/12/10
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Ironman Match: Cherry Vs Yuki Miyazaki

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Golden Lovers Vs Apollo 55 Rematch Confirmed! Some Other News Too

October 25, 2010

DDT already has its top two matches booked for their return to the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium next month and they are both something to really look forward too. The big one sees those two Golden Lovers, Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega defend their newly won IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles against the very team they won them from Apollo 55! The New Japan duo are heading into Dramatic territory in a bid to win those belts back. (Speaking of Golden Lovers Vs Apollo 55, we’re still waiting on that NJPW Sumo Hall show to come online. Come on Japan, what’s taking so long?)

Sticking closer to home is the other big match signed, HARASHIMA defending the KO-D Openweight Title against Hikaru Sato. The neko maid shoot fighter has seen his profile raise significantly over the past year and his recent win over Kota Ibushi was enough to earn him his chance at the title. If HARASHIMA defeats Sato, he will match his personal best of KO-D Title defences at 3 wins.

DDT “OSAKA BAY BLUES SPECIAL”, 14/11/2010
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (c) Vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
2. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Hikaru Sato

In a surprising turn of events, DDT founder Sanshiro Takagi will be moving over to the UNION brand after his defeat to Toru Owashi. But before he leaves DDT for the time being he will have one more match at the next Korakuen Hall show. Takagi and a partner of his choice will take on puro legend Genichiro Tenryu! Oh, and Masao Orihara too but nobody cares about him (I know I don’t).

DDT, 28/11/2010
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi & X Vs Genichiro Tenryu & Masao Orihara

In business news, one of DDT’s restaurants will be getting a new name and new management. The Mitsuboshi Curry restaurant will have Cherry taking over as its manager and the new name will be introduced in two weeks. DDT currently runs three food and drink establishments in Tokyo, the Dropkick Bar and Ebisuku Bar & Grill which are both in Shinjuku and Mitsuboshi Curry in Mitaka. Many DDT wrestlers work in these places while pursuing their wrestling careers and the success of these businesses makes DDT is one of the more finacially healthy wrestling promotions in Japan today.

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Golden Lovers Win IWGP Jr. Tag Titles!

October 11, 2010

(Note: Above image is only a placeholder until pics from the show come out. Still adorable though, eh?)

Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega have done it! They went over to New Japan for today’s big “DESTRUCTION ‘10” event in Sumo Hall and defeated Apollo 55 to become the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions when Ibushi pinned Prince Devitt with the Firebird Splash, avenging his loss to the Irishman back at the Best Of Super Juniors final. This gives DDT possession of its highest profile championship yet and arguably crowns the Golden Lovers as the best Jr. Heavy Tag Team in Japan today.

NJPW “DESTRUCTION ‘10”, 10/11/10
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
8,800 Fans – No Vacancy

5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega defeated Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) when Ibushi pinned Devitt with the Firebird Splash (15:05).
*Apollo 55 fail in V2. Golden Lovers become the 27th Champions.

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DDT48 Correction, Young Drama Cup, October Shows, DDT In NEVER

October 10, 2010

I apologise about getting the DDT48 concept wrong. Rather than everyone campaigning for a spot in a tournament, the Election was for the right to be included in the 24th October event itself, with the winner of the election getting ¥1,000,000 and a KO-D Openweight Title shot. So congratulations go to Danshoku Dino for coming out on top (minds out of the gutter, people) and winning the grand prize. Dino will face HARASHIMA for the KO-D Title in the main event of a pretty good looking DDT card at Korakuen Hall.

But before we make it to Korakuen, DDT has a show in Shin-Kiba 1st RING coming up this week. The event will see the return of the Young Drama Cup, a tournament for DDT’s rookies and younger wrestlers. Last year’s winner was Keisuke Ishii and he will be in the tournament to defend his crown.

DDT “NON-FIX 10.14”, 14/10/2010
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Complete Conclusion! Karate Kid Visit! No Ideology Conflict Shin-Kiba Bloody Battle: Karate Kid Vs Michael Nakazawa
2. Young Drama Cup: Takao Soma Vs Rion Mizuki
3. Young Drama Cup: Shigehiro Irie Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Young Drama Cup: Yukihiro Abe Vs Keisuke Ishii
5. MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Hoshitango
6. Dick Togo, GENTARO & Yasu Urano Vs KUDO, Daisuke Sasaki & Yuki Sato
7. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega Vs Hikaru Sato & Tomimitsu Matsunaga
8. HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dino & Antonio Honda

Karate Kid is either Ultraman Robin or a wrestler that Robin discovered during a trip to Europe.

DDT “DDT SPECIAL 2010”, 24/10/2010
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. MIKAMI & KUDO Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Isami Kodaka
2. Kenny Omega & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii & YOSHIHIKO
3. Michael Nakazawa Vs Dick Togo
4. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Toru Owashi
5. Yasu Urano Vs Cherry
6. Kota Ibushi Vs Hikaru Sato
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Danshoku Dino

As I said earlier, this looks like a pretty good card that should be a lot of fun. Danshoku Dino could leave Korakuen Hall as the KO-D Openweight Champion, DDT Extreme Champion and KO-D Tag Team Champion all at once, which is unprecedented in DDT. Kota Ibushi versus Hikaru Sato will be stiff and with Sato upping his game over the last year while Ibushi is getting over his ring rust this could be the best match on the night. Yasu Urano Vs Cherry is a mismatch, but Cherry will definitly do all that she can to win. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Toru Owashi will be the first singles match between the two in DDT since 2006. Michael Nakazawa and his “Shit Heart” will try to take down Dick Togo. Kenny Omega & Antonio Honda versus Keisuke Ishii & YOSHIHIKO will be your typical DDT fun and games. The show opener has potential to be really good with MIKAMI & KUDO representing DDT to face the UNION side of Shuji Ishikawa & Isami Kodaka.

DDT had two wrestlers compete at the New Japan NEVER show in Shin-Kiba. Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi in the opener while Daisuke Sasaki lost to Tama Tonga in the third match.

NJPW “NEVER.3″, 10/8/10
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
250 Fans

1. Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi with the Kneel Kick (6:43).
3. Tama Tonga defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Jackhammer (11:12).

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