1. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: Yumehito Imanari defeated Baliyan Akki with the Lou Thesz Press (8:56).
2. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: Kouki Iwasaki defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with a Back Drop Hold (11:40).
3. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Seiya Morohashi with a Modified Haneorigatame (15:18).
4. Ganjo Special Tag Match: Yuna Manase & Moeka Haruhi defeated HARUKAZE & YuuRI when Manase pinned YuuRI with the Suzuki Dynamic (10:28).
5. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: Tatsuhito Takaiwa defeated Tyson Maeguchi with the Death Valley Bomb (7:50).
6. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: Ken Ohka defeated Shota with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (15:24).
7. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Keisuke Ishii with a Cradle (2:31).
After three years away the Ganbare☆Climax is back with a bang. The tournament favourite has been eliminated in Round 1! Keisuke Ishii was unexpectedly Cradled by Shinichiro Tominaga two minutes into the match and was shockingly pinned for the three count. Tominaga’s celebration was cut short when an angry Ishii gave him the Double Arm DDT after the match. It shook up Tominaga so much that he thought he lost the match when he gave the show closing speech. When he shook it off and remembered he won, he then said he is now the top candidate to win the Ganbare☆Climax. He’s going to win the Spirit Of Ganbare Title and draw a thick, clear line on his somewhat vague wrestling career. That way he will be proud of being a pro wrestler, be popular with office ladies and get married four times!
Shota was accompanied by Soma Takao for his opening round match against Ken Ohka. After a back and forth match, Ohka kicked out of the Gannosuke Clutch and hit Shota with the Fire Spear for a nearfall. Ohka got the win in the end with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Takao helped bring Shota to the back afterwards. He explained that she showed up to support Shota because they are “classmates” from the same generation. Ohka moves on to face Tetsuhiro Kuroda in Round 2. Ohka was once a ringside attendant for Kuroda when he wrestled in DDT. He remembers accidentally stepping on Kuroda’s glasses and breaking them. Kuroda told him not to worry and forgave him. Ever since then Ohka has seen Kuroda like a god!
Recently retired kickboxer Tyson Maeguchi is trying his hand at pro wrestling as a representative of the Ibushi Wrestling Institute. He was ultimately overwhelmed by Tatsuhito Takaiwa, ending with the Death Valley Bomb. Takaiwa was pleased by Maeguchi’s performance, particularly the Dropkick he threw at him. The match was more about Takaiwa teaching Maeguchi in the ring. When Takaiwa started wrestling he learned it is about feelings, not technique because you cannot lose with feelings. He hopes to have gotten that lesson across to Maeguchi. Takaiwa moves on to the next round to fight Mizuki Watase.
Shuichiro Katsumura’s tournament got off to a good start by eliminating Seiya Morohashi. His grappling skills was too much for Morohashi to fight against and he was tangled into submission. After the match Katsumura got into a standoff with his 2nd Round opponent Kouki Iwasaki at ringside. Katsumura pushed him away and Iwasaki Headbutted him in response before things got broken up.
Iwasaki made it out of the 1st Round by beating Nobuhiro Shimatani in a DNA confrontation. Iwasaki cut down his oppoenent with High Kicks and pinned him with a Back Drop Hold. After winning the match, Iwasaki stuck around ringside to watch Katsumura Vs Morohashi which led to the post-match meeting with Katsumura.
The tournament kicked off with the last winner Yumehito Imanari winning against Baliyan Akki. He blocked the Namaste Press and scored the pin with a Lou Thesz Press. Imanari praised Akki for his performance but Akki gave him a Headbutt to take out his frustration at losing. He waited three and a half years to take part in the Ganbare☆Climax so getting eliminated in the very first match left him very upset.
The show began with an announcement that Shinjiro Otani is now the on-site director for Ganbare☆Pro! He still intends to wrestle again when his injuries are healed and had hoped to recover in time to enter the Ganbare☆Climax. Until then, this new role gives him a reason to continue working at Ganpro shows while he is out of action. His advice for the wrestlers entering the tournament is they need to be strong, passionate, hardworking and human to win. He wants the Ganbare☆Climax to cheer up everybody who sees it.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021”, 26/09/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 713 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Under Match – Exhibition Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Yuki Ishida ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
0. Under Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Yumiko Hotta defeated Shinya Aoki & Mizuki Watase when Hotta pinned Aoki with the Pyramid Driver (7:04).
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) defeated Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani when Iino pinned Okatani with the Sexy Lariat (4:40).
2. Record Of Ragnarok Collaboration Match ~ Gods Vs Humanity~: Daisuke “Zeus” Sekimoto, Kazusada “Beelzebub” Higuchi, Yukio “Susanoo-no-Mikoto” Naya & “Apollo” Akito Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Keigo “Adam” Nakamura (w/ Brynhildr) when Sekimoto pinned Nakamura with the Deadlift German Suplex (7:56).
3. Masahiro Takanashi DDT Return Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Saki Akai & Antonio Honda defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Toru Owashi & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Honda pinned Takanashi with the Diving Fist Drop (10:50).
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshihiko defeated HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata when Yoshihiko pinned HARASHIMA with the Reincarnation (10:09).
5. DAMNATION Dissolution Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani (w/ Yuji Hino) when Sasaki submitted Shimatani with La Mistica Crossface Lock (15:12).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Chris Brookes with the Plus Ultra (29:51). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The weeks leading up to today’s KO-D Openweight Title match was built around whether or not Konosuke Takeshita could beat Chris Brookes with the Plus Ultra. But first a lot of big bombs were dropped in and out the ring to get there. Takeshita did an Avalanche Power Bomb. Brookes fought back with the Praying Mantis Bomb and the Octopus Stretch. Takeshita stayed in the hold but was still able to stand up and climb the turnbuckles again, this time with Brookes on his back. Brookes turned it into his advantage and he did an Avalanche Crucifix Driver. He went for the Praying Mantis Bomb once more but Takeshita did his best to avoid it. Some Lariats from the champion took their toll and Brookes was soon bleeding from the mouth. He kept kicking out of pins so Takeshita finally put him in the Plus Ultra and got him to give up.
After the match Takeshita revealed that Brookes once said he doesn’t have any friends in Japan. Takeshita wants Brookes to take a look and see that he has made many friends in DDT and ChocoPro. In fact, Takeshita even calls Brookes his best friend! He thanked him for coming to Japan and for choosing DDT. After the two hugged, Takeshita said he was happy to have a main event like this in front of a sold out Korakuen Hall. There are still many empty seats because of social distancing but he is sure the day will come in the future when all of them are full again for a DDT show. Backstage Takeshita said next year will be his 10th year in wrestling. He will fight for the next 10 years to give back everything that he’s gotten over the last decade. In regards to his friendship with Brookes, they are two wrestlers who are enthusiastic wrestling fans. Takeshita thinks he can be seen as the Japanese Chris Brookes while Brookes can be seen as the British Takeshita.
It was time to say farewell to DAMNATION. The unit had been around since 2016 but is now forced to go their separate ways after losing the DRAMATIC SURVIVOR tournament earlier this month. The majority of the unit’s members gathered together for the final match. Hiroshi Yamato wasn’t here but recorded a message to be included in the pre-match video. The match itself wasn’t friendly with Shuji Ishikawa & Soma Takao both holding Daisuke Sasaki responsible for the split. They took their frustration out on him whenever he was in the ring while Yuji Hino got illegally involved outside the ring at certain points. However Sasaki had Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie to back him up and with their help Sasaki got the last laugh in the end by submitting Nobuhiro Shimatani. DAMNATION all got together after the match and Sasaki thanked the fans for following them over the last 5 years. All that was left to do is let DAMNATION perform karaoke one final time. Ishikawa then sang “Choo Choo TRAIN” by EXILE while Hino filmed everyone dancing. Sasaki stopped Ishikawa’s singing to remind everyone “We don’t conform, we don’t kiss ass and we don’t get married!” DAMNATION, forever!
The forbidden tag team has been put together! Jun Akiyama and Yoshihiko teamed together for the first time ever to beat HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata. It was a big deal but something Akiyama wasn’t 100% comfortable with. His only worry was if today’s special guest Riki Choshu was still in the building while the match went on. As long as Choshu didn’t see what Akiyama did today then everything’s ok! Akiyama & Yoshihiko performed stereo Exploder Suplexes before Yoshihiko pinned Hirata with the Reincarnation. Akiyama made sure once more that Choshu wasn’t around and said he had a lot of fun today.
The return of Masahiro Takanashi to DDT wasn’t the most glamourous of occasions. He was thrown right back into the wacky side of the company. He was also thrown right back into Danshoku Dieno’s backside but we’re getting ahead of things. Naomi Yoshimura wanted to beat up Takanashi because there isn’t enough room for two “orange” wrestlers in DDT. Even Saki Akai wasn’t shy in kicking Takanashi a little harder than she usually would. Toru Owashi didn’t even do much to protect him either. Takanashi almost had Antonio Honda set up for the Takatonic but he ended up getting a face-full of Dieno as mentioned above. Honda then gave Takanashi the TTD and got the three count with the Diving Fist Drop. A group photo was taken after the match with Yukio Sakaguchi joining it.
The Record Of Ragnarok pitted Gods against Humanity while Choshu watched from the commentary booth. The Humanity team were led to the ring by Brynhildr (played by Haruna Iikubo) but they quickly learned they were no match against the Gods led by Daisuke Sekimoto. One by one Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & MAO were picked apart by Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Akito. In one final desperate move, Brynhildr called forth the very first human Adam! Nakamura reappeared dressed as “Adam” but Sekimoto destroyed him to leave the Gods victorious. When the dust settled, Choshu & Brynhildr promoted the Record Of Ragnarok anime and stage show. Choshu said he wished he could have done a wrestling match like this in his era, especially against somebody like Sekimoto. Choshu also said if God really did want to destroy the human race then he would fight him!
The growing power of Pheromones was too much for Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani to handle. Yuki Iino has found a way to do a sexy version of the Lariat to make it a stronger move. This match aired live on DDT’s Youtube channel so Sanshiro Takagi was concerned the channel was about to get banned thanks to the lewd antics of Iino & Yumehito Imanari. Takagi decided it is up to him and Okada to stop Pheromones from damaging DDT any further. He booked himself, Okada and a third partner to face Pheromones at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 3rd November. Not only that but the match will be for the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles! Dieno accepted on the condition that if Pheromones wins then Takagi must let them continue doing whatever they want, even if it destroys DDT. Takagi promised he will beat them and break them up before that happens. Dieno then quipped that Takagi likes to break things up lately.
The two pre-show matches were also aired on Youtube in an attempt by DDT to add more importance to the earlier half of the show. One of the matches had Takagi team up with joshi legend Yumiko Hotta to defeat Shinya Aoki & Mizuki Watase. The result saw Hotta strike Aoki with a steel chain before pinning him with the Pyramid Driver. Hotta then challenged Aoki for the DDT Extreme Title. Aoki wants the match to take place at the RIZIN show on 2nd October but it will instead happen in DDT on 12th October.
The other pre-show match was an Exhibition bout for Yuki Ishida. The rookie will properly debut on 12th October and he got five minutes in the ring with Yuya Koroku to prepare for it. Ishida got to hit a big Jumping Shoulder attack and put Koroku in a Crab Hold. Koroku got a rope break and he held Ishida in a Cross Armbreaker until the time expired.
Yukio Sakaguchi appeared at the start of the show to talk about his back injury. He placed both his jacket and his Eruption robe onto the top rope before apologizing for being unable to wrestle today. He will be away from the ring for a while but when he comes back he will be wearing those outfits hanging over the rope again.
Takagi and Hotta had their post-match interview backstage interrupted. Riko Kawahata, who wrestles for Hotta’s T-HEARTS promotion approached Takagi asking if she could wrestle at the 12th October DDT show. Hotta was insulted to see Kawabata act out of turn and directly ask Takagi this way. She grabbed her out of anger but Takagi calmed things down and told Kawabata he will think about it.
The two blocks for the D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II were both revealed during the show. Block A has Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino and Bodyguard. Block B consists of Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi, MAO, Chris Brookes and Yuji Okabayashi. Daisuke Sasaki was offered a spot in the tournament but he declined to participate.
2022 will be DDT’s 25th Anniversary so a project is being put together to celebrate it. The theme of this project is a “Dramatic Dream Tour” through the past, present and future of DDT. The “Past” is the Dramatic Dream Bout TOP 25 and Dramatic Dream Hall Of Fame TOP 25 where fans get to choose their favourite matches and wrestlers from DDT’s history.
The “Future” is the official debut of the DDT Teenage Project sub brand. It is renamed DDTeeeen!! and the first show is taking place in Shinjuku FACE on 17th October.
And then there is the “Present”. DDT will hold its 25th Anniversary show at Sumo Hall on 20th March, 2022! It will be the first time DDT is back in Ryogoku in three years.
For the third time Ganbare☆Pro is holding the Ganbare☆Climax tournament. The first two editions were held in 2017 and 2018. In 2021 the tournament is without a doubt the most important one so far for two reasons. First the tournament is being sponsored by LEC. The company sponsors various wrestling events large and small but they now have the honour of being Ganpro’s first annual sponsor. The more exciting news is the prize for winning the tournament. The winner will become the first ever Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion! That’s right, Ganpro finally has its own singles championship to call its own.
There are fourteen people entering the tournament. Round 1 will consist of six matches all taking place on 24th October. Two entrants will receive a bye to the second round. Then the second event on 7th November will consist of Round 2 and then the semi finals. The final will then take place on 23rd November to crown the first champion. The full list of entrants are:
1. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: X Vs X
2. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: X Vs X
3. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: X Vs X
4. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: X Vs X
5. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: X Vs X
6. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 1: X Vs X
1. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 2: X Vs X
2. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 2: X Vs X
3. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 2: X Vs X
4. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Round 2: X Vs X
———————————————————————–
GANBARE☆PRO “LEC CLEANPA! PRESENTS GANBARE☆CLIMAX 2021 FINAL ROUND”, 23/11/2021 Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall
1. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Semi Final: X Vs X
2. Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Semi Final: X Vs X
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title – Ganbare☆Climax 2021 – Final: X Vs X
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD COMMUNICATION -ULTRA PLEASURE STYLE 2021”, 25/09/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 396 Fans
1. Shu Sakurai Last Match Before His Closure: Rocky Kawamura 2, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Itsuki Aoki defeated Katsuzaki Shunosuke, Moehiko Harumisawa & Shu Sakurai when Shimatani submitted Sakurai with the Modified Camel Clutch (8:04).
2. Ganjo Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Asuka, Makoto & HARUKAZE defeated Yuna Manase, Yuna Mizumori & YuuRI when HARUKAZE pinned YuuRI with the Fire Spear (12:35).
3. Ganpro Special Tag Match: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & MAO defeated Yumehito Imanari & Kouki Iwasaki when Takaiwa pinned Imanari with the Death Valley Bomb (12:54).
4. IJ Tag Team Titles: Kenichiro Arai & Shota (c) defeated Hagane Shinno & Shinichiro Tominaga when Shota pinned Tominaga with a Casadora (12:17). *V2 for Hattoshite Good Daga.
5. Ganpro Special Single Match: Keisuke Ishii defeated Shigehiro Irie with the Kneel Kick (18:16).
6. Ken Ohka 20th Anniversary Special Tag Match ~Roar Of The Lion King~: HARASHIMA & Kengo Mashimo defeated Ken Ohka & Isami Kodaka when HARASHIMA pinned Ohka with the Somato (18:23).
Twenty years in the business for Ken Ohka has made him a lot of friends and acquaintances. To celebrate he teamed with the wrestler who was once labelled as his replacement in Union Pro. Back then Kengo Mashimo was marketed as Kengo Ohka on Union shows. Their opponents were HARASHIMA, who teamed with Ohka for his most famous match, and Isami Kodaka who Ohka grew up with in their Union days. Kodaka and Mashimo also hold a grudge with each other to add some spiciness to the match. Ohka got to shine by Double German Suplexing HARASHIMA and Kodaka. He then exchanged elbows with HARASHIMA and HARASHIMA took the time to congratulate him on the anniversary inbetween the strikes. Ohka got the upper hand and pulled out a Dragon Suplex out of nowhere. But when he charged in for the Fire Spear, HARASHIMA blocked it with the Somato and then hit a second one to win the match.
After the match HARASHIMA said he was smiling from start to finish. Kodaka and Mashimo gave each other the middle finger until Ohka talked to them. Ohka said Mashimo is like his fourth son or his half-brother because he used to be Kengo Ohka. Kodaka admitted to Ohka that he overslept today and only arrived at the venue at 1pm. The show started at 11:30am. Ohka thanked all of them for coming to Ganbare☆Pro today. To him it doesn’t matter what company they work for, they can be double or triple affiliated with Ganpro for as long as they are pro wrestlers! The show ended with Ohka celebrating with the Ganpro roster in the ring. Shota tried to sneak roll up HARASHIMA for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title during this but failed to pull it off.
The Keisuke Ishii Vs Shigehiro Irie match turned out to be a full Team Dream Futures reunion when Soma Takao was spotted in the audience at the start of the bout. Irie also had Mizuki Watase in his corner to provide some RENEGADES presence. Ishii kicked out of the Beast Bomber and hit Irie with the Kneel Kick to the back of the head. Ishii then hit the Double Arm DDT before doing one more Kneel Kick to win. The two shook hands afterwards while Takao left the room. This is the first time Ishii has beaten Irie one on one in ten years! He put his victory down to honing the Kneel Kick for 13 years.
To ensure that the IJ Tag Team Titles match was fought under PWF Rules, Ayana Shimada from Tenryu Project was at ringside to oversee the match. Both champions and challengers aren’t familiar with the rules only found out about the differences while they wrestled. Things like rope breaks not being strict and 10 counts outside the ring threw the wrestlers off but they adapted in the end. At one point Kenichiro Arai used the ropes to add leverage to Shota pinning Shinichiro Tominaga but Hagane Shinno broke it up by diving onto Arai on the ring apron. Shota ended up stealing the win anyway by rolling Tominaga up with a Casadora.
Yumehito Imanari was excited to find out Shuichi Nishinaga from NOAH was the referee for his match. He & Kouki Iwasaki worked over on Tatsuhito Takaiwa but MAO was there to help his tag partner. Takaiwa took control and pinned Imanari with the Death Valley Bomb. He noticed that Ganpro has changed a lot since the last time he wrestled for them. MAO said it was a fresh feeling wrestling in Ganpro for the first time. He also got some tips from Takaiwa on how to improve the Michinoku Driver.
The current state of Ganbare☆Joshi shows HARUKAZE is making the kind of progress she’s been looking for while the newcomer YuuRI is struggling to find a win. HARUKAZE had a confrontation with Yuna Manase after the match but found herself being praised by Asuka & Makoto. Backstage Manase & Yuna Mizumori consoled YuuRI and don’t blame her for their team losing today. Over on the other side Asuka said she wasn’t satisfied with the match because she thinks GanJo is too weak for her. However she tells HARUKAZE to continue doing her best there.
Today was the last match of Shu Sakurai’s wrestling career, at least for now. He and the rest of THE HALFEE performed “Starry Sky Distance” for their entrance before wrestling Rocky Kawamura 2, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Itsuki Aoki. Sadly for Sakurai his last match ended in defeat with Shimatani making him tap out. Sakurai wants to remind everyone this isn’t a retirement and he will come back some day. His decision to leave is for positive reasons and he hopes to learn and grow as a person while he is away. Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi suggested they all reunite in 47 years because THE ALFEE (the band they parody) are celebrating their 47th anniversary this year.
Some important announcements related to the Ganbare☆Climax were given during the show. First, the tournament is being sponsored by LEC. And second, the winner of the Ganbare☆Climax will be crowned the first Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion! The president of LEC Takaki Nagamori showed off the new championship belt and talked about LEC sponsoring various pro wrestling events from the G1 Climax to the Ganbare☆Climax.
The wrestlers entering the Ganbare☆Climax 2021 are Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari, Keisuke Ishii, Shuichiro Katsumura, Shota, Shinichiro Tominaga, Kouki Iwasaki, Baliyan Akki, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Mizuki Watase, Seiya Morohashi, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Tatsuhito Takaiwa and kickboxer Tyson Maeguchi. The tournament begins on 24th October and the final to crown the champion will take place on 23rd November.
GANBARE☆PRO “HARLEY DAVIDSON & MARLBORO MAN 2021”, 12/09/2021 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall 104 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Ganpro Four Big Singles Match I: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Takahiro Katori with the Crossface Lock (10:15).
2. Ganpro Four Big Singles Match II: Cherry defeated YuuRI with the Cherryton Bomb (9:31).
3. Ganpro Special Mixed 6-Person Tag Match: Shinichiro Tominaga, Makoto & HARUKAZE defeated Shota, Moeka Haruhi & Miyako Matsumoto when Tominaga pinned Shota with a Crushed Oklahoma Roll (10:58).
4. Ganpro Four Big Singles Match III: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Shu Sakurai by Referee Stoppage with the Ninja Choke (15:38).
5. Ken Ohka Pre-Debut 20th Anniversary Special Tag Match Part 2: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari when Ishii pinned Imanari with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (13:52).
6. Ganpro Four Big Singles Match ~ 26 Year Revenge For The Master: Shinjiro Otani defeated Kouki Iwasaki with a Cobra Hold (20:39).
Shinjiro Otani won the main event but may have come out of it with an injury to his left arm. He ignored the pain to continue fighting Kouki Iwasaki, eventually making him submit to the Cobra Hold. Otani said he is glad to have met Iwasaki in the ring. He also thinks that he himself now belongs in Ganbare☆Pro and wants the promotion to continue inspiring him.
An eager Ken Ohka wanted to deal with both Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie at the same time. Yumehito Imanari didn’t want to feel left out of the anniversary celebration so he stood with Ohka ready to fight. Late in the match Ohka hit Irie with the Fire Spear and left it all to Imanari. Unfortunately Ishii got the upper hand and pinned Imanari with the Tiger Suplex. At the end of the show, Ohka gave a speech saying he believes Ganpro can become just as good as NOAH, DDT, New Japan, WWE and AEW! Ganpro’s Korakuen Hall show on 25th September will be the next stepping stone towards that goal.
For his final singles match Shu Sakurai brought out the big gun. He used the Splash Mountain on Shuichiro Katsumura but was too close to the ropes for the pin to count. Katsumura took advantage of the mistake by trapping Sakurai in a Cross Armbreaker. He then transitioned to the Ninja Choke and held on until Daisuke Kiso stopped the match in his favour. Katsumura was honest after the match and said he was going to win easily. But he was lenient to Sakurai to make the match a bit more enjoyable for everyone. Next time in Korakuen all of THE HALFEE will be together for Sakurai’s send off match. Sakurai reminded everyone this isn’t a retirement match.
Shinichiro Tominaga got one over on Shota by pinning him to win the trios match. Shota reminded him that Miyako Matsumoto is not his tag partner so things will be different at the IJ Tag Team Titles match.
The newcomer YuuRI was put to the test by Cherry. YuuRI focused on using a Sleeper Hold but Cherry figured her game plan out and targeted her opponent’s legs. From there Cherry kept up the pressure and won with the Cherryton Bomb.
Takahiro Katori taunted Nobuhiro Shimatani during their match. He asked if his attacks were weakened because DAMNATION is disbanding? The insults fired up Shimatani into making a comeback and winning the match.
DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2021 DAY 3”, 01/08/2021 Shinjuku FACE 223 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Special Under Match – Ultimate Vs Supreme: Tetsuya Koda defeated Hisaya Imabayashi by TKO with the Sleeper Hold (11:57).
1. Yukio Naya & Yuki Iino defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Yuya Koroku when Iino pinned Koroku with a Lariat (9:35).
2. Playfulness Series Act 3: Danshoku Dieno Vs Hideki Okatani ended in a No Contest (5:19).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Akito & Yusuke Okada defeated Soma Takao, Yuji Hino & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee (8:17).
4. Rock & Roll 5 Way Death Match: A.YAZAWA defeated HARASHIMA, Saki Akai, Mad Paulie and Kazuki Hirata when YAZAWA pinned Hirata with a School Boy (14:17).
5. Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Chris Brookes & Keigo Nakamura when MAO pinned Nakamura after the MADMAX (14:45).
6. The Annual Tradition! Customer Lottery Match: Jun Akiyama, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo defeated Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura when Endo pinned Yoshimura with the Shooting Star Press (21:26).
Beer Garden 2021 came to a close with the usual end to DDT’s tradition, a Fan Lottery 6-Man Tag Match. Members of the audience randomly picked the spots for each team and we ended up with Jun Akiyama, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo all on the same side. Any visual sign of tension disappeared when Endo came out dressed in his old wrestling gear and encouraged the others to reform Happy Motels for one night. Akiyama had to play the role of Antonio Honda in this case. The opposing team was Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura. All of them came from the DNA generation so they paid tribute to the old brand by wearing DNA shirts and walking out to the DNA theme song. Akiyama played the part of Honda well by tripping onto his knee and doing the Bionic Elbow with his partners. The three of them worked so well they won the match with Endo getting the pin on Yoshimura.
After the match Endo said Beer Garden is all about having fun so he encouraged Akiyama and Takeshita to let go of their rivalry for the day. He also apologised to Takeshita for cheap shotting him at last year’s Beer Garden finale. Takeshita and Akiyama both agreed to get along but things will go back to normal when they fight each other for the KO-D Tag Team Titles on 15th August and the KO-D Openweight Title on the 21st. Endo also promoted his DAMNATION team defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on that day too. They all raised their hands together to end the show… and then Endo Headbutted Takeshita. Endo stormed off backstage and stripped out of his old costume embarrassed that he had to act so nice towards Akiyama & Takeshita today.
Chris Brookes didn’t want to team with Keigo Nakamura so he purposely joined the other team to make it a 3 Vs 1 Handicap match. Brookes entered the ring with The 37KAMIINA but Nakamura begged him to team up as planned. Brookes agreed to do it but still helped Shunma Katsumata & MAO do some triple team spots. Brookes eventually took the match seriously but it wasn’t enough for them to win. Katsumata & MAO hit the Power Bomb/Blockbuster version of MADMAX (apparently any double team move involving Katsumata jumping off the top rope is called the MADMAX) on Nakamura to get the win. Afterwards Katsumata told MAO he found out Jun Kasai’s weakness. He doesn’t like stepping on Lego so they’re going to use them against him at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”!
Daisuke Sasaki was pulled from the show on short notice because he might have been in close contact with somebody who recently tested positive for the Coronavirus. The Drunk Match was cancelled and HARASHIMA was moved over to the Rock & Roll Death Match. There was another replacement as Antonio Honda suffered from love sickness and had to be replaced by A.YAZAWA in a rare appearance. Everyone in the match got drunk and danced whenever music played. YAZAWA and Saki Akai did karaoke. A recording of Shuji Ishikawa singing caused Mad Paulie to dance. Everyone fell asleep until Swan Lake played and they all did ballet together. YAZAWA then rolled over Kazuki Hirata to win the match.
Eruption once again got the better of DAMNATION once again in their latest preview match, this time with Yusuke Okada teaming with them. Yuji Hino was already drinking and decided to wrestle in his normal clothing. When he put Akito in a Sleeper Hold he flipped off the rest of his opponents. Eventually he got drunk and when he went to do the Diving Body Press off the top rope, he landed on Nobuhiro Shimatani instead of Yukio Sakaguchi. Hino needed Soma Takao’s help to get out of the ring and while that happened, Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee.
An accidental bump of heads between Danshoku Dieno and Hideki Okatani during the opening of the show led to them swapping bodies before their match. Dieno walked out wearing Okatani’s gear while Okatani ran out in Dieno’s costume acting just like him. Another clash of heads seemed to turn them back to normal. Dieno was himself again and he chased after Daisuke Kiso. However Okatani didn’t change and he got his hands on Yukinori Matsui. That officials had to call of the match as things got out of hand.
Sanshiro Takagi paid a lot of cash to repair the Dramatic Dream so he is going to get his money’s worth! He brought it out for the opening match, crashed into the combined centaur form of Yukio Naya & Yuki Iino and then crashed into his own partner Yuya Koroku. Iino then hit a Lariat on Koroku to take the win for his team.
The most important match of the week, nay, the month took place in the pre-show. It was the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi against the Tokyo Joshi Pro GM Tetsuya Koda in the latest chapter of their never ending one sided rivalry. Imabayashi was spurned on by phonecalls of his increasingly disgruntled wife while Koda showed a more evil side to his wrestling abilities. Sadly for Imabayashi he fell to the Sleeper Hold and as a result won’t be welcomed back home by his family.
Midway through the show, Dieno & Iino confronted Imabayashi demanding to be made into a full time tag team. They kept coming up with sexual innuendos for team names like Osu Academy, The Wizard Of Osu and Will Osupreay. Imabayashi told them he will agree to their demand once they come up with a better tag team name.
Earlier today on the Ganbare☆Pro show, Yuna Manase made it known that she wants a match against Saki Akai. She crashed the DDT show along with Ken Ohka to challenge Akai directly. It is a match she wanted to have at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021” and when that never happened it’s been bothering her ever since. Akai accepted the challenge and wants the match to happen in Fukuoka on 12th September. Manase said Ganpro already has a show in Itabashi that day but Ohka encouraged her to go do it. Manase offered to shake hands but Akai left her hanging.
Voice actor Tetsu Inada will be making appearances at the Hiragana Muscle shows in September.
DDT “DAMNATION ILLEGAL ASSEMBLY RETURNS VOL. 4”, 26/07/2021 Shinjuku FACE 193 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Choun-Shiryu defeated Darkunesu K with the Chinese Bombs Away (7:35).
2. Hiroshi Yamato defeated Kikutaro with a School Boy (6:54).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Leo Isaka with the Shooting Star Press (12:15).
4. Shigehiro Irie & Daiki Shimomura defeated Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Shimomura pinned Shimatani with an Inside Cradle (14:35).
5. Mad Paulie’s Five Years And A Few Months After His Birth Anniversary Match: Kohei Sato, Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie defeated Kengo Mashimo, Masashi Takeda & Keizo Matsuda when Paulie pinned Matsuda with the Reverse Splash (16:36).
6. MONDAY NIGHT WAR: Minoru Fujita defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Modified Tombstone Piledriver (24:32).
A first time singles match turned out to be no fun and games at all. Minoru Fujita walked out fully representing his Fujita Pro Wrestling☆School and also had the Super Asia Title from Gatoh Move. Meanwhile Daisuke Sasaki came out still carrying the stolen DDT Universal Title. The atmosphere quickly turned sour when Sasaki ignored Fujita’s offer for a handshake. A furious Fujita then said he would kill Sasaki and went to poke his eyes out. Sasaki fought back by biting his fingers. The struggle and dirty fighting continued throughout and Sasaki became motivated enough to wrestle with his shirt off. He used Yukinori Matsui as a shield at one point but Fujita cut him off on top of the turnbuckles. From there Fujita hit an Avalanche Tombstone for a nearfall. He hit another Tombstone as a counter to La Mistica for another two count. Fujita had to do the Somato and then the “Sayonara” version of the Tombstone to finally put Sasaki down for the three count.
Fujita called his victory over Sasaki a miracle. It is a win he will talk about for the rest of his life. He will carry the achievement with him until his retirement, which will happened somewhere between 4 to 50 years from now. Sasaki complained about Fujita ruining the show. Sasaki was supposed to beat him but he was too strong. Sasaki promised to get stronger and win in the rematch. Fujita then cut him off and said they will never wrestle each other again. Sasaki accepted that and asked to be a teacher in the Fujita Pro Wrestling☆School instead. He then told the fans today was supposed to be Sasaki beating Fujita on the road to winning the Universal Title from Yuki Ueno and then he couldn’t be called a thief anymore. At least the audience had more fun here than at the Olympics today so that cheered him up a little.
Mad Paulie got some spotlight by winning his 5th Anniversary match. He was asked to comment backstage and simply grunted “Arigatou!”
Match #4 was a double reunion of sorts. Soma Takao and Shigehiro Irie were both in the Team Dream Futures stable. Daiki Shimomura & Nobuhiro Shimatani used to team together as Gran MilliMeters in DNA. Shimatani took the fall against his former partner but declared today is the beginning of Chapter 3 of his life as a freelancer. Sasaki asked what happened to Chapter 2 and Nobu told him it already came and went.
Tetsuya Endo had wanted to face Leo Isaka for a while now but DDT were never able to put it together. Endo had to take things into his own hands and book the match at a DAMNATION show like this one. Isaka does the Shooting Star Press because he first saw Endo do the move. He got the chance to use it here but Endo dodged it and later hit his version to win. When Sasaki found out Isaka is like a 22 year old version of Endo, he thought about bringing him in as a replacement. He’ll fire Endo when he turns 30 next month and bring in Isaka to be the new Endo.
There were plenty of antics when Hiroshi Yamato fought Kikutaro. A lot of them had Matsui involuntarily involved. During a mix up, Kikutaro tried pinning Matsui with a Small Package. When nothing happened, Yamato rolled Kikutaro over with a School Boy to get the win.
The risk of darkness surrounding the world has been averted for now. At least it is here, I mean. Choun-Shiryu defeated Darkunesu K with the aid of a cone bar. The evil version of Keigo Nakamura was a bit of a nuisance but nothing that Shiryu couldn’t handle in the end.
GANBARE☆PRO “ERASER HEAD 2021”, 27/06/2021 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall 110 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. 1st Ganpro Mixed Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Keisuke Ishii & HARUKAZE defeated Asuka & Shinichiro Tominaga when Ishii pinned Tominaga with a Rolling Cradle (7:31).
2. 1st Ganpro Mixed Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi defeated Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase when Katsumura submitted Imanari with a Triangle Choke (11:38).
3. Jacket Match: Ken Ohka defeated Cherry by Disqualification when Cherry hung Ohka with a belt (7:56).
4. Hardcore 4 Way Match: Miss Mongol defeated Shota, Miyako Matsumoto and Itsuki Aoki when Mongol pinned Matsumoto with a Lariat (0:34).
4a. Rematch: Miss Mongol defeated Shota, Miyako Matsumoto and Itsuki Aoki when Mongol pinned Shota with a Lariat (15:56).
5. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Shinjiro Otani & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Iwasaki submitted Shimatani with the Texas Clover Hold (23:00).
6. 1st Ganpro Mixed Tag Tournament – Final: Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi defeated Keisuke Ishii & HARUKAZE when Haruhi pinned HARUKAZE with the Diving Foot Stomp (18:25).
After all the rumours going around backstage, the reward for winning the Mixed Tag Tournament is not a new championship or prize money. Instead, Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi will get a match on 11th July against an “super super special” tag team that will be revealed tomorrow. Katsumura said he wants THE HALFEE to wait for Shu Sakurai’s return from injury so all three of them can fight for a championship together again. He also said only 13% of fans thought they were going to win the tournament in a poll so the other 83% should buy their T-shirt as an apology. Haruhi said she is still proud to create history as the first Ganpro Mixed Tag Tournament winner. She wants to make more history and be seen on equal footing to the men.
As a result of their defeat, Keisuke Ishii & HARUKAZE will no longer team together. They did this before when they lost the GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles with Kouki Iwasaki. HARUKAZE doesn’t want to break up the team because she finally got a tag partner. Ishii told her that today’s regrets will make her stronger and they will meet again some day.
Shinjiro Otani is quickly becoming a wanted man in Ganpro. He has both Shigehiro Irie and Kouki Iwasaki demanding singles matches against him. Irie wants it to be at the Fire Festival which caused Otani to give him the Fire Festival sword pose. When they Irie & Iwasaki left, Otani praised Nobuhiro Shimatani for a good performance. Otani later spoke good things about Ganpro for how exciting the card and the wrestlers were today. He is sure there are some people who are annoyed that he’s there but he is just as much appearing on these shows to improve himself as he is to improve his opponents.
The Hardcore 4 Way Match ended quickly when Miyako Matsumoto attacked everyone with a barbed wire bat until Miss Mongol knocked her down with a Lariat and pinned her. Matsumoto then successfully appealed for the match to restart. The second match was a lot more chaotic. Itsuki Aoki put Shota through a table. Matsumoto was wheeled into a stack of chairs. She was also thrown off the top of a ladder onto Ken Ohka outside the ring. Mongol got the win with the Lariat again but this time it was to Shota for the three count.
The Jacket Match took on a new meaning when Ohka entered the ring wearing a suit and tie. Cherry, who was dressed in her judo outfit got angry and turned the bout into even more of a grudge match. As the match got more heated, both Ohka and Cherry removed their jackets to reveal they were wearing tanktops underneath. Cherry then used her blue belt to choke Ohka and hang him over the ropes. The bell rang but it was then announced that Cherry was disqualified. Ohka asked if Cherry was angry because they lost in the 1st Round of the Mixed Tag Tournament. He explained that if Katsumura & Haruhi go on to win the tournament then that means Ohka & Cherry are 2nd place by default (I guess the logic is from losing to the eventual champions). Cherry believed him and agreed to support Katsumura & Haruhi.
Yumehito Imanari isn’t letting today’s semi-final loss get him down. His MMA namesake Masakazu Imanari also lost today at the RIZIN show. He believes both of them are making “Imanari” the new trend in mixed martial arts!
It looks like The Weekend Lovers are hitting a rough patch. Shinichiro Tominaga told Asuka that when the weekend is over you should look forward to the next weekend. Asuka glared at him and left without saying a word.
Yuna Manase stormed the ring after the match angry at the fact that there is not another Ganbare☆Joshi show until August. She begged Ohka to let her put together a Ganjo show next month. He promised her she can do it.
DDT “KING OF DDT 2021 2ND ROUND”, 20/06/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 507 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Okatani pinned Koroku with the Northern Lights Suplex (7:49).
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Shinya Aoki (c), Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi, Chris Brookes, Mad Anton, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata and Mad Paulie (11:03).
1a. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Shinya Aoki with a Cradle (3:08). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,513rd champion.
1b. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Chris Brookes by Ring Out (9:49). *V1 for Kazuki Hirata.
1c. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Saki Akai by Ring Out (9:50). *V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
1d. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Toru Owashi by Ring Out (9:51). *V3 for Kazuki Hirata.
1e. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Makoto Oishi by Ring Out (9:52). *V4 for Kazuki Hirata.
1f. Kazuki Hirata (c), Mad Paulie & Mad Anton eliminated each other by Triple Ring Out (11:03). *No title change because the match had no current participants left when the triple elimination happened.
2. Steak Kuiyagare Presents Yusuke Okada DDT Pro Wrestling Affiliation Commemoration! Playfulness Series Act 3: Danshoku Dieno defeated Yusuke Okada with the Gaydo Clutch (6:41). (Special Witness: Kiyoshi Hayashishita)
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Akito & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata and Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Akito submitted Shimatani with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (8:21).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shiyna Aoki defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a Sleeper Hold (12:26 pm). *Shinya Aoki becomes the 1,514th champion.
4. King Of DDT 2021 – Round 2: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Brain Claw Slam (11:50).
5. King Of DDT 2021 – Round 2: Konosuke Takeshita defeated MAO with the Modified Chickenwing Facelock (13:08).
6. King Of DDT 2021 – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Jun Akiyama with a Cradle (4:02).
7. King Of DDT 2021 – Round 2: Yuji Hino defeated HARASHIMA with the Fuckin’ BOMB (24:49).
The King Of DDT field has been cut down from eight to four after today. The hardest fought match in Round 2 was the main event where Yuji Hino eliminated HARASHIMA after almost 25 minutes. Hino took everything HARASHIMA threw at him and asked for more. The regular Somato couldn’t work so HARASHIMA went for the Swan Dive version. Hino blocked him before he could pull it off and attempted the Fuckin’ BOMB only for HARASHIMA to escape. HARASHIMA used Leg Kicks and Buzzsaw Kicks to break Hino down for one more Somato. But Hino got the better of him and hit the Fuckin’ BOMB to win. The two gave each other a fist bump after the match as a show of respect.
Daisuke Sasaki has found a winning formula for the tournament. Cheat like hell! Mad Paulie pulled the referee out of the ring when it looked like Jun Akiyama was about to beat Sasaki in minutes. Akiyama fought him off but was vulnerable to a Low Blow. Akiyama countered the Sasaki Hurricanrana into a Power Bomb and went for the Running Knee Strike. Sasaki dodged it, hit another Low Blow when Akiyama stopped himself from colliding with the ref and then rolled up Akiyama for the upset.
In the battle of The 37KAMIINA, handshakes were replaced with the “NeppoWER!!” pose. MAO dug deep into his box of tricks and used Mike Bailey’s Ultima Weapon move to get ahead. Konosuke Takeshita rolled away from the Cannonball 450 and hit some Zahi knee strikes to try and put MAO down for good. MAO kept kicking out of moves until he finally succumbed to the Modified Chickenwing Facelock. Takeshita asked for a handshake after the match and got the NeppoWER pose instead. Backstage MAO said the match will make The 37KAMIINA more united than ever. He will do his best to change his image from the slapstick guy of the group to the strong slapstick guy of the group.
Last year’s winner is out of the tournament! In a rematch from the 2020 semi-final, Kazusada Higuchi gets his revenge by beating Tetsuya Endo in the latest chapter of their rivalry. The use of the Brain Claw was the difference maker here. The move helped Higuchi break out of the Yurikamome Hold. Endo freed himself to go for one last gasp but Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw again and hit a Twisting Brain Claw Slam to get the three count.
At the end of the show the semi-finalists took part in a lottery to determine who will face who in the final rounds on 4th July. Daisuke Sasaki and Konosuke Takeshita both pulled out blue balls so they will fight each other. That left Yuji Hino and Kazusada Higuchi staring each other down to set up the other semi-final. Backstage, Takeshita said it doesn’t matter if he is in good shape or not. He knows he has to stay alert against Sasaki. The match will come down to luck. Sasaki admitted that his version of King’s Road didn’t work today but he’ll use it to crush Takeshita. Higuchi calls Hino a high wall to climb over. He has to break through him because Higuchi never makes it past the semi-finals. Hino didn’t have much of substance to say because he was tired after the main event. He’ll be happy is Sasaki wins and they meet in an all DAMNATION final. But he would like to face Takeshita in the final too.
The 3 Way Tag match had its wacky stuff happening. Nobuhiro Shimatani kept shouting “I’m Nobu!” in response to Shunma Katsumata doing the NeppoWER pose. They then teamed up to double team Naomi Yoshimura when he tried to stop the both of them. Soma Takao picked his moments to Double Stomp opponents and slam Shimatani onto them. Akito grabbed a lot of limbs to twist people into each other. Yuki Ueno convinced Yoshimura to work together again for a Nautilus reunion. When Ueno was done with it he hit Yoshimura with a Missile Dropkick to end the alliance. Yoshimura knocked him out of the ring with a Lariat and left it clear for Akito to submit Shimatani.
Danshoku Dieno announced his goal today was to beat Yusuke Okada so he can fully take over “Big Daddy” Kiyoshi Hayashishita’s restaurant. Then the customers will get to suck meat instead of eating it. After Dieno got his hands on Okada during the match, Big Daddy entered the ring to rescue his friend. Dieno grabbed him and attempted to do the Danshoku Driver but Okada stopped it. Okada went to give Dieno the Lip Lock but Dieno ducked and Big Daddy got it instead. Dieno then pinned Okada with the Gaydo Clutch. After the match Okada told Big Daddy that he will continue to do his best as a DDT wrestler. Big Daddy told him you win some, you lose some. He also admitted Okada is a surprisingly good kisser.
Before the Battle Royal began, some of the wrestlers found a mystery drink in the locker room with a note attached to it. The note said it was a “pick me up” from Mad Paulie. Only Antonio Honda drank it but he said it tasted great. Yukio Sakaguchi also grabbed the bottle when nobody was looking. The effects of the drink were revealed when Mad Anton walked out instead of Honda. Kazuki Hirata won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from Shinya Aoki by eliminating him early in the match. Hirata was eliminated along with Paulie and Anton when all three of them pulled each other out of the ring to the floor. The ring was empty at this point so it did not count as a title change. There was one last entrant though. Yukio Sakaguchi walked out with a face like Mad Paulie and he won the match by default. He gave a victory speech afterwards but only said “Po.”
Hirata escaped from the Paulies but was chased back into the ring later in the show. Hirata fought off Paulie, Anton and Sakaguchi then celebrated with the Iron Man Title. Suddenly, Shinya Aoki returned with his face also looking like Mad Paulie. Aoki choked out Hirata to win back the title then celebrated with the rest of the Paulies.
The pre-show match mixed together heavyweights with the rookies. Yuki Iino and Yukio Naya cancelled each other out so it came down to Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku to break the deadlock. Koroku got a nearfall with a Backslide Pin but Okatani got him in the end with the Northern Lights Suplex.
Yoshiaki Yatsu attended the show to find out who he will team with for the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles match on 4th July. Hisaya Imabayashi told him that Hiroshi Yamato & Akito both offered to be on the team because they competed in amateur wrestling for the Junior Olympics. Keigo Nakamura then entered the ring asking to join because he too competed in that competition in high school. He was eliminated in the first round but he wants to take on the challenge side by side with the other “Olympians”. Yatsu agreed to team with all three of them and they will be Team (Junior) Olympia!