DDT “NEW YEAR’S DAY GIFT SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 3,000 YEN SPECIAL BOX OFFICE!! 2021”, 03/01/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 713 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Keigo Nakamura defeated Hideki Okatani with a Cradle (7:42).
2. Antonio Honda 43rd Birthday & 16th Anniversary Debut Match: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with the Diving Fist Drop (9:14).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Gota Ihashi defeated Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Toui Kojima when Sakaguchi pinned Kojima with the PK (9:37).
4. Mad Paulie, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya when Paulie pinned Watase with the Reverse Splash (12:19).
5. 1 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shinya Aoki, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Sanshiro Takagi when Aoki pinned Takagi with a Jackknife Pin (10:00).
6. Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno defeated Akito, Kazuki Hirata, Shota & Keisuke Ishii when Ueno pinned Shota with the BME (14:34).
7. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (w/ Daisuke Sasaki) defeated HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Chris Brookes when Endo pinned Brookes with the Shooting Star Press (17:18).
The first DDT show of 2021 was almost entirely a surprise card. The audience only knew what the matches were once they were ready to begin. For the main event HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Chris Brookes joined forces to fight DAMNATION. While all of DAMNATION were at ringside, Daisuke Sasaki got directly involved by grabbing Brookes by the leg. Yuji Hino brought it to both HARASHIMA & Higuchi. Soma Takao overheard Higuchi insult CIMA which spurred him on to fight through the Brain Claw. Tetsuya Endo got the win in the end by hitting Brookes with Tetsuya In The Sky, the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and finally the Shooting Star Press. Endo looked over to Jun Akiyama at the commentary table while the pin was counted.
Shouting was heard over by the entrance after the match. It was Yuki Iino calling for Hino’s attention while the rest of ALL OUT tried to hold him back. Iino pushed his teammates back, entered the ring and demanded to face Hino in an arm wrestling contest on the canvas. Hino was confused but he accepted the challenge and won. Iino got mad over losing and had to be held back again while Konosuke Takeshita introduced him to Hino. He then explained that Iino’s return match from injury will be at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” on 14th February when ALL OUT takes on DAMNATION. He then suggested that Iino and Hino have a singles match at the next big event after that. Hisaya Imabayashi agreed to book Iino Vs Hino in Nagoya on 23rd February. ALL OUT dragged Iino away while Endo took the microphone and warned Akiyama that he is always ready. Endo closed out the show by saying this year he is aiming for more than just the Tokyo Sports MVP Award. He wants to make scandalous news stories with glamourous women in the tabloids too!
Another 8-Man Tag pitted the two new units that have unexpectedly taken over DDT in the last few months. All four members of the DDT Sauna Club came out first, followed by the Young Communication Generation. The latter team then surprised everyone by bringing out Keisuke Ishii! Akito warned him about the Sauna Club’s “Heat Wave WER!!” pose but he didn’t understand it. Kazuki Hirata did a Plancha to the outside while Ishii did his work. The Sauna Club isolated Shota and piled on the top rope moves to him. Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno hit Diving Body Presses one after the other but Ueno’s pin was broken up. Shota caught Ueno in the Gannosuke Clutch but MAO was there to break that pin up. Ueno got to recover and beat Shota with the BME. Backstage Ishii said it was the first time in a long while he wrestled in DDT (not counting BOYZ) and he would like to appear more in 2021 to be with his friends in Young Communication again. Shota wants to make it a year where Ganbare☆Pro doesn’t lose to DDT. Meanwhile Katsumata wants to make 2021 the year of the Sauna Club!
One of the matches was supposed to be Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno Vs Shinya Aoki & Super Sasadango Machine. But backstage before the match Dieno, Aoki & Sasadango were all complaining about Takagi’s tweets including one that where Takagi was showing off his calves. The three of them instead decided to gang up on Takagi in a Handicap Match and purposely target his calf. Aoki put him in a Jail Hold while Dieno & Sasadango brought out a bag containing some of Takagi’s personal belongings. Sasadango found Takagi’s wallet, pulled out 29,000 yen in cash and raffled it off to three fans in the audience. Dieno eventually thought things went overboard and he felt sorry for Takagi. It is thanks to Takagi that they get to wrestle this year so the best New Year’s gift is to give Takagi his first win of 2021. Sasadango agreed and with Dieno they both attacked Aoki. Dieno is still recovering from the fire extinguisher attack to his rear but Takagi forced to go into the Hell Gate position. That lost him Sasadango’s support and Takagi was thrown face first into the Hell Gate. Aoki kicked Takagi in the calf, Sasadango did the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock and Aoki pinned him with a Jackknife. Backstage Sasadango offered to be on Aoki’s team at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” because they should be fighting for a better goal than satisfying Takagi’s desires. They like Takagi but will not be used by him anymore!
As Takagi was leaving the ring after his match, he was suddenly approached at ringside by Yusuke Okada! The former All Japan wrestler introduced himself to the audience and told them he wants to experience a new world of pro wrestling now that he became freelance. He asked Takagi if he could have a match in DDT. Takagi questioned his interest in DDT after seeing the match that just happened. He then passed the request over to Imabayashi, who wasn’t expecting that. Imabayashi told Okada he will book him on next week’s Korakuen Hall show on 9th January.
DAMNATION’s good run begun earlier in the show when Mad Paulie, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Hiroshi Yamato beat Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya. Paulie threw Yamato onto Watase with an X-Style Iconoclasm. Shimatani then hopped onto Paulie’s back and they jumped on top of Watase for a nearfall when Oishi & Naya broke it up. Paulie then hit Watase with a Lariat and won with the Reverse Splash.
Gota Ihashi didn’t get to wrestle in Korakuen Hall last year so he wanted to make up for lost time. This year he wants to join a unit and rampage all over DDT. There is only one unit he wants to join and that’s Eruption! He came out with his own custom entrance video wearing an Eruption coat made out of posters. He even drew his own version of the Eruption logo calling it Ihaption. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai were bemused over this but it kind of worked out in the end. Akai gave Toru Owashi a Brainbuster and Ihashi went toe to toe with Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Eruption(?) then focused their attacks on Toui Kojima. Ihashi almost lost the match when he missed the Moonsault. Akai kicked Ihashi out of frustration and Sakaguchi tagged himself in to finish Kojima off. Sakaguchi & Akai had enough of Ihashi and walked off on him backstage. However he believes he can continue teaming with Eruption and together they can all go after the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles.
Antonio Honda’s big day was almost ruined when he tripped on the ropes and hurt his knee. Choun-Shiryu knew what was coming and attacked Honda before he could tell his latest Gongitsune joke. Honda lived up to the big occasion though and hit a Topé Suicida and the Tenzan Tombstone Driver on route to victory.
The first DDT match of 2021 was Keigo Nakamura’s first ever singles victory! He defeated his generation rival Hideki Okatani by cradling his way out of the Double Arm Suplex. Nakamura currently has a 1-3 record against Okatani so he wants to reverse the numbers this year.
Some more matches were booked for “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021”. Akai will be teaming with Maya Yukihi from Ice Ribbon to take on Saori Anou & Miyako Matsumoto. Yukihi said she discovered DDT more than 10 years ago so she is deeply moved to be wrestling a match for them. She thought she was going to fight against Akai but Imabayashi corrected her. Akai always wanted to team with her because she is beautiful and strong. She is also excited to face Anou again. When Imabayashi asked Akai & Yukihi about Matsumoto, they both declined to answer. They were asked again backstage and Yukihi finally had something to say. “In terms of strength, beauty and glamour, Miyako-san will never the best.”
The New Year’s Shuffle Tag Tournament winners Smile Pissari will team again at the Culttz Kawasaki show. HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi will face a team yet to be determined.
Takagi will return to the battlefield for his next DDT Extreme Title defence. He takes on Nabe Yakan from Best Body Pro Wrestling on 10th January. The match was made when earlier in the day Yakan led a bunch of soldiers armed with air guns into the locker room to steal the Extreme Title belt.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 THE FINAL!!”, 27/12/2020 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Withheld
1. Toui Kojima Debut Match: Hideki Okatani defeated Toui Kojima with a Crab Hold (5:59).
2. 3 Way Match: Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi and Nobuhiro Shimatani when Honda pinned Shimatani with the Diving Fist Drop (8:15).
3. Hold Your Stomach! Forget The Year Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno defeated Nayashiro Nayagi & Super Sasadango Machine when Takagi pinned Nayagi with the Stone Cold Stunner (7:40).
4. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Higuchi submitted Watase with the Brain Claw (7:35).
5. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino (w/ Daisuke Sasaki) defeated HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes, Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura when Hino pinned Nakamura with the Diving Body Press (12:56).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno when Shota pinned Ueno with the Gannosuke Clutch (12:53). *V1 for Young Communicaton Generation.
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – Final: Jun Akiyama defeated Konosuke Takeshita by TKO with a Modified Armlock (23:29).
You can now add a former Champion Carnival winner to the short list of D-Ou Grand Prix champions. Jun Akiyama overcame an injured leg to defeat his foe Konosuke Takeshita in the final. The leg injury came when Takeshita caught a Stomp and gave Akiyama a Dragon Screw. From there Takeshita targeted the leg with attacks against the ring post as well as wrestling holds to that limb. What evened the score was Takeshita going into the match with an injured arm that Akiyama could focus on. German and Exploder Suplexes were exchanged and Akiyama Headbutted his way out of a Cross-Arm German Suplex. Seeing his chance, Akiyama applied a Chickenwing Armlock and rolled Takeshita into the centre of the ring. Takeshita struggled to move and soon became lifeless. That caused Yukinori Matsui to end the match and award Akiyama the tournament!
Akiyama received his trophy and praised the field of wrestlers who competed in the Grand Prix this year. He faced a lot of great DDT wrestlers. In fact he lost to two of them in the tournament. But he is the one standing on top in the end. There are only three singles champions in Japan he recognises today: Tetsuya Naito with the IWGP Heavyweight Title, Go Shiozaki with the GHC Heavyweight Title and Tetsuya Endo with the KO-D Openweight Title. (Akiyama later explained he only recognises those championships because Naito, Shiozaki and Endo all won Tokyo Sports Awards this year. All Japan was shut out of the awards so he unfortunately no longer sees the Triple Crown as a major championship. If AJPW can win over the community and the pro wrestling media in 2021, then he will change his tune.) Akiyama now gets to face Endo in a rematch on 14th February in Culttz Kawasaki, this time for the KO-D Title. Akiyama thanked Sanshiro Takagi for inviting him to coach in DDT back in May. He also thanked the wrestlers, staff and fans for accepting him. Lastly, he thanked the All Japan fans too.
From the get go, the DDT Sauna Club did their “Heat Wave WER!!” pose to the Young Communication Generation. In response, Kazuki Hirata & Shota did the post back to their opponents while Akito looked on embarrassed by the situation. Shunma Katsumata hit the Stuka Splash on Hirata. MAO & Yuki Ueno then both leapt across the ring with Frog Splashes on Shota & Hirata. Ueno tried to hit Shota with the WR but Shota maneuvered his way into the Gannosuke Clutch to steal the win. The two teams were satisfied with their match and Akito now understands the power of the sauna.
Shota then turned his attention to Ueno and challenged him for the DDT UNIVERSAL Title. Shota wants to become a leader of the independent scene in 2021 and he is already on his way with two championshps. That’s not enough, he wants a third title that can let him travel around the world. Ueno accepted and the match will happen on 9th January as the Korakuen Hall main event! Akito then asked if his team can next defend the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in his hometown of Nagoya when DDT goes there on 23rd February. He wants to defend the belts against DDT’s top wrestlers: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno! Young Communication want to beat the guys they looked up to when they were young. Then in 2021 they will all become main eventers of the indie world!
DAMNATION are looking unstoppable with the addition of Yuji Hino to their ranks. The heavyweight freelancer crushed Keigo Nakamura with a Diving Body Press to win the 8-Man Tag. He also overpowered HARASHIMA in a Chop Battle. Endo went through a few exchanges with Chris Brookes that ultimately ended with Endo hitting the Sasuke Special onto Brookes and a bunch of other wrestlers outside the ring. Shinya Aoki was the one who posed a big threat when he took down Soma Takao but DAMNATION all ganged up on him. Still, Aoki kicked out after taking a string of diving moves Endo and Takao did off of Mad Paulie’s back. After the match Daisuke Sasaki reintroduced Hino to the DDT fans. He said DAMNATION will mess up DDT’s ring in 2021! Hino told him he would like to go wild and have fun with his new friends. Backstage he also said he would like to win the KO-D Title because he thinks he held it before (he did). Endo doesn’t seem too enthused about that.
2020 ends on a strong note for Eruption. The finish to their match saw Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai run opposite ways on the apron to do Penalty Kicks to Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Akai then dove on top of them while Kazusada Higuchi applied a Lifted Brain Claw to Mizuki Watase for the victory.
Let’s be frank, Yukio Naya doesn’t know how to be Sanshiro Takagi. He needed Super Sasadango Machine to teach him when to do the “FIRE!” pose in time with the entrance music. The real Takagi demanded Danshoku Dieno to go into the Hell Gate position but he declined. Sasadango had to explain that Dieno’s backside was burned after he was sprayed with a CO2 fire extinguisher during this week’s Street Wrestling match. Takagi eventually made Dieno climb the turnbuckle and bend over, no matter how much it hurt him. Sasadango revealed he is now a shareholder of CyberAgent and attacked Takagi with his stock certificate to prove it. Sasadango’s mask slipped up when he took an Atomic Drop and he fell face first into Dieno’s backside. Takagi then stuck his fingers into Dieno’s butt, stuck them up to Naya’s nose and gave him the Stunner for the win.
The 3 Way Match briefly became two on one with Antonio Honda & Nobuhiro Shimatani joining forces to fight Toru Owashi. Gongitusune was turned into a heart shape that attracted Honda and Owashi to each other. Shimatani kept them apart but then found himself moving towards Yukinori Matsui for a possible tender embrace. Owashi & Honda both gave Shimatani a School Boy but no count happened because Matsui had his eye closed waiting to be kissed. Matsui was brought back down to Earth and Honda pinned Shimatani with the Diving Fist Drop.
The debuting Toui Kojima was put to the test against Hideki Okatani. Kojima used a Diving Body Attack from the middle rope and also a Running Double Chop. His big move of the match was a Full Nelson Buster for a 2 count. Okatani hit back with a Vertical Chop and the Northern Lights Suplex. Kojima kicked out but was put in a Crab Hold to make him submit. In his post-match interview Kojima said he wants to be a cool wrestler just by standing, like Randy Orton. He was also nervous about today’s debut. Last night he received a message of encouragement from Satoshi Kojima which only made him even more nervous. Satoshi supports him because he always likes seeing another Kojima in wrestling.
Honda’s 16th Anniversary match will be against Choun-Shiryu on 3rd January. The rest of the card for that Korakuen show will be kept secret until the show starts.
DDT “ATSUSHI ONITA VS KURO-CHAN! CHRISTMAS FINAL BATTLE! SKYTREE STREET CURRENT EXPLOSION WRESTLING!”, 23/12/2020 Tokyo Solamachi 40,000 ABEMA Views
1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match @ Tokyo Solamachi 3-4F Solami Zaka: Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Hikari Noa defeated Miyu Yamashita, Nodoka Tenma & Marika Kobashi when Sakazaki pinned Kobashi with a Sliding Lariat (10:47).
2. 6-Man Tag Match @ Asakusa Kaminarimon Ichinomiya Shotenkai: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Akito when Higuchi submitted Hirata with the Canadian Snow Samba Backbreaker (16:15).
3. Tag Match @ Yakiniku Drago Skytree Ekimae Store: HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya defeated Makoto Oishi & Keigo Nakamura when HARASHIMA pinned Oishi & Nakamura with the Somato (3:16).
4. DAMNATION! Vs DDT Sauna Club! @ Sumida Health Sports Center Pool: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato (w/ Daisuke Sasaki) defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno when Endo pinned Katsumata with the Shooting Star Senton into the Pool (19:53).
5. Current Explosion Death Match @ Tokyo Solamachi 8F Dome Garden: Kuro-chan (w/ Shinya Aoki, Super Sasadango Machine & Yuki Kamifuku) defeated Atsushi Onita (w/ Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh) with the Current Blast Bat Swing (11:09).
All around Tokyo SKYTREE Town there were pro wrestlers waiting around for matches to happen. Members of Jungle Pocket followed the action from place to place for the ABEMA viewers at home. The reason for all of this was the long awaited Current Blast Death Match between Atsushi Onita and Kuro-chan. Both men were allowed a trio of wrestlers to accompany them and get involved in the fight. Kuro-chan tried to run away but Onita caught him and let Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh beat him up. Itoh swung a Current Blast Bat but Super Sasadango Machine stood in her way and took the blow. Onita pinned Kuro-chan after the explosion but Yuki Kamifuku broke the count. Sasadango told Kuro-chan that Kamifuku’s knees contain ingredients that would heal him from the blast. Kamifuku was grossed out but allowed Kuro-chan to lick her knee for recovery purposes. That powered up Kuro-chan until Sanshiro Takagi strangled him with a belt. Onita put Shinya Aoki through a table with a Piledriver then grabbed another Blast Bat. However Kamifuku turned off the bat’s power supply at the last second. The distraction allowed Sasadango & Aoki to attack Onita. Kuro-chan & Kamifuku then swung the Blast Bat at Onita together for the second explosion. Soon after, Onita grabbed the last Blast Bat but Kuro-chan grabbed Kamifuku to be his human shield. Onita hesitated and Aoki attacked him from behind. Kuro-chan grabbed the bat and hit Onita for the final explosion. Two Blast Bat hits were too much for Onita and he couldn’t kick out of the pin. Kuro-chan has defeated him!
Kuro-chan taunted Onita by pouring a bottle of water over him and bragging about “the moment when the pro wrestler lost to the entertainer!” Onita got up and started beating Kuro-chan with the bottle. Kuro-chan backed off but was still laughing over winning the match. An angry Onita then turned his attention to Jungle Pocket when they stepped in to protect their fellow entertainer. Kuro-chan grabbed Onita’s leather jacket, put it on himself and declared himself the new Evil Ways!
Over at the Sumida Health Sports Center pool, the DDT Sauna Club and DAMNATION met for a swim and an 8-Man Tag. After a quick swimming race, Jungle Pocket’s Otake asked when they would start wrestling. Daisuke Sasaki demanded money and both teams agreed that the match winner would get Otake’s money. After fighting around poolside, everyone wound up in the pool when a chain of Headscissors was flipped over by Mad Paulie. Everyone then moved over to the waterslide. Tetsuya Endo gave Yuki Ueno a Sunset Flip down the waterslide with Yukinori Matsui sliding after them to try and count the pin. One by one the wrestlers slid down with MAO’s turn involving a bunch of small rubber ducks coming down with him. Shunma Katsumata tried to blow hot sauna wind with a towel at Hiroshi Yamato but since it was pool it only made Yamato feel cold. Katsumata & Ueno put a rubber ring around Yamato and tried to make him float upside down in the pool. Konosuke Takeshita, Ueno & Katsumata tried piling on top of each other for a triple piggy back attack but they fell over when Sasaki sprayed them with a hose. The Sauna Club recovered to give Soma Takao an Assisted Cutter into the pool. There was a bridge where Paulie did the Reverse Splash into the pool but everyone moved out of the way. Takeshita then gave Yamato the Kinniku Buster from the bridge into the water. Sasaki was all alone against the Sauna Club when suddenly Yuji Hino showed up wearing a DAMNATION shirt! One by one he destroyed the Sauna Club and he gave Katsumata the Fuckin’ Bomb from the bridge into the pool. Endo then hit the Shooting Star Senton from the bridge to Katsumata and pinned him in the water.
After the match, Sasaki introduced everyone to Hino. He explained they used to be soldiers together and now Hino is the newest member of DAMNATION! Not only that but Hino will also be at the 27th December Korakuen Hall show. Hino threw Otake into the water to celebrate and everyone in DAMNATION laughed.
Hirohisa Ota from Jungle Pocket spectated a match held in a nearby yakiniku restaurant. Yukio Naya welcomed him and they looked at the menu until they heard a commotion nearby. It was Makoto Oishi & Keigo Nakamura causing noise and being a nuisance. Angry clerk HARASHIMA confronted them and with Naya started the tag match against the troublemakers. Oishi tried to take female clerk hostage when suddenly the disgraced sumo wrestler Takatoriki appeared from the back of the restaurant! He and Naya slammed Oishi & Nakamura together outside and HARASHIMA pinned both of them with the Somato.
The third Jungle Pocket member Shinji Saito met up with Saki Akai along the shopping street when all of a sudden Akito & Kazuki Hirata showed up in a rickshaw pulled by Danshoku Dieno. Luckily for Akai, the rest of Eruption showed up from the nearby subway and the trios match was ready to begin. Dieno summoned samba dancers while he did the Asakusa Nightmare to Akai. Akito chased Kazusada Higuchi into a store and found Higuchi dressed like an enlightened monk attending pilgrimage. Higuchi wouldn’t budge while he was in his state of enlightenment. Yukio Sakaguchi and Hirata stopped fighting so they could go buy sweet desserts. Sakaguchi made sure it was paid with money from Hirata’s wallet. Higuchi returned on a bike and cycled into his opponents. Dieno climbed up a wall and sat in the Hell Gate position. Hirata then called for “Anal Snow Samba” and Dieno shot smoke from beneath him onto everyone below while the samba dancers performed around them. Sakaguchi used a fire extinguisher to freeze Dieno’s ass. Akai then sprayed it into Hirata while Higuchi held him in the Canadian Backbreaker for the finish.
The show began at the entrance of Tokyo Solamachi where six Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers came to fight. Marika Kobashi brought along a selfie stick but Hikari Noa used it to choke her. Nodoka Tenma Body Slammed Mizuki onto the ground and then jumped on top of her with a Body Press. Yuka Sakazaki and Miyu Yamashita fought near the stairway and Sakazaki ended up pushing her opponent down the steps. Sakazaki, Mizuki & Noa then joined up for a sprint down the path to hit a Triple Dropkick on the other team. Noa found a ladder and spun it around, hitting anyone who dared come near her. The ladder was set up near the Skytree and The Magical Sugar Rabbits did a Double Diving Body Attack off it onto everyone below. Sakazaki ended the match by pinning Kobashi with the Sliding Lariat.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 IN NARIMASU!”, 06/12/2020 Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall ??? Fans – Withheld
-. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – A Block: Chris Brookes (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (2) by Forfeit.
1. Chris Brookes defeated Hideki Okatani with the Elevator Action Death Parade (6:13).
2. Blow Away The D-Ou GP 2021 From The DDT Variety Team! ~ Narimasu Tag Death Match: Danshoku Dieno & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Akai pinned Hirata with a PK (8:27).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita (6) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (6) by Knockout with the Zahi (11:26).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – A Block: HARASHIMA (7) Vs Akito (5) ended in a Draw after a Double Pinfall (16:26).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – B Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Shunma Katsumata (2) with the WR (13:56).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – B Block: Soma Takao (6) defeated Tetsuya Endo (7) with the Gin And Tonic (16:37).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) defeated Jun Akiyama (6) with the Brain Claw Pin (4:03).
With one last roar, Kazusada Higuchi finishes his schedule of block matches with a gigantic win over Jun Akiyama! He did it in quick time too. In just over 4 minutes, Higuchi applied the Brain Claw and pressed Akiyama down to the canvas to pin him. Higuchi got on the mic and said the top spot cannot be given to someone who is about to go back to All Japan. With this result, Higuchi is now tied in first place but he has no more matches remaining. He needs a bunch of results from other matches to play out a certain way in order for him to enter some sort of emergency tiebreaker match.
Tetsuya Endo could have sealed his place in the final here today if he had beaten Soma Takao. Instead he is in a position where it could all slip away. Takao avoided the Modified One-Winged Angel and trapped his stablemate in the Official Endless Waltz. Endo wouldn’t be pinned by it but Takao got him into the Gin And Tonic and got the upset victory. Takao reminded Endo he is still his senpai. He hates him but also loves him too. Backstage Endo said that Takao beating him means Takao has indirectly beaten Akiyama. If that doesn’t make him feel anything then he will never move past the spot he is in.
The DDT Sauna Club had another member versus member match in the D-Ou Grand Prix. That relationship came into play when Shunma Katsumata made Yuki Ueno sit down on a chair and waved him with a towel before choking him with it. Katsumata used more chairs to cut off a Plancha and then taped Ueno’s feet together for a possible countout. Ueno got Toui Kojima to cut the tape off and he made it back to the ring to continue the match. Katsumata tried using Daisuke Kiso as a human shield but Ueno maneuvered around them and hit a Standing Shining Wizard. Ueno then won with the WR. Katsumata praised Ueno for getting stronger and he told him to look up at the Finnish sky so they can see aurora borealis together. He told Ueno he will meet him again at the Grand Prix final. Ueno said that isn’t possible but Katsumata told him he wouldn’t give up.
HARASHIMA is clinging on to the top spot of the A Block. He got into a back and forth match with Akito and almost got counted out when he missed the Somato on the apron and crashed into the ring post. Akito then attempted the Goliath Birdeater but HARASHIMA attempted a counter Cradle. Both men’s shoulders were on the mat long enough for Yukinori Matsui to count to three. Matsui called it a double pin and declared the match a draw. HARASHIMA said the difference between Akito now compared to their past matches is the Goliath Birdeater so he knew he had to avoid it. Since there was no winner or loser, HARASHIMA doesn’t understand how to feel about the result.
The bad news for Konosuke Takeshita is his left arm is hanging by a thread. The good news is his recent run of results have gotten him back in the hunt for a place in the final. His victory over Yukio Sakaguchi today came from a clash of knee strikes. Sakaguchi hit the God’s Right Knee and Takashita got in the Zahi before they both crumpled to the mat. Takeshita was able to stand back up before the 10 count but Sakaguchi couldn’t do the same. Takeshita thinks luck is on his side and he will give up his left arm to finish the Grand Prix.
The non-tournament tag match was suddenly turned into a Narimasu Tag Death Match. After three minutes a weapon handed down from the ancient times would be introduced to the match. It was revealed to be Yuki Iino, Keigo Nakamura and Hisaya Imabayashi all sitting on the turnbuckles bent over with their backsides exposed. Danshoku Dieno appreciated the idea and copied them on the remaining turnbuckle. Toru Owashi and Saki Akai were thrown face first into the backsides. The four corners then joined in Kazuki Hirata’s dance with their butts still hanging out. They then all closed into the center of the ring where Akai threw Hirata and Hirata got his face full of everyone. Akai then hit a Penalty Kick and pinned him.
Chris Brookes spent most of his replacement match twisting Hideki Okatani into knots.
At the start of the show it was announced that Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno Vs Nayashiro Nayagi & Super Sasadango Machine will happen at Korakuen Hall on 27th December. Nayagi is Yukio Naya’s parody of Takagi from the Hiragana Muscle shows. Takagi saw that and noticed Naya’s posing and the angle he hits the Stunner with are not accurate enough. Takagi won’t stand for this!
The #STRONGHEARTS quartet of CIMA, T-Hawk, El Lindaman & Shigehiro Irie will be at the Nagoya Congress Center show on 23rd February.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 IN NARIMASU”, 28/11/2020 Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall ??? Fans – Withheld
-. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – A Block: Yukio Sakaguchi (4) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (2) by Forfeit.
1. Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Hideki Okatani with the Modified Haneorigatame (2:43).
2. No Touch Rules: Saki Akai, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yukio Naya defeated Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura when Naya pinned Nakamura with the Choke Slam (9:56).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – A Block: Chris Brookes (4) defeated Akito (4) with the One More Round (13:10)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – A Block: HARASHIMA (6) defeated MAO (2) with the Somato (12:49).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – B Block: Soma Takao (4) defeated Makoto Oishi (2) with the Running Elbow Butt (2:30).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – B Block: Jun Akiyama (2) defeated Shunma Katsumata (0) by Countout (9:53).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 – B Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (3) ended in a Double Knockout (20:56).
For the first time in D-Ou Grand Prix history a match has ended in a Double Knockout! A bout between Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi guaranteed to have bombs thrown at both sides but nobody expected it to exceed the limits of both men. Endo pulled off one of the turnbuckle pads and used a chair to wreck Higuchi’s leg. Higuchi had so much trouble standing up that the referee attempted to count him out. Higuchi was able to stay on his feet and used a Brain Claw to cut off Endo’s momentum. Endo hit the Canadian Destroyer expecting it to be the finish but Higuchi spent his last gasp charging Endo right into the exposed turnbuckle with the Buchikamashi. Higuchi couldn’t stand up again due to the pain while Endo was knocked right out by the move. Both were counted out and the match was ruled a draw. When Endo recovered he was sat up and given the microphone. He thought he had no enemies left to beat after Jun Akiyama but Higuchi proved him wrong. Still, Endo leads the B Block and promises to win his remaining Grand Prix matches. He has to because he is carrying the KO-D Openweight Title, the pride of beating Akiyama and the thoughts of Daisuke Sasaki on his back! Backstage Higuchi said his leg is in bad shape after his back to back matches with Makoto Oishi and Endo. He’ll crawl to Osaka for tomorrow’s match if he has to!
Shunma Katsumata promised that his Super Hardcore form was gone for the rest of the year. Akiyama didn’t get that message and walked down to the ring armed with a Lego covered baseball bat. Katsumata tried to get Akiyama counted out by taping his feet together but Akiyama was able to rip the tape off. Katsumata later got Akiyama back out of the ring and the two of them tried to stop each other from getting back in. Katsumata thought he pulled one out of the bag when he hit a 619 out of nowhere. But Akiyama got back up and bounced his opponent away with a Jumping Knee. Akiyama got back into the ring and won by countout. That result was another first in D-Ou history, the first block match to end by countout!
Soma Takao currently has the fastest win of the Grand Prix so far. He and Makoto Oishi quickly exchanged roll ups before going straight for their finishing moves. When the Miracle Ecstasy and the Gin And Tonic were both avoided, Oishi ran the ropes. He aimed to do a Running Forearm but Takao cut him off with the Running Elbow Butt for the three count out of nowhere. Oishi complained that his shoulder was up and there should be a video replay to back him up. Takao was happy to win quickly because normally that means he can go home early. He can’t though because he now has to travel to Osaka. Also his late start in the tournament means he has no breaks in the remaining schedule.
Three shows in and HARASHIMA leads the A Block with a perfect score of 6 points. Today he beat MAO, avenging his defeat to him back in D-Ou 2019 (the one held in 2018). After the match HARASHIMA told the fans he came into the match with a good feeling and won thanks to their support. He brought up how injuries are already taking their toll on the DDT roster during this Grand Prix but everyone will do their best to make it through the entire tournament. MAO in his interview said he did okay today but that’s not enough against the ace of DDT. He then talked about DDT’s history with wrestlers who spell their name under the traditional alphabet (HARASHIMA, KUDO and MIKAMI). Those wrestlers can all claim to be DDT’s ace at some point in time. MAO is the only one from his generation spelling his name this way and he will continue working hard to become the ace.
Akito made a request to Chris Brookes before their match, asking for a Lancashire Rules match. He never experienced Lanacashire wrestling before so he suggested fighting 3 minute rounds for 10 round. Yukinori Matsui refused because he wasn’t going to change the rules to a D-Ou match. Akito still used his phone to keep track of the time and took breaks whenever a “round” ended. Brookes ignored the break and Cradled Akito for a nearfall. He then said it was a round break, knowing that Akito wouldn’t break the rules he wanted to follow. But when a “round” ended while Akito held Brookes in an Armlock, Akito said the phone alarm was too noisy and he ignored it from that point on. He tried to do the Goliath Birdeater but Brookes escaped and used a Horizontal Crucifix Pin to get the victory. Akito was disappointed he lost but doesn’t regret coming up with his Lancashire idea. Brookes is happy to beat the best technical wrestler in DDT at his own game. He thinks tomorrow’s opponent Konosuke Takeshita is broken to the point where Brookes can’t waste this chance to beat him again. He is also trying to get the Shukan Puroresu reporters interviewing him to attend Masahiro Takanashi’s show in January.
The participants in Match #2 all wanted to steal the show from the D-Ou matches. They agreed to a No Tag rule for their match. However Hisaya Imabayashi came out and told the wrestlers that one of the curtains hanging over the ring was malfunctioning. At some point the curtain was going to fall down and completely block the north side of the room from seeing the show! So for the sake of the fans sitting in the north side, the wrestlers had to do their match quickly before the curtain falls. The curtain did indeed fall so Danshoku Dieno, Saki Akai and Tomomitsu Matsunaga all worked together to keep it held above the audience’s heads. The plan worked until Antonio Honda poked all of them in the eyes with Gongitsune. Yukio Naya and Keigo Nakamura finished off the match without the north section getting to see it. They had to be told what happened after the curtain was fixed and raised back up.
Yesterday Yukio Sakaguchi warned he would fight Hideki Okatani as if he was Daisuke Sasaki. So fair play to Okatani for bringing the fight, albeit brief to Sakaguchi. He used Bulldogs, the Northern Lights Suplex and the Neckbreaker Drop. Sakaguchi kept calm though and countered the Double Arm Suplex into a Sleeper Hold. He placed Okatani down to hit him with a Penalty Kick and then used the Modified Haneorigatame from yesterday for the finish.
DDT “DDT TV SHOW! #12”, 14/11/2020 DDT TV SHOW Studio 0 Fans
1. Makoto Oishi defeated Hideki Okatani with the Fujiyama Knee Lock (5:20).
2. Playfulness Series Act 2: Danshoku Dieno defeated Gorgeous Matsuno with a Crucifix Pin (6:49).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura when Sasaki pinned Nakamura with a School Boy (10:34).
4. DDT Sauna Club Stepping Together!: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya when Ueno pinned Naya with the BME (14:07).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (c) when Shota pinned Akai with the Gannosuke Clutch (14:36). *Eruption fails in V4. Young Communication Generation becomes the 42nd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
What a shocker, Eruption loses the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles to Young Communication Generation! The collective of Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota pulled off a gigantic upset in the main event. But it wasn’t from Hirata sneaking the pin on Yukio Sakaguchi like before. Instead Eruption looked like they had the match in the bag. Kazusada Higuchi was handling things until Akito pulled him out of the ring. Shota lured Saki Akai into throwing a strike then caught her hand and used the Gannosuke Clutch for the title change! Shota told the others he is glad he stepped into the ring at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” to make the challenge. Akito congratulated Shota for finally winning a DDT championship bringing up a talk they had after a match together years ago. Back then Shota told Akito he wanted to win all the prizes in DDT. He was surprised Akito remembered that. Hirata was still scared of how Sakaguchi would react to the result but still spoke on the microphone. His failed title shot at Korakuen Hall wasn’t the happy ending he wanted. But today the sequel gave him that happy ending! Even though the three of them are all in their thirties now, they want to reestablish the Young Communication brand of shows! Only 30 people attended their original shows but they think they can do 10 times that now.
The entire DDT Sauna Club got what they wanted, an 8-Man Tag for all of them to team together. They isolated Yukio Naya when Yuki Ueno caught him with a Dropkick. Konosuke Takeshita & MAO gave him a Double Brainbuster, Shunma Katsumata followed with the Stuka Splash and Yuki Ueno finished him with the BME. All of them interviewed each other to celebrate and credited the use of saunas for being at their highest level today. Backstage Takeshita, MAO & Ueno took a commemorative photo together. They then left when Katsumata joined in the pose.
Daisuke Sasaki had Keigo Nakamura beaten with the Cross Facelock when Antonio Honda entered the ring. He was meant to break the hold but he tripped on the ropes and hurt his knee. Still, Honda wanted to tell his Gongitsune story afterward and that made Sasaki drop his guard. Nakamura of all people got angry at Honda for interrupting his serious fight with Sasaki. He then asked to join DAMNATION so they could all gang up on Honda! There was a 3 on 1 beatdown until Honda hit them all with Gongitsune Eye Pokes. When Nakamura saw that Tetsuya Endo was weakened, he ended his alliance with DAMNATION and joined Honda again. They both went for Gongitsune Nipple Grabs but Sasaki ducked and they grabbed each other by mistake. Endo used a Swan Dive move on both of them to hurt their nipples even more and Sasaki pinned Nakamura with a School Boy.
It took Gorgeous Matsuno four tries at doing the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow. When he finally did the move correctly, Danshoku Dieno easily rolled him into a Crucifix Pin for the three count. After the match Matsuno said it doesn’t matter if he breaks his arms or legs, he has a reason to want the O-40 Title back. He then announced he will have a show in Fukushima celebrating his 60th birtday on 18th April. He needs to be the O-40 Champion again to make that show a success!
In the meeting between two Junretsu members, Makoto Oishi defeated Hideki Okatani. They praised each other for a good match afterward.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS”, 07/11/2020 Tokyo Dome City Hall ??? Fans – Withheld
1. Suzume & Sena Shiori defeated Moka Miyamoto & Mei Suruga when Suzume pinned Miyamoto with the Ring A Bell (12:09).
2. Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Marika Kobashi & Haruna Neko when Kiryu pinned Neko with the Spinebuster (9:01).
3. International Princess Title Tournament – Semi Final: Hikari Noa defeated Mirai Maiumi with the Blizzard Suplex (9:44).
4. International Princess Title Tournament – Semi Final: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Fame Asser (9:22).
5. Yuna Manase defeated Raku with a Short Range Lariat (9:17).
6. WP Switch Random Rules Match: Saki Akai defeated Hyper Misao by Knockout with the Quetzalcoatl (13:49).
7. Miyu Yamashita & Aja Kong defeated Maki Itoh & Sareee when Yamashita pinned Itoh with the Crash Rabbit Heat (17:01).
8. International Princess Title Tournament – Final: Yuki Kamifuku defeated Hikari Noa with the Diving Fame Asser (7:56). *Yuki Kamifuku becomes the 5th International Princess Champion!
9. Princess Tag Team Titles: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe (c) when Aino pinned Watanabe with the UBV (17:01). *Daydream fails in V5. The Bakuretsu Sisters become the 6th Princess Tag Team Champions!
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) defeated Mizuki with the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro (25:37). *V4 for Yuka Sakazaki.
In the fated battle between The Magical Sugar Rabbits, it was Yuka Sakazaki who came out on top! Mizuki’s new Whirling Candy move wasn’t enough to win her the Princess Of Princess Title. Instead it was Sakazaki’s ultra move, the Magical Girl Niwatori Yaro that ensured she held onto the championship. With tears in their eyes, both wrestlers hugged each other after the match before the belt was handed over to Sakazaki. It is a clear sign that they are still close and their team will continue. A rare sight in pro wrestling.
Sakazaki said there was so much love coming from the fans who came to support Tokyo Joshi Pro today. She will give it her all because she loves it and is determined not to lose. She was so focused on her match today that she couldn’t watch the other matches. But when the other wrestlers would come backstage from the ring, she could see their faces sparkling with happiness. The entire roster was brought into the ring to celebrate. Sakazaki said the TJPW roster is changing but she hopes everyone who gathers here will have fun. She looks forward to working with them for many years to come! Mizuki was still crying and told Sakazaki she wanted to go eat hamburger steak. Everyone cheered “Happy Happy” and soap bubbles fell down around them. They then lined up on the stage and thanked everyone for coming today.
Daydream’s year long reign as the Princess Tag Team Champions has come to an end. The Bakuretsu Sisters finally lay claim to the belts on their fourth attempt together. Yuki Aino saved Nodoka Tenma from the Daydream Eternity. From there Tenma gave Rika Tatsumi the Killswitch to get rid of her. Miu Watanabe had the power to keep fighting until Aino put her away with the UBV. Tatsumi said backstage she feels empty without having the white belts anymore. But she also advised Watanabe to stay calm and take time to think about the defeat because Daydream is not finished yet. For the Sisters, they finally climbed the mountain and couldn’t do it without each other. The Bakuretsu Era begins and they want to defend the titles as many times they want!
The vacant International Princess Title now has a champion again. It’s Yuki Kamifuku and it is well deserved too! In the final of the tournament, she faced off against Hikari Noa. Already tired from wrestling earlier, Kamifuku and Noa left nothing to chance. A Double Chop followed by a Dropkick gave Kamifuku an opening to climb the top rope. She hit the Diving Fame Asser to win her first championship! There isn’t a wrestler out there who she is modelling herself after. She wants fans to think she’s cool by being herself. Her goal is to make the championship a symbol for cool, happy, fun girls. She speaks English so she can spread the word around the world that Tokyo Joshi wrestlers are such pretty Japanese people.
Aja Kong and Sareee were both welcomed back for another visit to TJPW. Kong had Maki Itoh waiting for her while Saree was eager to get into exchanges with Miyu Yamashita. The finish involved the two TJPW regulars. Sareee cut Yamashita off giving Itoh chances to use Headbutts. That lead went away after a High Kick and the Attitude Adjustment. Yamashita then ended the match with the Crash Rabbit Heat. Kong said she was happy to return here and is grateful the TJPW fanbase likes her. She told Sareee to “remove her limiter” when she got in the ring with Yamashita because she wanted to see Yamashita do the same. Kong is amazed by her kicking accuracy. She would like to come back next year. Itoh was annoyed that Sareee couldn’t crush Kong and come save her from getting beat. They still get along though because they’re almost the same age and probably would have been in the same grade together if they went to the same school. Sareee would like to wrestle Yamashita again but she also wants to fight Itoh.
A button was brought down to the ring for the Hyper Misao Vs Saki Akai match. Whenever somebody pressed the button, the rules for the match would change into a random stipulation. Before the match began she told the story of when she discovered pro wrestling by going to a DDT Street Wrestling show in 2014. She saw Akai taking part and was inspired by watching her fighting against men, completely turning standard values upside down. So today Misao came up with this match to flip Akai’s values upside down too. Daisuke Kiso pressed the button to start the match. The first rule was the match could not be won with kicking moves. Akai had already kicked Misao in the face when the rule came up so she wasn’t allowed to pin her afterwards. Akai pressed the button and the next rule was pins would not be counted unless the wrestlers spun in circles over a standing baseball bat five times. This left both of them dizzy after several series of spins and pin attempts. The next rule was Falls Count Anywhere as long as they ate from a bag of chocolate. Misao distracted the referee and emptied her chocolate into Akai’s bag. But Akai pressed the button and got a rule that allowed helpers to come down and get involved. Yukio Sakaguchi entered the ring to help Akai! Misao waited for her helper and got Sanshiro Takagi! It went wrong for both sides because Takagi accidentally Clotheslined Misao and Sakaguchi accidentally hit Akai with a Knee Kick. The men focused on fighting each other while the women pressed the button for the last rule. Last Woman Standing! Misao reversed the Quetzalcoatl into the Vanitas but missed the I Am A Hero. The Hyper Gotham Crash was also stopped and Misao was weakened with the Rookie Award. Seeing her chance to win, Akai hit the Quetzalcoatl and Misao couldn’t answer the 10 count, ending the match with a knockout.
When Yuna Manase asked Raku for a Handshake at the start of their match, Raku pretended to fall asleep. Manase complained to Yukinori Matsui but he fell asleep too. She stomped on him to wake him up. Raku took the match seriously by kicking out of the Suzuki Dynamic but she was immediately pinned with a Short Range Lariat afterward. Backstage Manase said the appeal of TJPW is that the matches are bright and fun. She hopes Raku get strong enough to chase after a title soon. Raku described Manase like an older sister who used to live with her but then moved out to go live in Tokyo.
Kamifuku’s path to win the International Princess Title begun today with a major upset over Shoko Nakajima. While Nakajima still wants to challenge for the IP Title, she realises after losing to her kohai that she still has to grow in strength.
Noa had a challenging victory over Mirai Maiumi in her semi-final. Maiumi had plenty of submissions to counter Noa’s Suplexes so Noa had to switch to using the Super Kick. That move weakened Maiumi enough for Noa to pin her with a bridging Blizzard Suplex. Maiumi regrets losing but said this is only the beginning of a new landscape that she will create.
Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu defeated Marika Kobashi & Haruna Neko but the result was so close to being the opposite. Neko had Kiryu beat with the Codebreaker but Harajuku broke the count. Kobashi got rid of her and Neko went for another Codebreaker. This time Kiryu caught her and hit a Spinebuster to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The opening match was Mei Suruga’s TJPW debut. She teamed with the rookie Moka Miyamoto in a losing effort to Suzume & Sena Shiori. For the winners it was a big confidence boost to win inside a big venue. Suruga hopes she picked up some new fans and they will come watch ChocoPro or Gatoh Move.
A new trainee named Arisu Endo introduced herself. She comes from Cheer♥1, the same idol group that produced Reika Saiki. She promised to do her best to debut as soon as possible.
Freelancer Nao Kakuta will regularly appear in Tokyo Joshi beginning 14th November. She told the fans she would like to become someone who can liven up the TJPW ring. She wanted to come here because everyone is cute and have their own clear characters. She sees how much everyone in TJPW loves pro wrestling and it makes her want to get involved.
Four dates at Korakuen Hall in 2021 were announced. The shows will take place on 4th January, 11th February, 17th April and 4th May. “WRESTLE PRINCESS II” will also be held at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 9th October, 2021.
Sakisama returns for a one-off appearance on 14th November. Hyper Misao will face Super Sasadango Machine on 20th November.
Kendo Kashin was spotted inside the venue during the show. He threatened to crash the show during the week looking for Takagi. Presumably he wants to challenge him for the DDT Extreme Title.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”, 03/11/2020 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium ??? Fans
0. Under Match: Hideki Okatani defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Double Arm Suplex (4:24).
0. Under Match: Hiroshi Yamato & Hoshitango defeated Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya when Yamato submitted Watase with the Just X (9:00).
1. MAO Return Battle: MAO defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Marines Tornado Splash (7:51).
2. Akito defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Mouth Breathing Sanno Type Kiss (9:51).
3. Survival 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata, Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani and Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda (11:03).
3a. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (7:12).
3b. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Antonio Honda with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (9:50).
3c. Yukio Sakaguchi eliminated Kazuki Hirata with a Cradle (11:03).
4. DDT Extreme Title – Yanekabe Presents Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Shinya Aoki (c) with La Magistral Cradle (10:55). *Shinya Aoki fails in V6. Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 49th DDT Extreme Champion!
5. Special Tag Match – HarashiMarafuji Vs CimaSoma: CIMA & Soma Takao defeated HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji when Takao pinned HARASHIMA with the Gin And Tonic (12:47).
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Chris Brookes (c) with the WR Unlimited (14:05). *Chris Brookes fails in V3. Yuki Ueno becomes the 4th DDT UNIVERSAL Champion!
7. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Front Neck Lock (25:38).
8. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Shooting Star Press (27:48). *V3 for Tetsuya Endo.
The stage was set for the Battle Of DAMNATION over the KO-D Openweight Title. The challenger Daisuke Sasaki walked down to the ring carrying a chair with Hiroshi Yamato backing him up. The champion Tetsuya Endo appeared with #DAMNHEARTS flanking behind him. Sasaki immediately went for the Cross Facelock when the match began and Endo fled out of the ring. Endo went for a Shooting Star Press at the first opportunity and Sasaki too backed away. Sasaki blocked a Quebrada and attacked Endo’s leg with the chair. Nobuhiro Shimatani bought Endo some time to recover by pulling Sasaki out of the ring but Endo’s leg was too damaged to do the Sasuke Special. Shimatani again pulled Sasaki out of the ring and the rest of #DAMNHEARTS joined in the interference. When Endo was handed a chair to use on Sasaki, he threw it away and told #DAMNHEARTS to stop getting involved. He wanted the match to stay one on one. Everyone appreciated his noble intention except for Sasaki who gave him a Low Blow. Later Shimatani and Mad Paulie got on the apron to distract Yukinori Matsui. Things went out of control from there when Sasaki catapulted Endo into the three of them, taking the referee out. Endo grabbed the chair off Sasaki and readied his swing when Paulie blocked the chair and allowed Sasaki to Low Blow Endo again! Sasaki hit a chairshot over Endo’s head and placed him in the Cross Facelock in time for Matsui to recover. However Endo reach the ropes. Sasaki used his flash Hurricanrana but only got a two count. Endo quickly turned the tables and hit the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb yet his Shooting Star Press was blocked by Sasaki’s knees. Sasaki rolled Endo back into the Cross Facelock and tried to switch it into the Crossover version but it was broken up by a Cradle pin attempt. Endo eventually did the Modified One-Winged Angel but Sasaki kicked out at two. Sasaki was spent at this point and could do little else. Endo hugged him then Headbutted him before winning with the Shooting Star Press.
Sasaki was helped to the back by Yamato and Paulie when Endo told them to come back. Endo is going to take responsibility for Sasaki’s future in front of everyone. A defeated Sasaki wanted none of it and demanded a ten bell salute to mark his retirement from pro wrestling. Yamato went to ring the bell but Endo stopped him. Retirement is not taking responsibility in Endo’s eyes. He’d rather see Sasaki stick to wrestling. He wanted a serious fight with Sasaki today and he got it. So now he wants them to reach the top together as part of DAMNATION! Sasaki began to cry and asked if that means he can disregard the retirement stipulation he promised? Endo would allow it. The two shook hands and suddenly Shuji Ishikawa walked out singing “Ito” by Miyuki Nakajima. He congratulated his friends and told them how happy he is to see them make up. He then went back to singing, ignoring anyone who asked him what he was doing. Endo closed out the show with his victory speech when Ishikawa was finished. The Saitama Super Arena show was cancelled and then the Sumo Hall show was cancelled but DDT was able to get it done in Ota Ward Gymnasium. Endo thanked everyone for believing in them to put the show together. #DAMNHEARTS gathered together on the stage for one last pose. “Into The Light” played while the credits rolled and the final view we see is Endo and Sasaki walking down a hallway side by side.
In the post-show interview, Endo said he was so driven to get the match he wanted today that he wonders if he is now reborn because of it. Sasaki still thinks he should retire for losing. He and Sasaki agreed that he should at least go on a retirement tour. The “Charisma Retirement Tour” begins tomorrow and will last until the year 2080. Sasaki expects either he or the media will be dead at that point so they should all be around to witness the tour from beginning to end. Endo said there is no limit for DAMNATION’s goal to reach the top. He wants them to win all of the titles in DDT! He also brought up the idea of DDT going back to Shiroishi because he recently became a tourist ambassador for the city. Ishikawa pointed out he has now sung inside Sumo Hall, the Budokan and Ota Ward Gym. Only the Tokyo Dome remains!
Jun Akiyama made Konosuke Takeshita tap out! Stamina was Akiyama’s concern over the match so he wanted to win early. They kept battling over the German Suplex and the Exploder Suplex as well as the Lariat against the Jumping Knee. Akiyama outlasted his opponent and got a critical strike in when he pulled down a kneepad and struck with his exposed knee. Takeshita kicked out of the Exploder but seemed to be done when Akiyama did the Wrist Clutch Exploder. But rather than pin him, Akiyama instead applied the Front Neck Lock and made Takeshita tap to win. Backstage he praised Takeshita and said he has all the tools a great wrestler needs. But he is still missing experience. Akiyama knows many of the moves Takeshita uses and if there was more emotion put into them then maybe today’s result would have been different. If Takeshita can take the lead from Akiyama in a match then he will win. But for now Akiyama is still in the lead. A defeated Takeshita is now left wondering if the path he took all this time was the wrong one.
A new variation of the WR made Yuki Ueno the new DDT UNIVERSAL Champion! He used a Wrist Clutch version of the hold called the WR Unlimited to pin Chris Brookes. Ueno thanked everyone for their support and invited all of DISASTER BOX into the ring. He thanked each of them before announcing he is leaving the group! The reason he was able to win and defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Naomi Yoshimura was because of everybody in DISASTER BOX watching over him. He worked hard ever since joining the group and it paid off with his first singles title today. He thinks Yoshimura and Kazuki Hirata will be good rivals for him while all of his senpais will become a high wall for him to climb over.
DISASTER BOX posed together with Ueno for the last time. When they left, MAO entered the ring wanting the new champ’s attention. Ueno is now alone? Well MAO is alone too. Since they are not both feeling lonely they should be together! Ueno was confused and thought MAO was asking for a hug. Instead MAO hit him with a Palm Strike and explained he was asking for a UNIVERSAL Title match as soon as possible. Hisaya Imabayashi made the match official for the 8th November episode of DDT TV SHOW.
In an upset, CimaSoma defeated HarashiMarufuji with Soma Takao getting the three count on HARASHIMA! The veteran outsiders CIMA and Naomichi Marufuji cancelled each other out whenever they faced off. They both did Corner To Corner Dropkicks on each other’s partners at the same time. Takao intercepted HARASHIMA’s Somato with the Schwein, giving CIMA the opening to do the Mad Splash. Takao followed up with his own Mad Splash but Marufuji broke the pin. Takao struggled to get HARASHIMA into the Gin And Tonic and got rolled over. But he readjusted himself to stand back up with HARASHIMA still in position to take the move. Takao pulled it off and got the win because of it. CIMA was surprised by the result and admitted as such. Takao felt a little awful that CIMA thought he couldn’t win but he’ll forget about it. After all, Takao got to wrestling in his hometown, teaming with somebody he highly respects and wearing similar gear too! Takao asked CIMA to team with him again so they can go after the KO-D Tag Titles.
The contract for the DDT Extreme Title match was finally signed in the ring moments before the match took place. As soon as Shinya Aoki put pen to paper, he attacked Sanshiro Takagi and the match began. Aoki gave Takagi a Piledriver on the table before the first weapon showed up. It was Keigo Nakamura. He and Aoki worked together to fight Takagi. The second weapon was a Sound Only Current Blast Bat. Takagi pressed the button to switch the bat on and swung it at Aoki. Nakamura took the hit instead to the sound of a large explosion, knocking him out. The next weapon was Maku Donaruto. He helped Aoki until Takagi’s equalizer appeared. It was Hayato “Mach” Sakurai! He tossed over Donaruto (not in the way Donaruto wanted) and chased him away from the ring. Aoki’s next weapon was “Exposure Talk”, a video of Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine with their faces blurred talking about embarrassing stories involving Takagi. It caused great psychological damage to Takagi. However the weapon after that was another “Exposure Talk” video. This one was of an unidentified woman (possibly Aoki’s ex-wife) making innuendos about how awful Aoki’s “ground game” is. Takagi rolled Aoki over for a School Boy but Aoki kicked out so Takagi called for another “Exposure Talk” video. This time the video was of another woman revealing the dirty Instagram DMs Aoki had been sending her. The video was so shocking that Aoki became lifeless. Takagi easily pinned him with La Magistral Cradle then bowed in apology. Aoki was carried out of the ring on a stretcher while Takagi was handed his newly won title.
Takagi was approached by Imabayashi about his first title defence. Who, when and where are the questions Imabayashi wants the answers to. Takagi wants the title to shine brighter so every one of his defences will take place outside the ring and on the streets! He wants any wrestler from any company with any amount of experience to come challenge him. His title defences won’t be shown on WRESTLE UNIVERSE or ABEMA. Instead they will be held on DDT’s Youtube channels! It will be an All You Can Eat Extreme Defence Battle! Takagi went up to the stage to celebrate but was attacked by Shunma Katsumata with a chair. Katsumata made it clear he wants a title match.
Sasadango had a cunning plan for the Survival 4 Way Trios match. He needed to confuse the #DAMNHEARTS team so hidden underneath his mask was his face painted to look like Mad Paulie. He claimed the make up was made with a special elixir from the African Amazon. A match with this many wrestlers involved already became a mess when everyone gathered around Daisuke Kiso asking to be body checked all at once. Antonio Honda went through great effort not to lose his balance but still tripped and hurt his knee. He wanted to tell a Gongitsune story but El Lindaman stopped him. The time was now for Sasadango’s plan. He unmasked, showed them his Paulie facepaint and said he wanted to join them as Paulie #2! #DAMNHEARTS excitedly accepted him and they posed together. They then attacked Sasadango’s tag partner Makoto Oishi. A Sandwich Lariat from Paulie & Sasadango missed Kazuki Hirata and then a Double Lariat hit Shimatani & Lindaman instead. Hirata took advantage and pinned Shimatani to eliminated #DAMNHEARTS. The match continued with everyone attacking Hirata. He got all of them to stop and then tricked Yukio Sakaguchi to do a hop spot on his own. An Estrella chain was made around the ring and Honda stood in the centre to tell his Gongitsune joke. He poked everyone in the eyes and then pinched Sakaguchi’s nipple. Hirata snuck in and pinned Honda to eliminate his team. It was down to Eruption and DISASTER BOX. Kazusada Higuchi took out Naomi Yoshimura & Toru Owashi with a Double Lariat. When they recovered outside the ring, Saki Akai dove onto them from the top turnbuckle. Hirata went for the Miracle One Shot Cradle on Sakaguchi but it was reversed for the three count, giving Eruption the victory.
There was hardly any time for Eruption to celebrate when Hirata got on the microphone and called Sakaguchi a coward for how he won the match. Suddenly Shota got into the ring wanting to speak to Sakaguchi. He brought up comments made by Sakaguchi & Akai about Eruption defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against any trio who are motivated enough to challenge them. Shota wants himself, Hirata and Akito to get a title shot by representing the Young Communication generation! Sakaguchi doesn’t know what that is and thinks Hirata is too old to be part of something with “Young” in the name. Akai did say Eruption would take on all comers so they accept the challenge. The match will be held on the 14th November episode of DDT TV SHOW.
Looks like nerves got the best of both Danshoku Dieno and Akito. Dieno was found by Imabayashi outside the restroom backstage. Dieno looked like he was having stomach cramps but Imabayashi ignored him to bring up something more important. Dieno is still prohibited from kissing other wrestlers for safety reasons so he must wrestle the match with bamboo held in his mouth. Meanwhile Akito couldn’t sleep last night so he drank bottle after bottle of energy drinks to stay awake. The end result was Dieno and Akito both wrestling with sick stomachs. Dieno resisted using his regular attacks until Akito begged him to do them. Dieno finally removed the bamboo so they could have the vulgar match they wanted. Suddenly Akito asked for a time out due to stomach cramps. Dieno attacked him anyway and did the Danshoku Driver. The expression on his face froze and “Gurenge” from the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba began playing. Yukinori Matsui began to notice a smell in the ring while Dieno tried to sneak away. Akito attacked Dieno as the smell got worse. Dieno fought back and pulled his tights down to reveal he was wearing a diaper underneath! He gave Akito the Final Nightmare and called Matsui over to check if Akito was still conscious. Suddenly, Yuki Iino jumped onto the ring apron encouraging Akito not to give up. Akito recovered and put Dieno into the Goliath Birdeater, changing it up so he could get close enough to give Dieno the Lip Lock so Dieno would give up. Akito is satisfied to have had such a vulgar match during the Coronavirus pandemic. He is both prepared as a pro wrestler and determined as the CyberFight Vice President.
MAO’s comeback match with Shunma Katsumata resulted in the ring getting filled with toy blocks. There might also have been little bits of glass from lighttubes in there for which Katsumata apologized for. MAO used a Swan Dive Phoenix Splash to win. It’s called the Marines Tornado Splash because its was originally used by Marines Mask II. MAO had always wanted to try the move himself. He and Katsumata were in good spirits together afterward. They’re considering whether or not to team together again for the first time since their NωA days. They are still connected through the DDT Sauna Club so they are thinking if they can turn that project into a proper unit. Katsumata later MAO “Congratulations on your return!” when he found out nobody else said that sentence to him.
At the start of the show, Yuki Iino gave a brief update on his hip injury. He was safely discharged from the hospital and is currently rehabilitating with the goal of returning in February next year. He performed the Haka to kick off the show.
There were two pre-show matches. One of them saw Hiroshi Yamato & Hoshitango defeat Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya.
The other saw Hideki Okatani beat Keigo Nakamura in the battle of the rookies. Can you tell I’m getting tired?
The D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 field was announced after intermission. The A Block consists of Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA, Daisuke Sasaki, Yukio Sakaguchi, Akito, MAO and Chris Brookes. Block B features Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi, Soma Takao, Makoto Oishi, Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata and Jun Akiyama. According to Akiyama he is looking forward to wrestling more of the DDT roster after focusing so much of his time on Takeshita.
DDT’s first major show of 2021 on 14th February. “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” will take place in Culttz Kawasaki.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”, 03/11/2020 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
0. Under Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani
0. Under Match: Hiroshi Yamato & Hoshitango Vs Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya
1. MAO Return Battle: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito
3. 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda
4. DDT Extreme Title – Yanekabe Presents Weapon Rumble: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
5. Special Tag Match – HarashiMarafuji Vs CimaSoma: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji Vs CIMA & Soma Takao
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
7. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita
8. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these things. A year ago in fact! Skipped over writing a preview for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” because everything was put together in too short of an amount of time but I can’t complain about a lack of build for this one. As no doubt many of you have seen, most of the pro wrestling industry worldwide has been chugging through the Coronavirus pandemic, good idea or not. For DDT they ran empty arena shows until fans were allowed back in. The block of wrestling companies owned by CyberAgent that DDT is a part of all merged their management together to form CyberFight in order to survive. Some big plans for this show went up in smoke. “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” was originally meant to be in Sumo Hall, now it is happening in Ota Ward Gymnasium because Ryogoku became unavailable. Also Kenny Omega was supposed to be here but travel restrictions nixed that idea. DDT adapted to the problems, came up with a card they want to reach across the world and show that they aren’t just a storm in a teacup.
0. Under Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani
It’s been fun watching these two rookies flourish throughout 2020. Keigo Nakamura has become this lovable little gremlin who can adapt into whatever scenario DDT throws at him. When they need a flexible punching bag, Nakamura is there to take those lumps. I can only imagine what his imagination will be like when he has some more years on him and gets the chance to put something together by himself. It’s not all antics either. He seriously wants to win matches and isn’t happy to see the younger Hideki Okatani quickly overtake him. Okatani has been more straightforward in his first year as a wrestler. He wasted no time standing up to Jun Akiyama for a few DDT TV SHOW bouts. It led to him being the fourth man for Junretsu and getting a bigger spotlight than his “senpai” Nakamura. But these two are still fresh rookies so they get the curtain jerking spot on the pre-show.
0. Under Match: Hiroshi Yamato & Hoshitango Vs Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya
This is Hoshitango’s first match in DDT this year. As far as I know he’s done nothing but be JR level horny on Twitter during his time away from the ring. If he’s been on other wrestling shows I can’t find them. Hiroshi Yamato made several DDT appearances doing not much of note until recently. He willingly got into the DAMNATION drama and came out of it slightly changed. He hasn’t been singing during his entrances and his eyes have gone black. After years of being stuck in the mud, Mizuki Watase is starting to progress again as part of Junretsu. He needed that kick up the bum and to be honest it isn’t enough if he wants to stop treading water. Yukio Naya is in a similar position of underachieving. He’s been accused of not performing like a man his size should. To be fair he must have a ton of pressure on his shoulders coming from such a well regarded sumo family. His grandfather is a legendary yokozuna and his three younger brothers have all joined sumo stables in the last two years. At least he has his hobbies.
1. MAO Return Battle: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata
MAO is back from injury and he wants to break Shunma Katsumata. It’s a good sign that the world can go back to normal. A left MCL injury in June has kept MAO out of action so he was reduced to just hanging out at shows when he could. He’s still the same guy he always was. Katsumata however is no longer the sweet little boy we all knew. He was always into deathmatches but he jumped in hard this year. When he’s not wrestling Super Hardcore on Lego in DDT, he is earning his blood soaked stripes in Big Japan also with Lego. It is quickly reaching the point where I wonder if Katsumata is better off in Big Japan than DDT? There isn’t any stipulation added to the match but if MAO and Katsumata wanted to bring weapons in I’m sure nobody will want to stop them.
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Akito
One of the biggest beneficiaries from the creation of CyberFight is Akito. Ever since he became a Vice President for the company, his success in the ring has soared. The key to his newfound momentum is the Goliath Birdeater, a disgusting looking submission hold that was originally used by Taku Iwasa in Toryumon (“It’s a Spider Thread, It’s a Spider Thread, It’s a Spider Thread, It’s a Spider Threeeeeaaaaad”). It tangles up all of the victim’s limbs just like a spider the move is named after would do. Outside the ring, Akito is taking his new role very seriously and it has made look at things with a more critical eye. He singled out Danshou Dieno in particular, asking him if his work over the summer was up to par. For you see, Akito has always wanted to wrestle Dieno in his prime. He thinks they are both one of a kind in DDT and mixing together can create something special. A match like that should happen in a big venue like Ota Ward Gymnasium. Dieno agrees and wants to prove his best days are not behind him. There’s still a lot of ideas in that creative mind of his. Who could be better than Akito to help bring them to life?
3. 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda
As things stand now the entire tag team division belongs to Eruption. The trio have been a force to be reckoned with and were highly featured on DDT cards throughout the year. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi recently won the KO-D Tag Team Titles and with Saki Akai they also hold the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. So far they are living up to their goal of creating their own path in DDT. Higuchi & Sakaguchi have been regular threats to championships. Akai meanwhile completed the Okabariyasu series where she fought the likes of Rina Yamashita, Miranda Gordy, Syuri, Saori Anou and Meiko Satomura. There are no challengers for either tag titles at the moment so Eruption are in a non-title 4 Way with a bunch of DDT regulars. One team is DISASTER BOX with former tag champion Naomi Yoshimura having his final match before taking an extended break to recover from his cervical injuries. Toru Owashi is still in his gatekeeper position while Kazuki Hirata recently reminded Sakaguchi not to take him or the Miracle One Shot Cradle lightly. #DAMNHEARTS are represented by Mad Paulie, El Lindaman & Nobuhiro Shimatani. I bet Lindaman doesn’t want to be reminded of losing the trios titles to Akai after all of that big talk he gave to her beforehand. The last team rounding out the field is Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda. Sasadango has been busy producing the Hiragana Muscle revival that was meant to be the first pro wrestling musical (until Chris Jericho & MJF beat him to the punch). Oishi has been refreshed by becoming the leader of Junretsu. Honda is still Honda and er… let’s leave it at that.
4. DDT Extreme Title – Yanekabe Presents Weapon Rumble: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
It has been nigh on impossible for wrestlers to take the DDT Extreme Title from Shinya Aoki. The championship that is defended under many different rules has been over Aoki’s shoulder since March and no amount of DDT foolishness has slowed him down. He’s defended the belt in a Blindfold Hidden Bra Death Match held in the centre of an empty Saitama Super Arena. He’s defended it in a Falls Count Anywhere match to celebrate the end of Japan’s lockdown. He even defended the belt against Maku Donaruto. Nothing seems to stop the MMA veteran. Only one man is left to stop him and he has just the plan needed to succeed. It’s Sanshiro Takagi and the Weapon Rumble! There’s one problem though, Aoki hasn’t signed the contract yet and would rather forfeit the title than do that match. Probably serves DDT right for promoting the match before getting Aoki’s signature but they might have figured out the reason why it came to this. Takagi suggests that Aoki has a phobia of signing contracts because it reminds him too much of his marriage and divorce. He had to sign a marriage certificate and he had to sign the divorce papers. Maybe those memories left him mentally scarred. Takagi does not want to become champion by default and is determined to make the match happen one way or another. If this turns out to be a negotiation tactic to drop the Weapon Rumble stipulation then Takagi will agree to it. Anything to ensure that Aoki shows up to Ota Ward to defend his title. I can’t blame Aoki for his paranoia about this. The weapons used in Weapon Rumbles are just as much for psychological pain than they are physical damage. What if his ex-wife shows up as a weapon?!? Probably not, from what I could find it sounds like they had a nasty split. One that is maybe too upsetting to make fun of by reuniting them in the ring.
Geez way to end the comedy match preview on a sad note, me.
5. Special Tag Match – HarashiMarafuji Vs CimaSoma: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji Vs CIMA & Soma Takao
This match was originally meant to take place at “WRESTLE PETER PAN” back in June. When DDT got to run shows in front of crowds again, HARASHIMA and Soma Takao were told that the match was back on. There was another risk of the match getting cancelled again when CIMA got into a traffic accident, breaking his nose, fracturing his wrist and getting a couple other minor injuries across the body. Thankfully he recovered and made it back to the ring in good shape. He also has been getting a lot of ring time with Takao, both as tag partners and as opponents. Takao used to wrestle using a tribute gimmick called BIMA when he was in a college wrestling club. CIMA wants to help Takao surpass him so he can start from B, skip C and go straight to D. Then he can be renamed DIMA! Plus they get to to this in Soma’s hometown of Ota. That kind of ambition and regular reps might make them a better oiled machine than HARASHIMA and Naomichi Marufuji. The HarashiMarufuji team have worked together a couple times this year but not as much as CimaSoma. In September there was an Elimination Tag Match where Takao eliminated Marufuji early by throwing him out of the ring. Marufuji wants to get revenge for being humiliated like that. Rustiness is the only weak point I can see with HarashiMarufuji. Experience and skill levels combined makes that team nearly unbeatable otherwise.
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
The newest championship in DDT has been tailor made for Chris Brookes. In February Brookes became the first DDT UNIVERSAL Champion, holding a belt created to boost DDT’s global presence. There was a setback over the Spring where he lost the belt in his first defence and had a hell of a time trying to reclaim it. But reclaim it he did and he’s having a much better go around this time. He got his cockiness back with this reign and it’s been rubbing some of the other wrestlers the wrong way. Like Yuki Ueno for example. After Brookes successfully defended the title against Naomi Yoshimura, he called him weak. Brookes then looked over to Ueno and called him even weaker. Ueno snapped and challenged Brookes for the title so he could shut him up. Brookes accepted and then put Ueno in the Octopus Stretch. Ueno got something back in the mind games department when he used the Praying Mantis Bomb in a match. Things went worse from there with Brookes attacking Ueno again after Nautilus lost the KO-D Tag Titles. Brookes continued to rub Ueno’s face in by presenting him with flowers at a press conference as if he was in mourning of Ueno’s title loss. He has the recent success behind him to back up his cocky attitude. The normally quiet Ueno has to step away from his safety net especially now that Yoshimura is taking time off. By all means the talent is there for Ueno to be a top name for DDT in the future. I always thought Yoshimura would be the stand out of Nautilus but the KO-D Tag Title reign (which has been my highlight of 2020 DDT by the way) was a breakthrough period for Ueno. This match has sleeper hit of the show written all over it.
7. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Usually it’s one company’s loss that becomes another company’s gain. In this case two companies losing out benefitted DDT. Jun Akiyama was supposed to spend some time in Florida back in May working as a temporary coach in the WWE Performance Center. COVID-19 prevented that trip from happening so DDT offered him the same role for their own roster. Akiyama got to spend time in the ring with guys like Mizuki Watase and Hideki Okatani, teaching them valuable lessons in King’s Road wrestling. The idea worked out so well that DDT struck a deal with All Japan to rent Akiyama’s services for the rest of this year (that is the other company losing out, nobody is expecting Akiyama to go back when his rental period ends). From the get go the plan was to put Akiyama and Konosuke Takeshita together as opponents. Akiyama was here to teach King’s Road but Takeshita was more interested in experiencing Akiyama’s personal wrestling style. In return Akiyama gets to experience the high level of DDT presented by Takeshita. Akiyama formed the unit Junretsu (intentionally referencing the pop band with the same name) to fight against Takeshita & ALL OUT. There is no grudge between the two wrestlers but the fights between them have been fierce. The result of this generational confrontation will shift the balance of the pro wrestling world. There’s no holding back here. Win or lose, Akiyama will do his part to nourish one of DDT’s best and help him grow even stronger.
8. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
Ambition is what caused this main event to exist. Ambition is what led to a betrayal and then a betrayal of that betrayal. Ambition is what created a fracture in the most powerful faction in DDT. Tetsuya Endo achieved his goal of winning the KO-D Openweight Title from Masato Tanaka back in June. In the midst of the empty arena shows he built up the momentum needed to knock Tanaka off his throne and carry the main event picture onwards. It was Endo’s savviness to form a business alliance between DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS, creating #DAMNHEARTS. Then he had an even bigger goal he wanted to accomplish. He let the world know when he won the King Of DDT tournament as the reigning KO-D Champion. Endo wanted to defend the title against Kenny Omega at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020”! Endo even began using a modified Wrist Clutch One-Winged Angel to prepare for the fateful match. Unfortunately it was unable to happen at Ota Ward so Endo was tasked to find a replacement challenger. He knew who it had to be. There are only two wrestlers left he needs to defeat. One is Omega. The other is his leader Daisuke Sasaki!
At first it looked like the match would happen smoothly. Endo is loyal to Sasaki so there was no bad blood to look out for. Then cracks began to appear when they tagged together. Double team moves would backfire but ultimately would not cause them to lose. Both would take this in somewhat good spirits (if that’s even possible for the mood Sasaki is always in) and instead banter about getting into better shape more than the other can. It all came to a head in September when Sasaki turned on Endo, banished him from DAMNATION and instructed #DAMNHEARTS to join in the beating. Except they didn’t. Instead #DAMNHEARTS took Endo’s side and held a mutiny on Sasaki, kicking him out of the group instead! It turned out that Sasaki and Endo had the same idea of turning on each other and both approached #DAMNHEARTS to join them. Given the choice, #DAMNHEARTS picked to be with Endo. The new leader declared that DAMNATION can now conform, kiss ass and get married! A furious Sasaki declared he was the only member of DAMNATION and the others were banished but he can’t stop them from using the name anyway. His lone attempts to fight his former allies looked hopeless until Hiroshi Yamato came along to help him with mixed results.
As the weeks went by Sasaki fell deep into his drinking and came up with an ultimatum. If he cannot beat Endo at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” then he will retire! He will flee Japan in shame and go find a job in another country where he can work three days a week with no early morning shifts. Now it’s difficult to tell how serious Sasaki is with going through with this plan. He has a history of throwing down championships and threatening to quit whenever he loses only to drink his misery away to forget about it. He also has a DAMNATION show celebrating his 15th Anniversary in wrestling happening on 12th November (that the DAMNATION wrestlers have since been banned from) that seems to be going ahead no matter what the result is. What also prevents a Sasaki win from being a sure fire bet is Endo’s supposed match with Omega. Will that still happen if Endo loses the title? You’ve seen what Omega is like now. He probably isn’t going to be interested in making the trip back to DDT when allowed if both Endo and the KO-D Title isn’t involved.