DDT “SHUTEN-DOJI 5TH ANNIVERSARY ~DRINKING TURNS YOUR LIFE AROUND~”, 17/04/2019 Shinjuku FACE 600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Hikaru Sato defeated Kota Umeda with a Captured Armbar (8:19).
2. Michael Nakazawa Vs DJ Nira ended in a No Contest (7:24).
3. The Final Battle Of The Last Order Of Peace! Group Drama Of Human Beings Born In Showa And Heisei! Which Is Tomorrow! ☆Saki Akai Styling Match☆: Rina Yamashita & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Saki Akai & Kazusada Higuchi when Yoshimura pinned Akai with a Cradle (9:55).
4. Ebisuko Tavern Presents Tag Gauntlet Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated Poison Sawada JULIE & Hoshihebi, Danshoku Dieno & Kappa Kozo (w/ Miyako Haru), Gorgeous Matsuno & Sanshiro Takagi, Emi Sakura & Riho, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata, Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda and Ryuichi Sekine & SAKI (w/ Sayaka Obihiro).
4a. Poison Sawada JULIE & Hoshihebi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Hoshihebi pinned Hirata with the Midnight Buenos Aires (3:04).
4b. Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda defeated Poison Sawada JULIE & Hoshihebi when Honda pinned Hoshihebi with a School Boy (2:07).
4c. Ryuichi Sekine & SAKI (w/ Sayaka Obihiro) defeated Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda when Sekine submitted Honda with the Let’s Combine (3:36).
4d. Danshoku Dieno & Kappa Kozo (w/ Miyako Haru) defeated Ryuichi Sekine & SAKI (w/ Sayaka Obihiro) when Kozo pinned Sekine with the Kappamaki (2:59).
4e. Gorgeous Matsuno & Sanshiro Takagi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kappa Kozo (w/ Miyako Haru) when Matsuno pinned Kozo with a Kappamaki Cutback (1:08).
4f. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated Gorgeous Matsuno & Sanshiro Takagi when Kei pinned Matsuno after the Five Body Dissatisfaction (1:17).
4g. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei defeated Emi Sakura & Riho when Kei pinned Sakura with a Suitcase Strike (4:32).
5. KUDO & HARASHIMA defeated MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba when KUDO pinned Toba with the Diving Double Knee Drop (13:50).
6. Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the God’s Right Knee (18:32).
For five years Shuten-dōji were a constant presence on DDT shows from opening matches at touring shows to midcard bouts in Korakuen Hall all the way up to the main event of Sumo Hall. But time has been called on the unit and the three members (plus their allies) are ready to go their separate ways. Their popularity made them win last year’s unit category in the Dramatic General Election so they were owed a show to produce by themselves. This was the perfect chance for Shuten-dōji to say goodbye and get their last calls in.
For the main event Yukio Sakaguchi and Masahiro Takanashi faced off in a singles match. Both had each other scouted late in the match with Takanashi kicking out Sakaguchi’s ankle to escape the Cobra Clutch. Sakaguchi also fought his way out of the Takatonic and caught his friend with a big kick when Takanashi went to roll him into a pin. The two pressed their foreheads together knowing the match was about to end. Sakaguchi then stepped back to the opposite corner and struck Takanashi with the God’s Right Knee for the win.
KUDO joined them in the ring after the match. He reminded everyone he will be taking a break from pro wrestling for a while but when he comes back he will have no choice but to do so with his best friends in front of the best fans. He doesn’t know when his return will happen but he wants everyone to wait for that day. Sakaguchi said he and his “brothers” have seen it all together. He admitted he was scared to do this match with Takanashi today but it ended up being fun.
For KUDO’s last match he got to team with HARASHIMA one more time against The Suicide Boyz of MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba. HARASHIMA marked the occasion by wearing a HERO! mask to the ring. KUDO got the victory when he hit Toba with a Buzzsaw Kick and pinned him with the Diving Double Knee Drop. The four posed for a photograph afterwards and KUDO left the ring to large cheers from the fans.
The Brahman Brothers were the winners of the tag gauntlet but they refused to accept the prize of a year’s worth of meals from Ebisuko Tavern. Instead Gorgeous Matsuno, who helped them beat Emi Sakura & Riho at the end of the gauntlet, accepted the prize on their behalf. He also said he will continue to team with them in the future and together they want to win a trios championship again!
Before the gauntlet began, Poison Sawada JULIE transformed several wrestlers backstage into his snake servants so they could do a group dance for his team’s entrance.
The Heisei and Showa generations of the fashion world went to war and in this atmosphere Saki Akai showed a violent side to her never seen before. Akai attacked Rina Yamashita with a bamboo sword then tried to smother Naomi Yoshimura by pressing a plastic bag into his mouth! Kazusada Higuchi was also vile because he grabbed Yamashita’s Pikachu rucksack and pulled its tail off! It was only because of a misfired attack by Higuchi that Yoshimura was able to cradle Akai into a pin to sneak away with a victory. The pin was fatal because Akai was left motionless afterwards. Higuchi was so upset that he sang a song called “The Road” while images representing the Showa era were displayed on the video screen. Miraculously, Akai regained consciousness and everyone joined in with the song. On a more serious note, Akai thanked Shuten-dōji in her backstage interview for becoming her older brothers in the wrestling world. They taught her how to enjoy wrestling inside the ring as well as how to celebrate with drinks afterwards.
There were two unannounced matches added to the show. One was the surprise appearance of Michael Nakazawa from AEW against DJ Nira in a match where anything goes. The stipulation turned out to be a poor idea because whenever it looked liked somebody would win MAO, Nobuhiro Shimatani and even Hisaya Imabayashi would enter the ring and break the pin so the match would continue. They enjoyed the match up between Nakazawa and Nira so much that they wanted them to fight forever! Even when Nakazawa or Nira wanted to give up the others prevented the referees from stopping the match. Mayhem broke out between the wrestlers, Imabayashi, Daisuke Kiso and Yukinori Matsui until all of them had fallen from each others attacks. With no end in sight and everybody out of action the room lights shut off so the show could finally move on.
The other surprise match was former Shuten-dōji member Kota Umeda taking on Hikaru Sato! The match had plenty of stiff kicks but Sato’s submission expertise was the difference maker.
The show began with Shuten-dōji coming out but they didn’t look like themselves. It was actually Chinsuke Nakamura dressed as KUDO, Gota Ihashi dressed as Sakaguchi (including body tattoos) and Shota dressed as Takanashi! The real Shuten-dōji interrupted the parody speech and chased off the imitators.
The closing moments of the show had all of the wrestlers gathering in the ring to share a toast for Shuten-dōji. They then left leaving just KUDO, Sakaguchi and Takanashi alone in the ring for one more toast by themselves. They then placed their cups down on the ring mat along with the bottle of sake and went their separate ways.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “A・RA・SHI 2019”, 14/04/2019 Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR 117 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Choun-Shiryu with the Ninja Choke (10:10).
2. Ganbare☆Joshi Asukayama Decisive Battle: “Reiwa”-ko defeated HARUKAZE with a Diving Foot Stomp (7:17).
3. Producer Vs Producer! A Blow to The Soul!: Keisuke Ishii defeated Yumehito Imanari with the Double Arm Neck Lock (13:17).
4. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs HEAT-UP All Out 4 Vs 4 Elimination Match: TAMURA, Hiroshi Watanabe, Daisuke Kanehira & Keito Murota defeated Ken Ohka, Shota, Kouki Iwasaki & Shuhei Washida (19:51).
4a. TAMURA eliminated Ken Ohka by Ring Out (2:55).
4b. Shota and Hiroshi Watanabe are both eliminated by Double Pinfall (10:25).
4c. Kouki Iwasaki eliminated Keito Murota with a Crab Hold (14:35).
4d. Daisuke Kanehira eliminated Shuhei Washida with the Strike Of The Knee (16:07).
4e. Kouki Iwasaki eliminated TAMURA by Ring Out (17:37).
4f. Daisuke Kanehira eliminated Kouki Iwasaki by Ring Out (19:51).
Today HEAT-UP was victorious over Ganbare☆Wrestling! The main event was an 8-Man Elimination Tag Match between the two promotions. Ganpro suffered a major blow early on when Ken Ohka was pushed off the top rope by TAMURA, eliminating him three minutes in. Hirohsi Watanabe pinned Shota with a Leg Roll Clutch but Shota was able to clasp onto Watanabe’s arms and pin his shoulders down in the process, resulting in a double pinfall. Kouki Iwasaki got rid of Keito Murota with a Crab Hold and Daisuke Kanehira pinned Shuhei Washida with a Knee Strike minutes later. It was all up to Iwasaki but even thought he got to eliminate TAMURA, Kanehira sent him packing to win the match for HEAT-UP.
As the promotion’s champion, Kanehira was going to announce the next show to take place in Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR but Ohka interrupted him. TAMURA tried to calm Ohka down by telling him it’s time for the next generation led by Kanehira and Iwasaki to take over. TAMURA suggested that he and Ohka should retire right away but Ohka stopped him. HEAT-UP were given the chance to give the show closing speech but it devolved into another brawl between the two sides. Kanehira got the last words in and said BASEMENT MON☆STAR is heating up!
Since Keisuke Ishii and Yumehito Imanari are both hosting their own shows later today they faced off here. Ishii won with the Tiger Suplex and then the Double Arm Neck Lock.
Ohka announced early in the show that Moeka Haruhi was unable to appear today. Haruhi was standing beside him when he said this. She was “replaced” by the debuting “Reiwa”-ko. Haruhi was made to wrestle in different novelty masks that were bought from Don Quijote as the match went on.
Choun-Shiryu was given permission to use his weapons during his match with Shuichiro Katsumura. In return Katsumura put on heavy MMA gloves and they absorbed the impact from Shiryu’s Double Stomp. Katsumura gave him a Fisherman Buster then made him submit to the Ninja Choke.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “WE WILL ROCK YOU 2019”, 23/03/2019 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall 168 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Takeshi Okada & Mitsuo Momota defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Chikara & Shuhei Washida when Ishii submitted Washida with a Double Arm Neck Lock (8:02).
2. Heisei Last GanJo Special Tag Match: “Showa”-ko (Bambi) & “Heisei”-ko (Cherry) defeated Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE when “Showa”-ko pinned HARUKAZE with the Omata (11:48).
3. Tiger Vs Dragon: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota defeated Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura when Shota submitted Shimomura with the Sharpshooter (9:59).
4. The Challenge Of Cameraman Imanari: Yumehito Imanari Vs Minoru Fujita ended in a Double Knockout (18:08).
5. Union Pro Wrestling Memoirs! Daihyo Vs Daihyo, Single Match Of Fate ~ No DQ Match: Isami Kodaka defeated Ken Ohka with the Isamuashi Zan (15:14).
The first singles match between Ken Ohka and Isami Kodaka in many, many years (only one I could find happened in 2007) was a bloody one. It was revealed at the start of the show that the match was now No Disqualifications. Ohka’s head got bloodied when Kodaka threw him into the ring post outside. Kodaka then caused more damage by focusing on the head wound. Ohka returned the favour and busted Kodaka open before hitting him with the Spear Of Fire. Ohka hit a Superplex but Kodaka fired back with a Top Rope Frankensteiner. Kodaka then used a Wrist Clutch to get behind Ohka and hit him with a Knee Strike to the back of the head. That left Ohka as a sitting duck for the Isamuashi Zan.
After the match Kodaka joked that Ohka needs just a little bit more wrestling practice. He also brought up that the first thing he noticed when he showed up in Ganbare☆Wrestling was the enthusiastic atmosphere in the room because of the Ganpro fans. They shook hands and Kodaka declared that Sento Minzoku will withdraw from Ganpro. The feud is over. Kodaka then saw Cherry standing in the corner of the room and said he wanted Naomi Susan to be at the show today too. Kodaka finished his promo by saying even though he lost to Ryota Nakatsu in BASARA, he won’t give up and will climb back up to the top of the independents one more time! Finally, Ohka should call him if he has any problems. Ohka invited him for a drink but Kodaka turned him down because he has a match in K-DOJO tomorrow to prepare for. When Sento Minzoku left, Ohka praised Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota for winning their match against Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura earlier. Ganpro may have ultimately lost the feud but the group will continue to wrestle otherwise there will be no growth for them.
There was one other notable result in the Ganpro Vs Sento Minzoku feud. Yumehito Imanari wasn’t able to beat Minoru Fujita but he didn’t lose either. After a hard fought battle, a strike exchange left both wrestlers down on the mat. Imanari didn’t have enough strength to get back up so instead he used all of his remaining energy to clasp onto Fujita’s leg and keep him from getting up too, resulting in both men getting counted out and the match ending in a Double Knockout. Fujita was confused but he accepted the result because he had no strength left to stand without any support.
Bambi returned to Ganpro in the guise of her old gimmick “Showa”-ko. She wore a mask and a school gym outfit. Cherry joined in by becoming “Heisei”-ko. She wore a sailor uniform and had her face painted to look like heavy ganguro makeup. It looks veeeeery dodgy without context so let’s just leave it at that.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IF…2019”, 26/01/2019 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall 190 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuhei Washida 1st Anniversary, Show It! The Meaning Of Growing Out!: Hiroshi Yamato & Mitomi Masayuki defeated Takashi Okada & Shuhei Washida when Masayuki submitted Washida with a Cobra Twist (11:31).
2. Iwasaki, Learn From The Master Of The Momota Family: Mitsuo Momota, Chikara & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Ken Ohka, Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Naoshi Sano when Chikara pinned Sano with the Sabre Chop (12:53).
3. Bathe In The End Of Mr. Wrestling! Women’s Obsession!: Minoru Fujita defeated Moeka Haruhi with a Spear (14:26).
4. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku In Itabashi ~ Texas Tornado Singapore Cane 6-Man Tag Match: Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura defeated Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Baliyan Akki when Shimomura pinned Akki with the Swanton Bomb (15:25).
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) defeated Shota with the Ninja Choke (31:01). *V1 for Shuichiro Katsumura.
Shuichiro Katsumura and Shota went through a 30 minute war over the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title. Both wrestlers were careful in their approach to the match since neither wanted to make a mistake and open themselves up to counter attacks. Katsumura would target Shota’s left arm and it paid off when the damage prevented Shota from climbing the turnbuckles. Shota was almost beaten after he took a Benadryller but he was able to use a rope break to avoid being pinned. Shota tried to strike back at the champion but Katsumura was able to slip behind him and apply the Ninja Choke to sxore his first successful defence.
Katsumura commiserated Shota after the match then called on the Ganbare☆Wrestling roster to come out. He said he was going to be the one to pull up Ganpro in 2019 and today proved it. He won in the main event for the second show in a row while the rest lost their matches to Sento Minzoku. He asked Ken Ohka if he was ashamed about this. Ohka said it’s only January and Ganpro just starting the year off a little behind. Katsumura told Ohka he will be even more embarrassed because as of today Katsumura is joining Ganpro full time! He sent a warning out to Sento Minzoku. Watch out because Ganpro now has Shuichiro Katsumura on their side!
The trio of Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura defeated Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Baliyan Akki in a Texas Tornado Singapore Cane 6-Man Tag Match. Kodaka called out to Ohka after the match wanting to know if he was hiding from him. Ohka got in the ring to face Kodaka until Ishii stepped in. Ishii asked for a match with Kodaka but Kodaka asked him to challenge Minoru Fujita instead due to Fujita’s history with Ganpro. Fujita was confused by the idea at first but agreed to it. He’s beaten Ohka, he’s beaten Imanari and he’s beaten Moeka Haruhi. All that is left for him to do in Ganpro is to beat Keisuke Ishii!
Haruhi put up a good fight against Fujita despite the obvious result. She kicked out of the Tombstone Piledriver so Fujita had to pull out a Spear to beat her. Fujita said he thought this match was a stupid idea but now he understands that he just had a match against a wonderful wrestler. When he left, Haruhi said she spent a long time thinking about today’s match. Fujita’s words have encouraged her to become stronger so she can stand proudly in the centre of this ring.
DDT “DRAMATIC AKASONAE! 2019”, 13/01/2019 Osaka Hirano Community Hall
1. Toru Owashi, Keisuke Okuda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Akito, Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase
2. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid Vs Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Mad Paulie Vs Yuki Iino
4. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru)
5. Mike Bailey, MAO & Kota Umeda Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Sammy Guevara
6. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuni
7. Tomorrow Is Good! Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno
Jun Kasai is out of action with a knee injury, leading to a minor card shuffle for next weekend’s shows.
DDT “DRAMATIC ROKUMONSEN! 2019”, 14/01/2019 Osaka Hirano Community Hall
1. Kota Umda Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Soma Takao Vs Yuki Ueno
3. New Year’s Special Rumble: Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Antonio Honda Vs Yuni Vs Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru) Vs Kikutaro
4. Mike Bailey, MAO & Veda Scott Vs Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase
5. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Sammy Guevara
6. Humanity Is A Game Blooming In The Big Ring Of Naniwa! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Jason Kincaid
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
Kikutaro has been added to the Rumble.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IF…2019”, 26/01/2019 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Shota
Shuichiro Katsumura and Shota had two singles matches inside the tiny little Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic during 2018. They are tied one a piece so when Katsumura won the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title it wasn’t a difficult decision to pick his first challenger. Their rubber match takes place inside a proper ring this time.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2019”, 27/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Grudge Match Check: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs El Lindaman
2. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – Final Match: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kota Umeda
3. Special 3 Way Match: MAO Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki
The newest foreign wrestler to debut in DDT is Space Monkey! According to DDT’s write up he is a monkey born in Canada, was sent to a space centre in America for experiments, escaped back to Canada, was captured in the mountains and then sold off to numerous circuses. Monkey eventually ran away, started a pro wrestling career four years ago and somehow successfully pitched the idea to DDT to get booked by them. Monkey already has some notoriety among the Japanese wrestling fanbase. In 2017 he was nominated for Best Foreigner by the Nico Nico Pro Wrestling website.
Kikutaro will also be on the show.
BASARA “BASARA 87 ~FEAST~”, 29/01/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Fuminori Abe
Fuminori Abe thinks that he and Ryota Nakatsu are the two best wrestlers in BASARA right now so naturally they should be fighting for the Union MAX Title.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Danshoku Dieno Produce OsuMAN Dankon Debut Match: OsuMAN Dankon Vs X
2. Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
3. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
5. DDT Extreme Title – ??? Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
We haven’t seen the last of #STRONGHEARTS in DDT after all. Their home promotion OWE ordered the group to avenge their losses to DDT and not to come back until that mission has been accomplished. CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka have found their way into the KO-D Tag Team Titles match with the Moonlight Express and Shuten-dōji.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “DO IT ON YOUR OWN HANDS 2019”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall 187 Fans
1. Ganpro Kicking Force Vs Momota Parent And Child: Mitsuo Momota & Chikara defeated Kouki Iwasaki & Shuhei Washida when Chikara submitted Washida with a Crab Hold (9:14).
2. New “Spring” Ganbare☆Joshi Fight Start!: Moeka Haruhi defeated HARUKAZE with the Diving Foot Stomp (8:55).
3. Rice-ha Vs Nan-ha After A Long Struggle, Tonight! We Decide Whether We Are Nori Or Nan! Ganpro Special Single Match!: Hiroshi Yamato defeated Baliyan Akki with a Fisherman Suplex (9:43).
4. Tsuru “Ken” Fight Club Vs Rotting Combination: Ken Ohka & Nobuhiro Tsurumaki defeated Shota & Mitomi Masayuki when Tsurumaki submitted Masayuki with a Wakigatame (11:03).
5. Elegy Of Pro Wrestling A-Class War Criminals: Minoru Fujita defeated Yumehito Imanari with the Samson Clutch (13:38).
6. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Keisuke Ishii (c) with the Ninja Choke (23:43). *Keisuke Ishii fails in V7. Shuichiro Katsumura becomes the 28th Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Champion!
2019 in Ganbare☆Wrestling begins with a title change! Shuichiro Katsumura was taken to his limit by Keisuke Ishii until he countered the Double Arm DDT into the Ninja Choke for the tapout victory. Katsumura thanked Ishii for giving him another shot at the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title even thought Ishii already defended the belt against him last June. Katsumura also said that he now feels like he belongs in Ganpro. He nominated Shota as his first challenger because they are tied one a piece in singles matches. The match takes place on 26th January.
Although he lost the match, Yumehito Imanari talked about how much he idolised Minoru Fujita ever since he was a high school student. Imanari thought Fujita had a Lion Heart like Chris Jericho. Fujita shook Imanari’s hand but then gave him an Implant DDT and the Tombstone Piledriver. He doesn’t care what some fucking idiot from Ganpro thinks about him! Suddenly Moeka Haruhi entered the ring demanding a match against Fujita. Fujita accepted and tried to flirt with Haruhi. She kicked him in the face.
A bunch of wrestlers gave their new year’s resolution at the beginning of the show. Imanari wants to develop his own style of wrestling. Ishii wants to grow more as a wrestler and also help Ganpro become bigger. Kouki Iwasaki wants Ganpro to be the place to see frenetic fights. Shota wants to meet the expectations of his fans after having a bad 2018. Shuhei Washida wants to make up for the time he was away because of injury and become stronger in the process. HARUKAZE wants to have a whirlwind 2019. Haruhi was inspired by Imanari’s speech at Korakuen Hall in December and wants to show everyone the direction the company will go this year. Ken Ohka wants everybody to be themselves. Some of the roster may think they are doing this already but he wants them to really think if they are doing what they want to do in Ganpro. And of course, Ohka wants Ganpro to become a major pro wrestling league!
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “TRUE RISE 2018”, 17/12/2018 Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic 58 Fans – No Vacancy
1. The 1st Sparkle! Ganbare☆Wrestling Grand Prix Joshi Grand Prize Selection Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs Fairy Iidabashi ended in a No Contest (6:13) (Special Referee: Yumehito Imanari).
2. The 1st Sparkle! Ganbare☆Wrestling Grand Prix MVP Selection Match: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ken Ohka & Shota ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
3. 2018 Ganbare☆Wrestling Grand Prix MVP Decision Battle Royal: Shuichiro Katsumura defeated Yumehito Imanari with the Ninja Choke (7:03). Order Of Elimination: Shuhei Washida, Kouki Iwasaki, Keisuke Ishii, Ken Ohka, Shota and Yumehito Imanari.
It is the day after their Korakuen Hall return and Yumehito Imanari wanted to determine the best of Ganbare☆Wrestling with his own Grand Prix awards. Rather than leaving the MVP Award decisions to Tokyo Sports or Shukan Puroresu, he wanted the winners to be determined through matches. Mainly because he couldn’t figure out who should win by himself. The MVP Award would be given to whoever got the winning pinfall in the Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ken Ohka & Shota tag match. However the match ended in a ten minute draw. Imanari decided to give himself the award even though he wasn’t in the match. The wrestlers argued with Imanari. Even Shuichiro Katsumura and Shuhei Washida joined in demanding to be recognised. Imanari decided to hold an immediate “Battle Royale Rules Battle Royal” match. Shota assured everyone that they didn’t have to kill each other despite the implication from Imanari’s Beat Takeshi impersonation. Katsumura won the Battle Royal and was given Imanari’s suit jacket to represent the MVP award. Katsumura said that last year he acted a little rebellious against Ganpro because he wanted to be the MVP. He challenged Ishii to a Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title Match on 6th January.
Fairy Nihonbashi is still missing. She was replaced by Fairy Iidabashi who was only just a few train stops nearby. Imanari made himself the referee for the women’s match. He is still disappointed that Moeka Haruhi is staying thin but liked what he saw from Iidabashi. Haruhi complained that Imanari is always the referee for her matches. Eventually Haruhi and Iidabashi both attacked Imanari. He fought back with a Double Brainbuster but the numbers game soon overwhelmed him and the match was thrown out. Imanari then announced that the Joshi MVP goes to Yuna Manase because of her gravure body.
The Best Bout award went to Imanari Vs Shin Mokujin Ken from the Ganbare☆Climax 1st Round on 11th August. The runner-up was Ishii Vs Katsumura for the Independent Jr. Title on 17th June. Third place went to the Ganbare☆Climax Final between Imanari and Shinichiro Tominaga from 12th August. Imanari named himself the winner of the Best Referee Award. Daisuke Kiso fainted from shock at the result. There was a Best Harmonica category but it was scrapped for having no nominees. Michiko Nonaka was the Best Ring Announcer. She was a one time replacement for the regular announcer Mr. Aiba when he skipped a show to attend his favourite idol’s handshake event.
Ishii took part in a fan club interview before the show. He told everyone that he is now the fourth person to take the Sternness Dust α from Jun Akiyama.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “BAD COMMUNICATION 2018”, 16/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 769 Fans
1. Yukihiro Abe & Shuhei Washida Return To Battle: Shuichiro Katsumura, Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Takeshi Okada defeated Hiroshi Yamato, Yukihiro Abe & Shuhei Washida when Katsumura submitted Washida with a Toe Hold (7:56).
2. Bloom In The Sacred Place! GanJo No Hana!: Fairy Suidobashi & Sumire Natsu defeated Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE when Natsu pinned HARUKAZE with the Yoran (14:03).
3. Special Tag Match: Naoshi Sano & Carbell Ito defeated Chikara & Mitomi Masayuki when Sano pinned Chikara with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (10:54).
4. Hitori Shiten No Puroresu, All Or Nothing Big Battle: Jun Akiyama defeated Keisuke Ishii with the Sternness Dust α (11:39).
5. Fate Of POWER OF DREAM Showdown: Jake Lee defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Back Drop (11:18).
6. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku In Korakuen Hall!! – Texas Tornado Singapore Cane Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & Shota defeated Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura when Imanari pinned Shimomura with the Chubby Knee (10:44).
7. No Rope Barbed Wire Death Match: Minoru Fujita defeated Ken Ohka with the Modified SAYONARA (19:51).
Ganbare☆Wrestling’s return to Korakuen Hall was headlined by Ken Ohka and Minoru Fujita fighting tooth and nail in a ring surrounded with barbed wire instead of ropes. Barbed wired wasn’t enough for them as a ladder also came into play during the match. Ohka Suplexed Fujita from the top of the ladder while later on Fujita dove off the ladder onto Ohka with barbed wire wrapped around his waist. Ohka wouldn’t give up and kept fighting to get up after Fujita hit him with the Fire Spear and a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. It took a modified Tombstone Piledriver for Fujita to finally put his rival away.
Fujita told Ohka that this was the result of the last two years going back to the previous time Ganpro was in Korakuen. Fujita even ran down Ohka for drawing a smaller crowd this time! If Ohka still believes he is trying his best and working his hardest then he should be miserable from today’s result. Fujita doesn’t care if he does his best so he has no regrets. He said Sento Minzoku are done with Ganpro and will not come back. When they left the ring, Yumehito Imanari called for them to stop. Imanari promised Fujita that he has a purpose for him to stay in Ganpro. He wants to fight Fujita at Kitazawa Town Hall on 6th January! Imanari described Fujita as an “A Class War Criminal” that he should fight. Fujita accepted the challenge while Imanari was encouraging Ohka to stand back up. When Sento Minzoku did leave, Ohka and Imanari admitted that today’s show was a poorer draw than two years ago but they will learn from it. They won’t show their weak points anymore. Everyone in Ganpro will give their energy and full feelings toward the company to make it even bigger! Everyone will work hard so more fans will come see them. Imanari then told everyone his phone number and to call him if they have anything exciting to tell him.
Imanari and Shota continued to rally a crowd around him inside the Korakuen lobby after the show was over. There was a lot of video game talk like how Imanari bought Toukon Retsuden for the original Playstation and that he has to evolve like a Pokémon. Shota said that the indies have been evolving during the 2010s and strangely enough he thinks the scene now reminds him of the 1990s. Imanari then told everyone they will return pro wrestling to the golden age once more. Ganbare☆Wrestling will be their DeLorean!
Imanari & Shota have good reason to be confident. They are riding high from beating Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura in a Texas Tornado Singapore Cane Tag Match. No tags were needed and Singapore Canes were all legal. Imanari Back Body Dropped Shota over the ropes and onto Sekine to take him out of the match. He then wound up breaking a cane over his knees before hitting Shimomura with the match winning Chubby Knee Strike.
Kouki Iwasaki came close to beating Jake Lee with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster 10 minutes into their match. Lee struck back with Middle Kicks until he could get in a Back Drop for the three count. Lee would be happy to share the ring with Iwasaki again some day either as opponents or partners. Iwasaki would rather be his opponent and maybe have it happen over in All Japan.
Speaking of All Japan, the group’s head honcho Jun Akiyama was in action kneeing the crap out of Keisuke Ishii. The newly costumed Ishii had some power in his Suplexes but was struck down with Running Knee Strikes and and Exploder Suplex. Ishii was able to kick out of them but was done when Akiyama gave him the Sternness Dust α. Akiyama patted Ishii on the chest after the match. Ishii was hoping that today would be the start of Chapter 3 in his wrestling career. He adores this kind of pro wrestling so he is thankful to Akiyama for giving him this match. He is now even more motivated to grow and also study Akiyama’s style.
Chikara was given a bouquet to celebrate his fifth year in wrestling. Carbell Ito threw out Christmas candy into the audience then told Chikara he came here today to judge him. They went into a long chop exchange during the match. Chikara accidentally hit Mitomi Masayuki with the Saber Chop and Ito dove onto Masayuki afterwards. He then hit a Diving Body Press to Chikara. Naoshi Sano took over the match and pinned Chikara with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Ito stomped on Chikara when the match was over.
It was announced that Fairy Nihonbashi had gone missing and had to be replaced. Taking her spot was Fairy Suidobashi, the same person but wearing a Yomiuri Giants jersey and announced as the “Fairy Of The Tokyo Dome“. She carried a mini baseball bat and used it as a wand to cast spells on Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE and even the referee. The late part of the match focused on HARUKAZE and Sumire Natsu squaring off against each other. Natsu countered an Armbar into a Power Bomb and pinned HARUKAZE with the Yoran DDT.
The in ring return for Shuhei Washida ended in defeat. Shuichiro Katsumura trapped him in a Toe Hold while Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Takeshi Okada held Hiroshi Yamato & Yukihiro Abe back from breaking the hold.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN YOKOHAMA”, 14/12/2018 Yokohama Radiant Hall 187 Fans
1. 3 Way Tag Match: KUDO & Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Akito & Yuki Iino when KUDO pinned Hirata with a Backspin Kick (7:51).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Makoto Oishi when Endo pinned Watase with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (8:10).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: HARASHIMA (6) defeated Puma King (4) with the Somato (9:37).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (6) defeated Soma Takao (2) with the Fable (14:21). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Masahiro Takanashi (4) defeated Shinya Aoki (6) with a School Boy (1:01).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Go Shiozaki (8) defeated MAO (4) with the Strong Arm Lariat (15:04).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Mike Bailey (6) defeated Sammy Guevara (6) with the Flamingo Driver (19:57).
A Block
1. Go Shiozaki (8)
2. Kazusada Higuchi (6)
-. HARASHIMA (6)
4. Akito (4)
-. MAO (4)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (4)
-. Puma King (4)
The penultimate show in the D-Ou Grand Prix group stages saw the A Block get whittled down to a few while the B Block was blown wide open. The main event was a rare one for DDT as a Canadian and an American were the two headliners. Mike Bailey and Sammy Guevara wouldn’t stop swearing at each other until Yukinori Matsui yelled “Important Match!” at them. They went all out from there with Moonsaults, Canadian Destroyers and Shooting Stars aplenty. Speedball ended up on top thanks to the Flamingo Driver. Bailey told Guevara after the match that he has the worst attitude, but he also has the best heart. MAO ended the show by telling Bailey to do his best in the final days of the Grand Prix.
Sadly for MAO he won’t be able to join Bailey in the chase for the final. Go Shiozaki eliminated MAO from contention. Shiozaki admitted he didn’t expect to be overwhelmed by MAO’s pace. But that’s the beauty of pro wrestling, to have two styles like theirs mesh.
In the most bizarre match of the tournament Masahiro Takanashi pulled every out of the box trick he could think of to beat Shinya Aoki in just over a minute! First, three fake Takanashis entered the ring. They were Baliyan Akki, Yumehito Imanari and Shota in disguise. Aoki beat them up until the real Takanashi appeared dressed as a referee and took Daisuke Kiso’s place. Aoki didn’t know what had happened and dropped his guard when Takanashi gave him a referee order. That allowed Takanashi to give him an Inside Cradle but Aoki countered it into an Armbar. The fake Takanashis jumped on the ring apron to distract Aoki while the real Takanashi placed a mannequin arm into his shirt. Aoki fell for the trap and grabbed the fake arm, pulling it out completely. He was then pinned with a School Boy. Takanashi is pleased that he has ended his tournament run with two victories. That’s one more than he got in the previous Grand Prix.
Konosuke Takeshita finds himself still in the running thanks to his win over Soma Takao in a first time singles match between the two. The occasion was special enough to make Takao drop his lies about being undefeated throughout the group stage. Although he was still bitter enough to claim he kicked out of the Fable at two.
It’s close but HARASHIMA is still alive in A Block. He doesn’t know the details of how he needs to qualify other than winning his final match tomorrow. Puma King did well against him but he fell to the Somato like so many others have in the past. He still leaves the tournament with his head held high by showing everyone he can handle many styles from Japan, America and Mexico.
After a brief absence since regaining his memory, Danshoku Dieno appeared after Match #2 to confront Daisuke Sasaki. A shocked Sasaki asked Dieno how he escaped from the casket he locked him in at Sumo Hall. Dieno explained the casket had an escape hatch underneath which he used just before he lost his memory. When Dieno got his memory back he went looking for footage of their KO-D Openweight Title bout. After watching it over and over he came to the conclusion that Sasaki is to blame for making Dieno get naked during the match! Dieno wants revenge and also a chance to regain the KO-D title but he is in no physical state to do it for now. So instead he found someone who will give Sasaki the beating he deserves. Out came Naomi Yoshimura returning from his overseas excursion from Hell! Sasaki said he had already decided on his next challenger. He was then distracted by the chain Yoshimura was wearing. Sasaki asked if it was made out of plastic. Next thing you know, Yoshimura decks Sasaki with a Short Arm Lariat! Sasaki was too unconscious to answer the challenge so Yoshimura told everyone he will wait for an answer at tomorrow’s show in Nagoya.
Posted by JamieOD 
