DDT/ONLY WE “MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA”, 17/04/2022 Chiba 2AW Square 116 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Soma Takao defeated Yuya Koroku with the Official Endless Waltz (8:41).
2. Pheromones Vs The Iyasareru!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda ended in a No Contest (11:33).
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani defeated Hiroshi Yamato, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Higuchi pinned Ishida with the Brain Claw Slam (9:20).
4. Yukio Naya & KANON defeated Akito & Shunma Katsumata when Naya pinned Katsumata with the Back Drop (13:20).
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toui Kojima when Okada pinned Kojima with the Sudden Death (20:29).
6. DDT x ONLY WE Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Quiet Storm defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin when Storm pinned Raijin with the 50cm Arm Lariat (14:13).
Man, DDT helps out ONLY WE by co-promoting a few shows with them and they end up in the middle of a faction war! HARASHIMA sided with ONLY WE in the main event while Daisuke Sasaki teamed with their rivals from PERON GRANDES. The matchup led to Sasaki facing off with Yuji Hino with their past in DAMNATION together still fresh on their minds. Meanwhile Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin fought dirty whenever they could with plenty of ringside brawling and chair attacks. In the end however Quiet Storm fought from behind and with the help of his teammates, pinned Raijin with the 50cm Arm Lariat.
After the match Sasaki & Okamoto attacked ONLY WE with chairs until Yukio Naya ran into the ring for the rescue. Storm challenged Okamoto to a No DQ 6-Man Tag Match between ONLY WE and PERON GRANDES on 5th June when DDT and ONLY WE hold their next show in Chiba together. It will be Hino, Storm & Naya against Okamoto, Raijin and third member of their unit.
Tetsuya Endo and Yuki Ueno were stuck fighting outside the ring while their trios match reached its conclusion. Yusuke Okada picked up the win for his team and declared that BURNING will be holding both the KO-D Openweight Title and KO-D Tag Team Titles at the end of the Yokohama Budokan show on 1st May. On The 37KAMIINA side, everyone was frustrated with the loss as they move onto life without Konosuke Takeshita. According to Ueno, Takeshita left Japan this afternoon.
KANON is quickly learning that wrestling in DDT is not always a walk in the park (not literally in this case but there’s plenty of time for that yet). Despite his size advantage he had his struggles wrestling against Akito & Shunma Katsumata even though he ended up being on the winning team with Naya. What KANON learned coming out of the match is to become more ambitious otherwise he won’t rise above everyone else in DDT anytime soon.
A fired up Hideki Okatani tried picking a fight with Naomi Yoshimura but ended up having Yuki Ishida wanting a go at himself instead. Okatani even got Hiroshi Yamato mad by making fun of the seaweed he likes to sell at his merch stand. Good thing he had the rest of Eruption there to watch his back.
Everyone was given a scary warning when Danshoku Dieno said that Yuki Iino was not wearing anything underneath his wrestling gear today. The Iyasareru came up with a smart idea to tape his straps to his shoulders to prevent him from pulling them down. Unfortunately Iino eventually found the power to free himself from the tape and his costume. That led to Pheromones taking the match out of control, Hisaya Imabayashi calling it off and getting publicly executed for his troubles.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 16/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE 0 Fans
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final – Shizuoka Fumotoppara: Chris Brookes defeated Hikaru Machida with the Octopus Stretch on top of a tree (22:24).
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final – Kanagawa Ofuronokuni: Abdullah Kobayashi defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Diving Bakachinga Elbow into the bubble bath (22:07).
The King Of Street Wrestling semi finals began with a match in a Shizuoka camping site. With the glorious sight of Mt. Fuji in the background, Chris Brookes and Hikaru Machida had the entire field for themselves to fight in. It started off as a kickboxing match with Brookes also wearing gloves. Machida kept knocking him down easily so Brookes gave up the act and kicked him below the belt. Machida had Thanomsak Toba coaching him and also helping out at one point. They both put Brookes on a trolley and rolled him down a hill. Brookes returned attacking Machida with a garbage can, chairs and fireworks. Machida fought back by using the Iai Punch to smash a chair into Brookes. He chased him over to a nearby tent where Brookes caught him with a surprise attack. Brookes hit a Michinoku Driver onto a pile of chairs but Machida then Iai Punched Brookes onto a pile of plastic boxes. Brookes climbed up a tree trying and dared Machida to follow him. Machida had difficulty because of his gloves so he took them off and began climbing. That turned out to be a genius plan from Brookes because once they were both up there, he got the upper hand and applied the Octopus Hold. Machida had nowhere to go and couldn’t escape so he gave up.
The other semi final had Shunma Katsumata with the home field advantage against Abdullah Kobayashi. The two met each other outside the Kanagawa Ofuronokuni both dressed for the sauna experience. They fought their way into the building (with the referee guiding them in the right direction). They took brief breaks in between the action to relax and enjoy their surroundings. They almost took things too far by looking for excuses to enter the women’s bath area so instead they went into the sauna area. There they met the resident heat master Katsumata Inoue who made the room even hotter for them. Kobayashi couldn’t take it and removed his wrestling gear to reveal he was wearing a fundoshi underneath! Katsumata did the same but he was wearing the O-Back from his recent Ladder match against Yuki Iino. The match had to continue and the two of them succeeded in breaking into the women’s bath area. It was empty so they had free reign to fight wherever they wanted. Katsumata did a Missile Dropkick into a bath. He then climbed a ladder and jumped off for a literal Splash into Kobayashi. However Kobayashi took control of the match and hit the Bakachinga Elbow into the bath. Katsumata couldn’t recover and was pinned for the three count. He got his own back in the end though by stripping Kobayashi of his fundoshi.
The final between Chris Brookes and Abdullah Kobayashi will be held at a Sengoku battle site in Kawanakajima, Nagano. The match will be shown on 23rd April.
BASARA “BASARA 188 ~GLITTER~”, 12/04/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Takumi Tsukamoto, Lil’ Kraken & Yasu Urano Vs FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato
2. Jacket Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Gouma
3. Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita
4. SAGAT VS Shigehiro Irie
5. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga (c) Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
There will be a merch table set up with all proceeds going to Yusuke Kubo while he is still recovering from his illness.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 16/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final – Shizuoka Fumotoppara: Chris Brookes Vs Hikaru Machida
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final – Kanagawa Ofuronokuni: Abdullah Kobayashi Vs Shunma Katsumata
The next round of the King Of Street Wrestling tournament will take place in a campground and a bath house respectively. Chris Brookes Vs Hikaru Machida will be in Shizuoka. Abdullah Kobayashi Vs Shunma Katsumata will be in Kanagawa.
DDT “DDT FREE -APRIL-”, 22/04/2022 Shinjuku FACE
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao Vs Yuki Ishida
1. KANON Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Tag Match: Shishamo Power & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
4. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi
5. DAMNATION T.A Vs Eruption!: Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
6. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Asuka & Yuji Hino
7. Road To MEGA MAX BUMP 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
BURNING has a two pronged attack going into this show. Tetsuya Endo is confident he will defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Yuki Ueno next month but Ueno thinks it is a guarantee that he will beat Endo instead. Jun Akiyama will be challenging CDK for the KO-D Tag Team Titles soon and made it known he dislikes their cheating ways, like when they get the referee physically involved in their matches.
MAO gets another tag match against Asuka & Yuji Hino. This time he has Shunma Katsumata teaming with him.
GANBARE☆PRO “POCCHARI JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 3 ~WAIST SIDE STORY~”, 26/04/2022 Saitama Wrestle Butokan
1. Special Poccha Libre Match ~Fighting Illustrator Vs American Drag Queen From The Philippines~: Yappy Vs Beauty Suzuki (w/ 643 Mangaritsutsua)
Yappy’s first match in Pocchari Joshi is against a regular from the brand, Beauty Suzuki. Joining Suzuki is a drag queen named 643 (Musashi) Mangaritsutsua.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan
0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuno
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
8. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
A new member will be joining DAMNATION T.A and it may be somebody from another unit. Daisuke Sasaki is teasing that there is a traitor in the DDT locker room who will be joining his side pretty soon. He won’t give any hints unless he gets goes out and gets drunk with a reporter that will pay his tab.
The brief period of success for Toui Kojima has worn off and he is back to his losing ways. He won a match after fighting Shinya Aoki and thinks doing it again will bring him back to winning ways.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND 2022 ~SPREAD THE WINGS OF YOUR DREAMS~”, 03/05/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Hyper Misao
Now it is Kyoraku Kyomei who are fighting over the Princess Of Princess Title. The challenge was made by Hyper Misao in order to become stronger. She needs to fight the toughest opponent and that right now is Shoko Nakajima. The two are still friends but Misao quickly launched the first shot, giving Nakajima a Stunner to warn her to keep her guard up at all times!
The Magical Sugar Rabbits are not taking Free WiFi seriously. They kept making connectivity jokes instead of accepting their opponents’ challenge.
Tokyo Joshi Pro has confirmed that Reika Saiki’s retirement ceremony will be held during the show.
GANBARE☆PRO “LOVE PHANTOM 2022”, 03/05/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Punch Drunker Vs Nobleman Of The Spirit World: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Onryo
2. Nippon Ganbare Union Vs VENYU Full-Scale Battle: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Asuka
3. Ganpro Special Single Match ~A Better Tomorrow~: Ken Ohka Vs Muscle Sakai
4. Shinjiro Otani Ganpro Return Battle ~LOVE PHANTNOM 2022 Special Tag Match~: Shinjiro Otani & Mizuki Watase Vs Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari
The contract for the main event has been signed but Yumehito Imanari is looking out of his depth. Tatsuhito Takaiwa tricked him into lowering his guard so he could hit him with a Lariat during the signing. He previously beat Imanari to become the Spirit Of Ganbare Title but that was part of a tournament. Since both wrestlers will be fresh going into the match this time, Takaiwa wonders if the true champion is going to be determined.
Match #4 will not be happening. Shinjiro Otani suffered a scary injury at yesterday’s ZERO1 show in Sumo Hall when he took a German Suplex into the turnbuckles. He is still conscious but hasn’t been able to move his limbs since. There is no official diagnosis yet but Otani’s wrestling career might be over.
An old friend of Ken Ohka has come to offer him guidance. Muscle Sakai misses the days when Ganbare☆Pro was built around Ohka and wants him to headline Ganpro’s biggest show in Ota Ward Gymnasium this Summer. But Ohka is nowhere near ready for it so Sakai will wrestle him to bring that spark back and prepare him for his return to the main event.
Yuna Manase got a surprise visit from a friend too. Yuki Kamifuku is calling by Ganpro for a visit so she can catch up with her. However Kamifuku is now besties with Asuka while Manase has formed the Nippon Ganbare Union with YuuRI. If that’s not enough, one of YuuRI’s first matches in Ganpro was a disappointed effort against Asuka. This is her chance to make up for it by putting up a better fight.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 10/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE 0 Fans
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Kanagawa Big Japan Dojo: Abdullah Kobayashi defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Bakachinga Elbow (13:02).
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Kanagawa Enoshima Beach: Hikaru Machida defeated Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong by Knockout with the Iai Punch (R3 1:20).
3. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Tokyo Shibuya Kitaya Park: Shunma Katsumata defeated Suzu Suzuki with the Sauna Trance Splash through the Table (17:18).
4. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Tokyo Shin-Kiba Studio Flamme: Chris Brookes defeated Onryo by Coffin Burial (15:43).
The first King Of Street Wrestling tournament kicked off with four matches in the opening round. Sanshiro Takagi visited the Big Japan dojo for his match against Abdullah Kobayashi. Takagi went looking around for his opponent but found Kosuke Sato instead. He thought Takagi was trespassing but couldn’t stop him from entering the kitchen and looking round the place. Kobayashi finally showed up. He was out grocery shopping and forgot the match was taking place today. To make up for it, Kobayashi offered Takagi a pint glass of raw eggs. Takagi couldn’t drink it while Kobayashi gulped his glass down. He then drank Takagi’s pint for him and the two began their match. It was just as much a tour of a dojo as both wrestlers were looking for weapons. Kobayashi briefly disappeared only to return dressed as Stan Hansen! He chased Takagi outside and Takagi tried to escape on the Dramatic Dream bike. He caught up to him by the river where BJW washes their ring canvas. Kobayashi hit Takagi over the head with a chair, knocking him down onto the canvas. He gave him the Bakachinga Elbow and pinned him right there to advance to the semi-final.
The next match was on a beach where a kickboxer fought a Muay Thai fighter. The kickboxer Hikaru Machida was accompanied by Thanomsak Toba while the Muay Thai fighter Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong had Makoto Oishi cheering him on. Keatchaiyong had the early advantage by clutching onto his opponent in Round 1. Machida broke through his defence in Round 2 with a Sole Butt, causing Keatchaiyong to flee towards a nearby jungle gym. Machida used the gym to swing into Keatchaiyong with a flying kick for more damage. The knockout came in Round 3 when Machida hit Keatchaiyong with the Iai Punch into the water. It was an instant knockout.
The young generation were up next with Shunma Katsumata and Suzu Suzuki fighting each other in Shibuya. Both of them brought weapons out to the public square and weren’t shy about committing violent acts in front of the confused bystanders. They stapled flyers onto each other’s heads, smashed a box of toy blocks to pieces and threw each other into nearby chairs before breaking them over each other’s heads. A ladder was set up next to a table and Katsumata threw Suzuki onto a pile of chairs Death Valley Driver style. He then climbed the ladder and put Suzuki through the table with the Sauna Trance Splash to win the match.
The final match was held in an empty photo studio where Chris Brookes went hunting for the ghost known as Onryo. He entered the venue armed with a proton gun to defend himself with. He was in for a wild ride starting with a masked figure appearing in the balcony to get his attention only for Onryo to attack him from behind. Onryo tried to hang him with a chain but Brookes broke free and attacked him back with the same chain. The two fought up to the rafters where Brookes put Onryo in the Octopus Stretch. Onryo found a cinder block up there and he broke it over Brookes’ stomach. Back down on ground floor, Brookes used a giant fan blowing flower petals to render Onryo’s powder attack useless. Brookes tied Onryo to a wheelchair when suddenly a nearby coffin opened up and Ram Kaichow rose out of it! She gave Brookes a Tornado DDT out of the coffin and began shooting fireworks at him. She freed Onryo but that gave Brookes time to attack her. Onryo dived onto Brookes and fought to throw him into the coffin. He countered the Praying Mantis Bomb with a Back Body Drop onto wooden boards. He then pressed a nearby button and picked up a board rigged to explode! Brookes fought him off, grabbed the board and hit Onryo with the explosion instead. That was enough for Brookes to carry him into the coffin and close it for the knockout victory. Brookes was the winner but he could see through the window lid of the coffin that there was nobody in there! The coffin was empty and the lights began to flash. Brookes ran off as the ghostly figures of Onryo and Kaichow stood behind him and stared.
The King Of Street Wrestling semi-finals will be broadcast on 16th April. Abdullah Kobayashi versus Shunma Katsumata will happen at a bath house in Kanagawa. Chris Brookes versus Hikaru Machida will take place at a campground in Shizuoka.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2022”, 10/04/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 580 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Toui Kojima & El Unicorn when Koroku pinned Kojima with a Hold Down Triangle Choke (6:57).
0. Dark Match – Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata defeated Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi when Hirata pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (6:53).
1. KANON defeated Yuki Ishida with the Modified Cobra Twist (4:34).
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya when Takanashi pinned Naya after the Everclear (13:19). *V1 for CDK.
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) when Fujita pinned Dieno with the Modified Samson Clutch (10:37). *Pheromones fail in V3. DAMNATION T.A become the 45th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
4. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi defeated Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto when Akai pinned Matsumoto with the Rookie Award (7:15).
5. Special Single Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Sudden Death (8:51).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs Eruption!: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani when Ueno pinned Okatani with the BME (10:34).
7. Tetsuya Endo 10th Anniversary Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (20:16).
Here’s to ten years of Tetsuya Endo and here’s to ten years more. Some of the most important faces from his past and present gathered together for a DDT all star trios main event. Endo had Jun Akiyama and Yukio Sakaguchi on his team to take on Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda. It ended up with Endo and Honda exchanging Bionic Elbows until Endo cut him off with an Overhead Kick. Endo couldn’t put Honda away with the Torture Rack Bomb so he busted out the Burning Star Press for the victory.
Endo spoke about having his debut match a few months before Sakaguchi joined the company. He thanked HARASHIMA for supporting him since day one and said Honda was like a father raising him in Happy Motels. Takeshita was leaving ringside when Endo suddenly called out to him. He understands Takeshita going overseas is a big deal and told him not to worry because DDT will remain interesting as long as Endo is the KO-D Openweight Champion. He will prove it when he defends the title against Takeshita’s friend Yuki Ueno on 1st May. Endo also wants everyone to know that he will be the winner of course. Ueno got on the microphone and said he will beat Endo. He is confident he will have more wonderful days as KO-D Champion than Endo, Takeshita and even HARASHIMA! Takeshita told both of them that DDT in Japan is in good hands with either of them as the champion. Endo had one last thing to tell Takeshita. He still hates him. Ueno still loves him though.
Before everyone left the ring to end the show, Yusuke Okada asked Akiyama for his attention. He said he hasn’t been part of DDT long enough to know their history but he wants to do more to support the version of BURNING Endo has built. To do that Okada wants to himself and Akiyama to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles! The two of them were granted permission from Hisaya Imabayashi to make the challenge. CDK emerged at the entrance and both agreed to do the title match on 1st May. Endo encouraged his stablemates to win the belts so all eyes at the Yokohama Budokan will be on BURNING!
Ueno is building up momentum for his title shot. Today he teamed with MAO to beat Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani. MAO cheapshotted Higuchi with a Rock Punch and later got his just desserts when Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw. But the match came down to a back and forth between Ueno and Okatani. The 37KAMIINA hit Shining Wizards and Enzuigiris to the Eruption members to get the upper hand. Ueno then came out on top with the BME onto Okatani.
The 37KAMIINA heat waves from Shunma Katsumata was a challenge for Yusuke Okada to overcome when the two of them faced off. Katsumata targeted his neck which slowed Okada down, even when he was on the attack with a Diving Headbutt. However Okada’s use of a Lariat and the Tricolor DDT did big damage and he was able to win with the Sudden Death. Okada repeated after the show that Endo can’t do all the work in BURNING. Akiyama agrees and also mentioned that he hates how CDK always gets the referee physically involved in their matches. He just as much wants to beat them up for that reason than to win the tag titles.
It’s been a busy weekend of tag team adventuring for Saki Akai. Yesterday she teamed with Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro and today she teamed with Maya Yukihi in DDT. They were victorious over the team of Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto. Akai said she learned a lot about Yukihi by fighting her all the way over to Sumo Hall. She hopes to continue working with her so they can both improve each other. Yukihi was happy to wrestle with Cherry again but thought she was finally done with Matsumoto. She came in as a replacement for Bambi so Yukihi had to deal with her one more time.
Pheromones are no longer the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions which means DDT won’t have to worry about their title matches being banned from Youtube! With that said, this match still tried to cross the line as much as it could. Yuki Iino stripped down to his O-Back even as Daisuke Sasaki kept hitting him in the ass with a chair. Hisaya Imabayashi ran in ordering Pheromones to stop their usual antics and he gave Danshoku Dieno a Stunner. DAMNATION T.A then went on the attack with Sasaki and Iino brawling their way up towards the balcony while the GM chased after them. Meanwhile Dieno, Yumehito Imanari, Minoru Fujita and MJ Paul were still wrestling in the ring while this was going down. Up in the balcony, Sasaki fully stripped Iino naked and threw his O-Back over the balcony! Imabayashi jumped onto Iino to stop him from fully exposing himself to the audience. Back in the ring, Fujita caught Dieno in the Samson Clutch to score the win out of nowhere. After the match Sasaki said that a new member will join DAMNATION T.A on 1st May. He warned the roster that the person standing next to them may be a traitor so everyone should be looking forward to the reveal. However if a reporter wants to go drinking with Sasaki and pay his tab, he will give them a hint in return.
CDK couldn’t beat Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya in a fight because of the size difference, so they had to outsmart them to keep the KO-D Tag Titles. Naya put Masahiro Takanashi in the Cobra Twist when outside the ring, Chris Brookes rang the bell and tricked Naya into thinking he won. While Naya and the referee were distracted, Takanashi grabbed one of the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belts and nailed Naya in the head with it. Hino broke the pin to keep the match going but CDK then used a combined Crucifix and Jackknife Pin on Naya to get the three count and steal a title defence. Takanashi praised Brookes for his strange plan working out but knows they won’t be able to get away with it again. They’re relieved they won’t have to defend the titles against Hino & Naya again but the challengers think otherwise.
The DDT debut of KANON saw him defeat Yuki Ishida. KANON hit Soccer Ball Kicks, Backbreakers and K Spike chops. Ishida fought back with a Brainbuster and his Sumo Chop Rush. KANON recovered from that and put Ishida in the Cobra Twist to make him submit. He praised Ishida for having a strong core because of his sumo background. KANON also said he is looking forward to doing more with DDT in the future.
One of the dark matches went out of control thanks to the addition of Lucha tag rules. Kazuki Hirata ended up knocking out both Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura so he put himself in a 3-on-1 disadvantage. His solution was to give Hirata GO! glasses to all of his opponents. Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi danced with him and then attacked. However Ihashi missed a Moonsault and Hirata rolled him up with La Magistral to escape with the win.
Two young rivalries met in the very first match of the day. El Unicorn and Ilusion continue their back and forth feud. Toui Kojima hit a setback in his rivalry against Yuya Koroku. Kojima had finally beaten him by using a Triangle Choke so he went for it again today. This time though Koroku defended himself and rolled over on top of Kojima to pin him for the three count.
The result caused Kojima to come out during the show opening announcements where Shinya Aoki was already in the ring. Kojima asked him for a singles match on 1st May so Kojima can get stronger and catch up to the rest of The 37KAMIINA. Aoki accepted and wondered if Kojima wasn’t taking things seriously until now.
The full card for the Yokohama Budokan show on 1st May was revealed at the end of the show. One of the new matches is a KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles defence. Also HARASHIMA will team with Hikaru Sato to take on Higuchi & Sakaguchi from Eruption.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan
0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuno
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
8. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
DDT “KOMINATO RAILWAY TRAIN PRO WRESTLING”, 02/04/2022 Kominato Railway Goi Station 32 Passengers – 100% Occupancy Rate
1. Falls Count Anywhere Time Admission Battle Royal: Hiroshi Yamato defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Fisherman Suplex (66:30). Order Of Elimination: Toru Owashi, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Shunma Katsumata, HARASHIMA, Saki Akai, Gota Ihashi, MAO & Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda, Akito and Kazuki Hirata.
2. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima when Naya pinned Kojima with the Back Drop (15:41).
3. Yoro Valley Day 2022 Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Endo pinned Okatani with the Burning Star Press (16:39).
DDT took a trip across Chiba with the Kominato Railway as part of a day event sponsored by the Ichihara City Tourism Association. It began at Goi Station where 32 passengers got to witness a Falls Count Anywhere Rumble held inside the train as it went from town to town. When the train departed Goi, Hiroshi Yamato made his entrance and sang a song for the audience. The first stop was at Umatate Station where Toru Owashi and Shunma Katsumata climbed aboard to start the match.
Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino were the next entrants at the Kazusatsurumai Station. They did Pheromones things to their opponents while more wrestlers showed up at every stop. Owashi was the first elimination after Saki Akai pushed him out of the train at Kazusakubo Station and the train left without him. Chris Brookes and MAO were already fighting each other at Takataki Station by the time the train arrived for them.
Things got more chaotic at Satomi Station. First Kazuki Hirata entered the fray but everyone took the fight outside after it was announced there would be a 13 minute delay. When it was finally time to leave, Pheromones dragged Katsumata back out to the station so all three of them were left behind and eliminated.
The match calmed down a little bit after that. Akito entered at Itabu Station but HARASHIMA fought him off. HARASHIMA had the bright idea to run the length of the platform to set up the Somato but Akito ran into the train and it departed with HARASHIMA chasing after them. Antonio Honda went straight to the point at Tsukizaki Station and hit Akai with the Gongitsune. Everyone piled on top of her for the three count. Gota Ihashi was meant to enter the match at Kazusaokubo Station but he was seen sleeping on the ground so he missed the train.
The train arrived at its final destination in Yoro Valley Station. There was a wrestling ring set up for them to complete the match but Brookes and MAO kept fighting each other in the train. The doors closed and the two of them were ruled out of the match. The remaining wrestlers fought to the ring and finished the Battle Royal. Honda and Akito pinned each other when they both got bundled by the others. Yamato then pinned Hirata with the Fisherman Suplex to become the winner after an hour long train ride.
Two other matches were held in the ring afterwards. Yukio Naya is building his momentum with Yuji Hino by scoring another win, this time pinning Toui Kojima. It means another loss for The 37KAMIINA too.
The final match of the day had BURNING defeat Eruption. Afterwards Tetsuya Endo listed all of the unit’s members to the audience unfamiliar with DDT but got Yusuke Okada’s name wrong. He joked about the mistake and then promoted his KO-D Openweight Title defence against Yuki Ueno on 1st May. Yamato got in the ring and closed out the show advertising the Ichihara City Tourism Association.
MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 6 -SHIMOKITA ONE PLUS ONE-”, 29/03/2022 Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall 187 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. K-I (Kai) GP 2022 Semi-Final: “Yuki Ueno” defeated Shunma Katsumata after a Self-Destruct Chair Attack (16:58).
Today’s Hiragana Muscle show had to figure out what do you do when the star of the show pulls out sick? Yuki Ueno had to miss today’s show because of a fever and he was supposed to be the main character. Muscle Sakai and Amon Tsurumi apologized for his absence and explained it was too late to rewrite the script. They announced the role of “Yuki Ueno” was now going to be played by an invisible man. With that out of the way it was time for the show to begin.
Yuki Rock and Minamikawa introduced everyone to the K-I (Kai) Grand Prix. They wanted to celebrate the 18th Anniversary of MUSCLE (aka Katakana Muscle), the 2nd Anniversary of Hiragana Muscle and also the milestone anniversaries for New Japan and All Japan. They decided a 48 man one day tournament was the best way to mark the occasions. They introduced the bracket and used the Multiverse theory as their excuse to explain why DDT wrestlers were in the same tournament as their Muscle characters.
Now everyone had to figure out how to do a 47 match tournament in 100 minutes. Sakai’s solution was to do a highlights digest of Round 1. Then in Round 2 the ring would be divided into four sections for the A Block matches to all take place at the same time while the B Block matches would be held at a different venue to be broadcast on the screen. Round 1 began and all of the wrestlers tried to do a live action montage of the match highlights. Afterwards Rock & Minamikawa went to the Steel Chair Castle. There they told The Steel Chair Boys about the Kohki project that mixes traditional craft with professional wrestling. With Kohki they can use weapons not to cause fouls but to promote products! They were presented with three such items. The first is a steel chair painted with lacquer and containing a cushion made of brocade that results in a Super Hit when used as a weapon. The second is a Buddha Statue that will reduce the fighting spirit of whoever holds it. The third is a gong and mallet that hurts everyone who hears it during an out of the ring brawl. Rock & Minamikawa told The Steel Chair Boys they can all become rich together if they use these weapons in the tournament final!
Back at the Grand Prix, Round 2 began. The ring was roped off into four quarters with each of the A Block matches taking place in each section. The split didn’t last though and the eight wrestlers in the ring ended up getting in each other’s way. There was concern that the different universes interacting with each other would have reality changing side effects but the tournament continued. When those matches were over, the B Block was shown on screen. Each match allegedly took place at either an underground arena beneath the Tokyo Dome, outside Sumo Hall, inside the New Beijing Ochanomizu Dojo or on a street near the DDT dojo. The C Block was next and time was running out so every match was held under 2 Count Rules with a 100 second time limit. Finally the D Block took place with One Count Falls and 50 second time limits. One match ended in a draw and was supposed to restart with no time limit but Tsurumi called it off and chose the winner so the show could move on.
It was time for Round 3 but there was a problem behind the scenes. Tsurumi was angry at Sakai because he script had so much happening in the show already. Rock & Minamikawa offered to help out until everyone discovered that the rest of the script hasn’t been written yet. A halftime show then began with a musical performance by The Steel Chair Boys. Suddenly Human Chair Imanari started going insane from holding the lacquer chair. Luckily Tetsuya Endo made his mandatory run in and saved the day. The Finisher Boys then performed their songs and announced they are suspending activities on 31st March because Totaro Omoiki (Konosuke Takeshita) will be going abroad.
There was only time left in the show for the main event so the last match of the K-I Grand Prix was the semi-final between Shunma Katsumata and an invisible Yuki Ueno. It was a hard fought back and forth battle between the two friends. “Ueno” hit Katsumata with the BME for a nearfall and then followed up with the WR. On the count of 2 everything slowed down and “Etupirka” began playing. Katsumata gave a monologue from the heart, saying he and Ueno can make The 37KAMIINA the best unit together but he will not give up. He kicked out of the WR and fought back. Katsumata hit the Sauna Trance Splash but the match slowed down and “Etupirka” played again. This time Yuki Rock gave a monologue but it was just to advertise his Kohki products. He handed Katsumata the chair and Katsumata went crazy attacking “Ueno” with it. A bunch of run ins happened and Katsumata ended up bouncing the chair into his own face, knocking him backwards into Roll Up so “Ueno” could pin him for the victory.
Katsumata got on the microphone and told “Ueno” he is still strong. He is going to miss Takeshita while he is in America but still has the rest of The 37KAMIINA to keep him company. He wants all five members to make DDT and Muscle more exciting. Yuki Rock placed the chair in the middle of the ring for “Ueno” to sit on while Sakai gave the show closing speech. Sakai said he was worried when Ueno sent him the picture of his 39 degree temperature but he though the match “Ueno” had today was great. Everyone is coming off of a Sumo Hall show last week and a Korakuen Hall show yesterday which makes Sakai wonder how they are able to do this. Katsumata shouted out “Because I’m a professional wrestler!” Sakai perked up and made him shout it again. He then told “Ueno” to grab his big chance and accept his upcoming challenges head on fair and square. Sakai then ended the show asking everyone to give him all of their support so Ueno can rest easy for the next few days.
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2022”, 27/03/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 509 Fans
0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Dark Match: Antonio Honda (c) defeated Pokotan with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (7:16). *V? for Antonio Honda.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Antonio Honda (c) by Pinfall (11:24 am). *Shinichiro Kawamatsu becomes the 1,548th champion.
1. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Diving Knee Drop (6:30).
2. Pheromones Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita (w/ MJ Paul) by Disqualification when Sasaki attacked Dieno with a Chair (7:21).
3. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Akito defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Soma Takao when Naya submitted Takanashi with a Modified Torture Cobra Twist (9:03).
4. Quiz Showdown: Kazuki Hirata defeated Jun Akiyama when Hirata got 3 questions correct (10:18).
5. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Michael Nakazawa with the Super Michinoku Driver II (9:26). *V1 for MAO.
6. DDT Extreme Title – O-Back Ladder Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Pheromone Magic (15:01). *V1 for Yuki “Sexy” Iino.
7. After Judgement 2022 Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Kojima submitted Koroku with a Triangle Choke (22:11).
The 26th year of DDT has gone off to a hot start with plenty to talk about. The main event was the latest tag team battle between The 37KAMIINA and BURNING but this time with a brand new result. For months Toui Kojima has fought to try and beat his classmate Yuya Koroku. Every step of the way was met with failure until today when Kojima finally got his direct win over Koroku! The result didn’t look like it would happen when Koroku hit the Moonsault Press and then applied the Chickenwing Armlock he’s been using to beat his rival. But Kojima used the lessons he learned from Shinya Aoki to counter the move into a Triangle Choke for the tap out. He lived up to his promise of crying tears of joy over finally beating Koroku. Kojima admitted he is still weak and is not ready to be compared to the rest of his stable. He wants to keep training so he can becomes stronger.
Yuki Ueno threw in his support for Kojima along with the rest of The 37KAMIINA. He is so inspired by everyone in the unit doing their best to leave a mark on the world that he wants to do the same in DDT. So he is challenging Tetsuya Endo for the KO-D Openweight Title on 1st May! Endo said if Ueno is confident enough to beat the man who just became champion at Sumo Hall and carry the belt with 25 years of history attached to it then he will accept the challenge. Ueno told him he isn’t just fighting for that but also for the future of DDT. He wants to defeat Endo and lead the company as champion.
As ridiculous as the O-Back Ladder Match was there was a surprising amount of emotion to it. Shunma Katsumata walked out wearing an ALL OUT shirt hoping to remind Yuki Iino of their time together in that group. Iino briefly remembered and did a Haka pose with his old friend but in a flash that memory went away and they had to fight. Katsumata climbed the ladder and grabbed the O-Back but the winner had to wear it. He covered his waist in a towel to put it on but Iino attacked him with Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari’s help. Together they performed “Pheromone Magic” on Katsumata and he suddenly found out he was somehow now wearing nothing underneath his towel! He gave up to avoid further shame, resulting in a successful DDT Extreme Title defence for Iino. Dieno told Katsumata he previously agreed to wear the O-Back by itself if he lost. He is a man of his word so he did just that and shook Iino’s hand. Iino then blindsided him with a Brainbuster to humiliate him even more. Dieno asked who would want to challenge Iino for the Extreme Title after seeing this?
Sometime before the show, a desperate Michael Nakazawa went searching around town for MAO so he could ambush him. He was lured into a counter attack where MAO ran Nakazawa over with a van! Nakazawa did show up to the match wrapped head to toe in bandages. He looked like a physical wreck and couldn’t even stand up by himself. MAO decided to take advantage but it turned out to be a trick! The real Nakazawa ran down to the ring and attacked MAO with a crutch. He then used his signature tricks like rubbing his body in slippery lotion and applying the Ultimate Venom AEW Arm. However MAO fought back and pinned Nakazawa with the Super Michinoku Driver II for the win.
MAO called the DDT Universal Title defence an easy win. He wants to use his champion status to wrestle overseas so asked for his next challenger to be somebody with presence. Out walked Asuka! She just returned from wrestling in Italy and has a UK tour lined up this summer so she matches all of MAO’s requests. Asuka said the “VENY’s” of the world deserve that title. MAO accepted the challenge and wants it to be at the Yokohama Budokan on 1st May.
Kazuki Hirata knew just like everyone else that he has no chance of beating Jun Akiyama in a fair fight. He was moments away from losing easily to the Exploder Suplex when he grabbed the microphone and called a stop to the match. Hirata can’t win a wrestling match but he can beat Akiyama in a quiz! Suddenly the match turned into a trivia contest with chairs in the ring to sit on and a toy hammer to hit each other with when somebody got a question wrong. 1st Question: What tragedy happened to Hirata before a show in Yokohama Raidant Hall? Hirata answered he was bit by a Chihuahua. Correct! Question 2: Who was Hirata’s opponent in a fantasy card Keisuke Ishii once put together? Hirata answered Yuji Okabayashi. Correct! Question 3: On 4th January, 2002 the name of the defending GHC Heavyweight Champion is… Akiyama cut off the question to answer it was himself. That wasn’t the question thought so he was incorrect! The rest of the question asked who was the child who wanted to skip school to go see the match and got angry at his mother? Hirata answered it was himself. Correct! Hirata defeated Akiyama in the Quiz Showdown! Hirata hit Akiyama with the toy hammer to celebrate and Akiyama no sold it. DDT then announced that Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary show will be held in Korakuen Hall on 18th September. Akiyama thinks he will have a proper match against Hirata on that show.
The new KO-D Tag Team Champions are on shaky ground after finding out just how strong their opponents are. Yukio Naya showed off the power he has gained from teaming with Yuji Hino and made Masahiro Takanashi submit for the victory. Chris Brookes was also left in agony from Hino’s chops. Naya told the fans to look forward to them taking the Tag Titles from CDK.
A lesson we learned today is nobody messes with Hisaya Imabayashi except Pheromones! Their match against DAMNATION T.A was going the usual lewd direction with Imabayashi threatening to cancel the match. This time however Daisuke Sasaki came to defend Imabayashi from Pheromones, only to turn on him and attack all of them with a chair. Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul joined in on the beatdown and had to be disqualified. Sasaki complained that Imabayashi doesn’t have the right to cancel their matches. He threatened they will attack him again if he tries to stop the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on 10th April. They will even attack his wife and kids to prove their point! Dieno was in tears over what happened to Imabayashi. He is an innocent person in that doesn’t deserve to get attacked this way. Pheromones claim they are all about justice and swore to get revenge on DAMNATION T.A!
A full force Eruption opened up the main show, beating a foursome made up of DISASTER BOX wrestlers and the rookie Yuki Ishida. Those four were all called “The Pig Brothers” by Hideki Okatani. He even scored the win in the end and told the fans to remember the Red Fight Spirit of Eruption!
On the pre-show Antonio Honda successfully defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against Pokotan. Honda summoned the power of Triple H to aid him on his way to victory. After the match Shinichiro Kawamatsu from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was supposed to hand the belt over to Honda but Pokotan got into another fight with Honda. The two of them knocked each other out and it dawned on Kawamatsu that he could pin Honda. He did so after encouragement from the fans and became the new Iron Man Champion! Kawamatsu joked if this is really what the DDT fans wanted to see and he promised to defend the title for all 24 hours as hard as he can.
Away from all the matches, the biggest news to come from the show was Konosuke Takeshita announcing he is going on an indefinite expedition to the United States where he will wrestle for AEW! His final match in DDT before he leaves will be on 10th April. He is ready to take on the challenge of the world and begin Chapter 2 of his career. He also promised to do his best in DDT before he goes away and hopes when he comes back Ueno will be the KO-D Champion so he can challenge him.
Endo was presented with the brand new redesigned KO-D Openweight Title belt from Sanshiro Takagi at the start of the show. Endo said it is more brilliant looking than the previous belt he is happy to be the one to build up its history.
The next Korakuen Hall show on 10th April will feature Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi against Bambi & Cherry to celebrate DDT’s history with women’s wrestling. Akai is honored to face the two women from DDT’s past and also hopes to create something new with Yukihi.
A mystery wrestler who would like to wrestle in DDT is being promoted to appear at Yokohama Radiant Hall on 1st April.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 10/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1A – Tokyo Shin-Kiba Studio Flamme: Chris Brookes Vs Onryo
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1B – Kanagawa Enoshima Beach: Hikaru Machida Vs Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong
3. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1C – Kanagawa Big Japan Dojo: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Abdullah Kobayashi
4. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1D – Tokyo Shibuya Kitaya Park: Shunma Katsumata Vs Suzu Suzuki
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DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 16/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Winner Of Match 1B
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Winner Of Match 1B
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DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 23/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Final: X Vs X
The King Of Street Wrestling 1st Round matches have been decided. Sanshiro Takagi came up with this tournament because nothing of its kind has ever existed before. There are tournaments for many kinds of wrestling and martial arts but not for DDT’s style of Falls Count Anywhere street wrestling. He is hopeful this tournament will be the first of many!
Every match will take place in a different location and environment so no match will be anything like the other. For example Sanshiro Takagi and Abdullah Kobayashi will fight each other in Big Japan’s own dojo. Kobayashi is literally defending his home turf! Takagi realizes this and will plan to take the match out to the street and into the shops nearby.
Hikaru Machida is a 34 year old kickboxer from Ome City, Tokyo with a 28-11-3 record. He claims his strongest move is the Iai Punch. His opponent is a Muay Thai fighter from Phuket, Thailand named Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong. His record is 122-63-5. He is also an instructor at the PHOENIX Fitness Gym in Tokyo. Three of his students had fought Machida before so there is a connection between these two fighters despite never meeting each other before today. Their match will take place in Enoshima Beach.
One of the participants is already feeling spooked. Chris Brookes is taking on Onryo from 666 and The Spirit World. During the tournament press conference Brookes was convinced he was seeing Onryo sitting at the table next to him but nobody noticed. Brookes then started choking as if Onryo was standing right there strangling him. Brookes recovered and kept his distance from everyone else the rest for the rest of the day. When he and Onryo do get together they will fight at photography studio in Shin-Kiba called Studio Flamme. It’s a warehouse ran by the video company Blaze Legion that opened up last April.
Last but not least the hip young wrestlers Shunma Katsumata and Suzu Suzuki will face off at Kitaya Park in Shibuya. Suzuki called Katsumata an old man because he is 10 years older than her. Katsumata denies there being an age difference and is confident his experience in street wrestling matches will lead him to victory.