Ueno’s Out For A Week, Harimao’s Last Match, Fandora’s Hunt For Gold

March 26, 2026

DDT “DDT X MOP WRESTLE TOUR 2026 IN MITSUI OUTLET TAMA MINAMIOSAWA”, 28/03/2026
Tokyo Mitsui Outlet Park Tama Minamiosawa

1. MAO & Masami Inahata Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
2. Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi
3. Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul Vs Takeshi Masada, Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda Vs Shunma Katsumata, To-y & Yuni
5. MOP Tag Team Titles: KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Junta Miyawaki & Rukiya

Some changes to Saturday’s card have been made because Yuki Ueno needs to go get laser surgery in his eye. His doctor found signs of a possible retinal tear in one of his eyes and its needs to be dealt with. He will only be out of action for a week but that means Ueno will miss the next DDT show.

DDT “NO SPOILERS EVENT VOL. 4 IN UENO”, 01/04/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Something With To-y & Kazuki Hirata: To-y Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Playfulness Series Act 5: Danshoku Dieno Vs Hinata Kasai
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs Fake Daisuke Sasaki Army!: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Nise Daisuke Sasaki A, Nise Daisuke Sasaki B & Deka Daisuke Sasaki
4. Special 3-Way Tag Match ~ Best Friends (Mav) Superior: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA

There will be more matches happening on the show but they will not be revealed until they happen.

DDT “CHANGE AGE 2026 ~TOBIKIRI ZENKAI POWER~”, 05/04/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuni Vs Rukiya
1. Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Kazuma Sumi, Masami Inahata & Hinata Kasai
2. Variety King Decision Match: Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda Vs Akito
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & To-y Vs Yuki Iino, Jun Akiyama & Junta Miyawaki
5. Special Single Match: Kaisei Takechi Vs Makoto Oishi
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & KANON (c) (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Harimao Last Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Shunma Katsumata, Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki

The first week of April will now have the retirement of Kazusada Higuchi taking place. Sadly he will not have one more match to mark the end of his career. Instead the other members of Harimao will team together one last time before the group disbands. Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida will face three opponents from Higuchi’s past going all the way back to their DNA days. Shunma Katsumata recently returned to action and was an early rival of Higuchi. Both Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki rarely show up in DDT these days but such an important occasion have brought the both of them back.

FANTÔMES DRAMATIC are on the hunt for some gold and could get plenty of it if things go their way soon. Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA have become the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. The timing could not be better because KANON is coming off of a failed KO-D Openweight Title challenge and may need to rely on MAO to do all the hard work if he hasn’t bounced back by then.

DDT “DREAM LIGHTS ~HOW DO YOU LIKE DDT WEDNESDAY~”, 15/04/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dramatic Dark Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Ilusion
1. Special Single Match: YOH Vs Antonio Honda
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai
3. DDT Extreme Title: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Yukio Naya
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yuki Iino

Ueno will definitely be ready to defend the KO-D Title against Yuki Iino no matter what. He was someone Iino learned a lot from when Iino trained to become a pro wrestler. Ueno was also a part of Iino’s debut match back in 2017.

Meanwhile Yukio Naya has gone and challenged Hideki Okatani for the DDT Extreme Title. His logic is “Extreme” means big so the title should belong to him.

Brookes & HARASHIMA could be double tag champs if Fandora wins the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from paleyouth. The wild card is Hinata Kasai. He hasn’t directly won a match yet but Antonio Honda thinks having Kasai on the challenger team will add some drama to the title match. The idea has painted a target on Kasai when Brookes threw Bunbun into the crowd after the challenge was made. Takeshi Masada blames Kasai for that and wants to get revenge!

DDT “MOTSUNABE BUSTER”, 18/04/2026
ACROS Fukuoka

1. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata

The new DDT Universal Champion is looking to surpass a wrestler he looks up to. Kazuma Sumi nominated Katsumata to be his first challenger to repay him for his support over the years. However the repayment will be completed when Sumi beats Katsumata! Same goes the other way around. Katsumata will show his appreciation for Sumi by crushing him for the championship!

Kumadori will be on the show.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Dramatic Dream Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kaisei Takechi

The next time DDT goes to Sumo Hall they will give everyone a Konosuke Takeshita versus Kaisei Takechi match! Hopefully neither of them will get a case of pink eye right before the match again.


Kazusada Higuchi Announces His Retirement

March 23, 2026

A press conference was held by DDT in Tokyo today to announce that Kazusada Higuchi will be retiring from pro wrestling on 5th April. Higuchi had been taking time off since from wrestling since the start of the year to deal with a neck injury. This comes after he previously had to take eight months off during 2024 into 2025 to recover from other injuries including a cervical hernia. This decision came about when at some point between December and January, Higuchi went through a health checkup that is regularly given out to everyone in the DDT roster. The doctor found Higuchi had subluxation of the first and second cervical vertebrae and told him that continuing to wrestle (or take part in any kind of contact sport) would be dangerous for his health. Higuchi and his doctor had discussions with DDT over him having any possibility of continuing his wrestling career but they reached the decision that it would be best for him to retire.

Unfortunately due to the current state of Higuchi’s neck, he has already wrestled his last match and his retirement at DDT’s Korakuen Hall show on 5th April will just be a ceremony without a final match preceding it. Higuchi said he is currently not feeling any symptoms over his condition but understands that his neck has reached it physical limit. He regrets not being able to wrestle again but is glad to have detected this problem early so he could exit the business on his own two feet. Although he will no longer live in the ring, he believes his life will continue for a long time.

The press conference also had comments from Sanshiro Takagi and Akito both speaking as representatives of CyberFight. Akito explained the above routine health checkups that the DDT roster goes through over the new year period. He also noted that the cervical condition Higuchi has usually gives the person symptoms of numbness or even paralysis in the limbs. Higuchi does not have those symptoms but the doctor determined that no amount of treatment would solve the problem. Surgery could be an option but it comes with the setback of restricting Higuchi’s neck movement and he wouldn’t be able to wrestle in that condition either.

Takagi told the story of the first time he was introduced to Higuchi by a friend, leading to the former sumo from Hokkaido to join DDT. He claims there were times when Higuchi’s powerful style helped DDT and he became a symbol of the company’s strength from 2022 onwards. He is surprised by the sudden news and thinks the best thing DDT can do is to give him the warmest send-off possible. By Higuchi’s request, his unit Harimao will have its final match on 5th April taking on a team of wrestlers who are also all close to him. It will be Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida against Shunma Katsumata, Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki. Once that match is finished, Harimao will disband. He has a message to tell the other members of the group but will say what he wants to say after the match.

———————————————————————–

This is bumming me out. It’s the news I was worried would eventually come to light when Higuchi took another injury break in January. Writing this blog for 16 years means I see a lot of wrestling careers of various sizes come and go. This is one of the most significant ones. A fascinating moment in wrestling happened in October 2014 when DDT introduced the DNA generation, a new class of seven (later eight) rookies about to turn pro at a time when many wrestling companies in Japan were struggling to find new blood. Higuchi very quickly stood out as top of the pack with his powerful stature coming from his sumo background and he was given the rookie superpush that spread into DDT itself. While he was a serious no nonsense wrestler at first, spots would come here and there that allowed Higuchi to show his silly side, allowing him to fit in more with DDT’s comedy while still being positioned as someone who is difficult for anyone to beat. An early highlight of his to seek out is the week long DNA Grand Prix tournament that was held in October 2016 where he went on an undefeated run all the was to the final in order to face Mike Bailey.

The presentation of Higuchi being so unique in DDT included something that I’ve seen follow his entire career among the foreign fanbase. I have long lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard people online say they wish Higuchi was with NOAH instead of DDT because he looked like a better fit there. It’s easy to see why on the surface. Hard strikes, mean looks and an iron head to go with it is catnip for those who like their wrestling to not pull back its punches. Yet I just could never imagine him shining brighter anywhere else than with DDT. The formation of Eruption with Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai in 2020 was a major step forward for him. Then with DDT emerging from the pandemic the seeds were planted for his ascension to the top when he feuded with Jun Akiyama over the KO-D Openweight Title in an act of rebellion towards the legend joining the company. He lost that match but had the ultimate redemption in 2022 when he was the one chosen to rebuild DDT’s reputation over the Tetsuya Endo/Katsuhiko Nakajima incident.

The visual that should follow Higuchi’s career came when he won the 2022 King Of DDT tournament. By winning it he finally claimed the KO-D Title after eight years of trying. He had now become DDT’s literal symbol of strength, waving a giant flag of the company logo in victory and having Akiyama wrap the belt around his waist as a show of his respect. Higuchi would then spend the year being a central figure of DDT’s title scene as they tried to push a bigger focus towards heavyweights. Eruption would go away along with the careers of Sakaguchi & Akai. Higuchi would then move on to forming Harimao, building the unit more around sumo like themes. He got to hold the KO-D Title again last year but this time it was a short lived run. It’s hard to believe that only a few months later his career would end like this.

I can’t quite put my finger on why his runs on top went the ways they did. As much as Higuchi’s style appealed to the likes of us, it wasn’t really the same with DDT’s fans in Japan and business hardly picked up with him as champion. You can point to the social distancing rules at the time which resulted in low attendances for everybody but there’s just some factor missing that meant his title reign didn’t connect like I thought it would. I just look at the hot streak DDT is having with Korakuen now and wish Higuchi would have a role to play in it. Perhaps Takagi has a bigger point to make when he talks about how much Higuchi helped DDT. Maybe history will treat him as the person who patched up DDT at a time when the company needed it rather than the rising star who carried the company to greater heights.

There’s so much of Higuchi’s career I’m leaving out. He was a perfect opponent for HARASHIMA. Their matches together going back to the earliest years of Higuchi’s career were like they were made for each other. His singles matches with Konosuke Takeshita, Shuji Ishikawa and Yuji Hino are all barnburners. Those were the kind of matches that fueled the constant wishes he would move over to NOAH where he could get more attention. There are all the times he would be driven head first into the ring post just to no sell it (probably not a good idea in hindsight). When DDT had their “MAJI MANJI” weekly series, Higuchi insisted on putting somebody through a table on almost every episode he was in. When a Falls Count Anywhere match would happen outdoors, Higuchi would usually show up wearing just a mawashi. I’m pretty sure he sumo pushed a van away one time too. I’m going to miss seeing this guy wrestle.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026” Results

March 22, 2026

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026 ~29TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 22/03/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Dark Match: Yuni defeated Hinata Kasai with the Jorge Clutch (7:26).
0. Dark Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase defeated Toga, Ren Konatsu & Shion Kanzaki when Kazashiro pinned Kanzaki with the Fisherman Suplex (9:53).
1. Jun Akiyama defeated Rukiya with the Exploder Suplex (6:20).
2. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya defeated Evil Uno & Akito when Iino pinned Akito with the Spear (11:12).
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Viento Maligno & Kumadori defeated MJ Paul & Ilusion and Makoto Oishi & Masami Inahata when Maligno pinned Ilusion with the Driver Maligno (8:25).
4. Special Single Match ~ Shunma Katsumata Return Match: MAO defeated Shunma Katsumata with a Running Palm Strike (12:04).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles Next Challengers Decision Match: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA defeated Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki when HARASHIMA pinned Miyawaki with the Somato (12:33).
6. DDT Extreme Title – No Hitting With The Bamboo Sword! If You Want To Use It Make Them Laugh! Staring Contest Punishment Bamboo Sword Deathmatch!!!!!: Hideki Okatani defeated To-y (c) with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (12:20).
*To-y fails in V8. Hideki Okatani becomes the 64th DDT Extreme Champion!
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 1 Vs 6 Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda, Hisaya Imabayashi & Glasses defeated Minoru Suzuki (c) when Glasses pinned Suzuki (11:51).
*Glasses becomes the 1,812nd champion.
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida when Masada pinned Ishida with the Manburi (14:17)
*V1 for paleyouth.
9. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kazuki Hirata (w/ John Robinson) with a Big Boot (0:07).
9a. Rematch: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kazuki Hirata (w/ John Robinson) with an Elbow Butt (0:10).
9b. World’s 20 Vs Adachi Ward’s 2! Let’s Have A Great Death Match!: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kazuki Hirata (w/ John Robinson) with the Walls Of Takeshita (9:02).
10. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) with the School Boy (16:48).
*Daisuke Sasaki fails in V1. Kazuma Sumi becomes the 21st DDT Universal Champion!
11. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated KANON with the WR (25:12).
*V6 for Yuki Ueno.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Antonio Honda defeated Glasses (c) by Destruction (18:47).
*Antonio Honda becomes the 1,813rd champion.

The 29th Anniversary of DDT was also the first attempt by KANON to try and win the KO-D Openweight Title. For the weeks leading up to this match, KANON had been winning matches with the Lariat so Yuki Ueno tried to weaken it by hitting KANON’s hand off the corner post early on. KANON would still use the Lariat as an equalizer but then tried using his other moves to win. The Cobra Twist, Sleepy Hollow and LONELY DEZIRES wouldn’t work so he went back to the Lariat. However Ueno’s well time Dropkick to the face helped him to set up the Blackout Sleeper to squeeze the life out of KANON. While he was eventually able to get out of it, KANON was then given the WR to put him down and out.

Ueno told KANON after the match that he’s been thinking about him a lot. He thinks KANON is strong, handsome, kind and also weird. If he wants to make it to the top of DDT he cannot stay the way he is now. KANON needs to show more. Still, Ueno had fun and reminded KANON he’s been part of the DDT family even going back to when he was part of DAMNATION T.A. When he was done, Yuki Iino got into the ring feeling moved by Ueno’s speech. Iino asked for a title match because Ueno was his senior who taught him everything about pro wrestling back when Iino was a trainee. Ueno was also Iino’s first ever opponent. Ueno said he would accept the challenge on the condition that Iino would not immediately attack him after they shake hands. Iino agreed and they shook hands without incident. Ueno then told the fans he will carry the hopes of everybody as DDT moves into its 30th year.

After several failed attempts, Kazuma Sumi solved the puzzle and got to pin Daisuke Sasaki with the School Boy to win the DDT Universal Title! Sasaki targeted his leg from the get-go, including attacking the limb with a chair. A ref bump also led to the other members of DAMNATION T.A interfering on Sasaki’s behalf. Sumi fought against the odds but almost paid big by missing the Reverse 450 Splash. His luck then turned around when DAMNATION T.A interfered again only to backfire on Sasaki when Ilusion accidentally hit him with the chair. From there Sumi tried to pin Sasaki with the School Boy several times. Sasaki caught him in the Crossface Lock only for Sumi to counter it into another School Boy, this time pinning Sasaki down for the three count! Sasaki complained backstage that his “visa” for travelling the world was now taken from him and he’s trying to figure out does this mean he is being banished from the country? He only remembers being hit by a chair so that means Sumi cheated to win! Sasaki will accept his fate for now. He will go abroad, fall in love, get dumped and then come back home.

When Sumi celebrated with the title he said he is so glad he never gave up. He was able to keep going because of everyone’s support. He was then asked to nominated his first challenger for a title defence in Fukuoka on 18th April. Sumi chose Shunma Katsumata because he wants to repay him for all of his kindness ever since he debuted. However Sumi’s way of repaying Katsumata is to surpass him so he is not taking him lightly by putting this title match together. Katsumata agreed to the match and said he is going to treat Sumi as his equal. His way of repaying Sumi will be to crush him and win the Universal Title!

Kazuki Hirata was given the biggest entrance possible by having John Robinson sing him down to the ring with a live performance of “TOKYO GO!” Then after all of that hype, Konosuke Takeshita pinned Hirata in seconds after a Big Boot. A rematch immediately took place but Takeshita won again this time with an Elbow Butt that knocked Hirata out. Hirata begged for another rematch and Takeshita accepted. He even allowed Hirata to only need a 2 Count pin to beat him while Takeshita would need to pin Hirata for a 20 Count! The match began again with those conditions. This time Robinson got involved by stopping Takeshita from attacking Hirata with a chair. He also offered a pair of Hirata GO! glasses but Takeshita destroyed them. Robinson got on the mic to sing “TOKYO GO!” again in order to revive Hirata’s chances. This time Takeshita put on the glasses and started dancing only for Robinson to sneak in and Low Blow Takeshita! Hirata then got in the Miracle One Shot Cradle but Takeshita kicked out at one. Hirata’s comeback was cut off with the Wagamama knee strike but he somehow kicked out at 19! Another Miracle One Shot Cradle was done as a counter for the Raging Fire but Takeshita kicked out at one again. Possibly knowing how close of a call that was, Takeshita flipped Hirata over into the Walls Of Takeshita to win the match by submission instead of pinfall.

After the match Takeshita told Hirata his style of wrestling is one of a kind and it is time for him to become No. 1 in DDT again! He wants Hirata to show him the ultimate Dramatic Dream. Then they can have another rematch where this time Takeshita will need to pin Hirata for a 30 count! After they left the ring, DDT announced that Takeshita will return at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” in Sumo Hall on 11th August for a single match against Kaisei Takechi!

paleyouth got their first KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence in the bag after beating Harimao today. The challengers were accompanied by Kazusada Higuchi but he stood by and did not get involved. Daichi Sato stood toe to toe with Naomi Yoshimura while Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku threw both Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida away with German Suplexes. The match came down to Masada dodging Ishida’s Flame Palm and then hitting him with two Manburi kicks for the victory.

The champions were then greeted by FANTÔMES DRAMATIC after the match. Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda were there to get the next title shot until Honda talked about how dramatic it would be for a team with Hinata Kasai in it to win the titles from paleyouth. Masada asked if Kasai had even won a match yet? Kasai said he hasn’t but that doesn’t mean he cannot get his first win against them! He thinks the best way to celebrate his first win would be to hold championships with the rest of Fandora. All of a sudden, Brookes grabbed Bunbun and threw him into the audience! He went to retrieve him afterwards only to throw him to another part of the room! Masada swore revenge by declaring he will take all of his anger out on Kasai!

As part of the plan to get the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from Minoru Suzuki, the opposing team in the Handicap Match took part in Gongitsune training before the match. Their logic is Suzuki’s biggest weakness is his eyeballs so it will be up to Honda to poke them. Hisaya Imabayashi bravely started the match with Suzuki but was left to fight by himself and was almost choked out with the Sleeper Hold. Sanshiro Takagi got into a Chop Battle with Suzuki while Danshoku Dieno stopped him with a Lip Lock. When Honda’s attempts at Gongitsune kept on failing, Suzuki got on the microphone to ask everyone how long is DDT going to keep doing this kind of pro wrestling? This is the kind of pro wrestling that makes New Japan wrestlers look down on them! He called Takagi the root of all evil but then admitted to having good memories with everyone in the ring with him. Honda finally poked him in the eye with Gongitsune during the speech but Suzuki didn’t react. He revealed he had trained his eyeballs in anticipation for this match! Honda charged up Gongitsune by using Dieno’s Hell Gate but Suzuki blocked it by stealing Imabayashi’s glasses and putting them on to act as a shield. Suzuki then fought off Toru Owashi & Super Sasadango Machine but was caught with the Stunner by Takagi. Suzuki resisted the impact at first but soon ran out of energy and collapsed to the match. Everyone piled on top of him to get the pinfall but Daisuke Kiso declared afterward that it was Imabayashi’s glasses that pinned Suzuki which means the Glasses are now the Iron Man Champion! Later at the end of the show Honda found the glasses over at the timekeeper’s table and destroyed them to be declared the new champion.

The rule for the DDT Extreme Title match was Yukinori Matsui had to wear a helmet with a button attached to it on his head. If To-y or Hideki Okatani pressed the button, they would then need to make Matsui laugh during a staring contest. Succeeding in that would allow them to use a bamboo sword as a legal weapon for one minute. To-y was eager to follow those rules while Okatani was not in the humour to mess around like that. When he kept ignoring the rule, Matsui told Okatani he wants him to make him laugh. Okatani finally obliged and made a funny face to make Matsui collapse in laughter. Okatani then whacked To-y over the head with the bamboo stick and pinned him with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster to become the new Extreme Champion.

After the match KIMIHIRO appeared at the entrance to make an introduction for Yukio Naya. When Naya got into the ring he told Okatani that “extreme” means big so he’s going to use his size to take the Extreme Title from him! Okatani called Naya arrogant but accepted his challenge for 15th April. According to him, just because Naya is big doesn’t mean he can beat Okatani to win the title. Meanwhile To-y accepted defeat and praised Okatani for being the star of the match even though he expected Okatani would remain as a supporting character.

Fandora have another championship match to look forward to soon. Brookes & HARASHIMA teamed up against Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki to determine the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Miyawaki almost had HARASHIMA beat with the Sunshine Clutch but Brookes broke up the pin. HARASHIMA fired himself back up to put Miyawaki on the defensive and used the Somato on Aoki to knock him off the ring apron. Meanwhile Brookes gave Miyawaki a Piledriver, rolling him into position for another Somato to give Fandora the win. Backstage HARASHIMA said they knew their opponents had moves that could beat them regardless of how much stamina they had so it was up to their own teamwork to get past any close calls and win.

It was 29th June, 2025 when Shunma Katsumata last wrestled a proper match. Now after spending the last nine months rehabilitating from a torn ACL he was back in action and wrestling his good friend MAO. They wasted no time in setting their pace and MAO even broke a few plastic boxes in the process. Katsumata went for the Totonou Splash but MAO blocked it with his knees. Katsumata tried to fire himself back up after taking the Michinoku Driver II but he was put away with a Running Palm Strike afterward. Katsumata spoke about how happy he is to be back in the ring after 265 days. As long as he gets to wrestle like this he will never complain. He might get injured again but he’ll recover and return again no matter how many times it happens! MAO said he hopes this is the last time Katsumata has a comeback match. He and Katsumata will also make sure they will never put themselves in a position where they have to forfeit a championship again.

The 3 Way Tag Match featured the DDT debut of Masami Inahata. He got to start off the match against Kumadori until Ilusion got involved trying to form alliances. When that didn’t work, MJ Paul went on the attack by targeting Makoto Oishi. Inahata got his moment by giving Paul a Brainbuster but Ilusion ruined it by giving Inahata a Low Blow afterward. In the end it was the teamwork of Viento Maligno & Kumadori that won out. Kumadori did a Fosbury Flop onto everyone outside the ring while Maligno pinned Ilusion with his finisher to win. Kumadori liked teaming with Maligno but wishes they could communicate better because Maligno doesn’t seem to understand Japanese. Oishi told Inahata that today is a new beginning for him and he will become even bigger in DDT.

Evil Uno was welcomed back into DDT for a tag match against The Apex. Uno teamed with Akito but the pair of them were overwhelmed by the power of Iino & Naya. One big Spear from Iino to Akito was all it took to end the match. Iino hasn’t been wrestling that much lately but he reminded everyone he is still training hard. Uno said he should be unhappy over the result but the last time he was in DDT he had to kiss Dieno’s butt so today was a much better experience for him.

Jun Akiyama stood before Rukiya as his big challenge in the opening contest. Rukiya tried to deal some damage outside the ring only for Akiyama to do that to him instead. Rukiya was able to rope break his way out of a Crab Hold and he also kicked out of the Exploder Suplex. Akiyama waited patiently to hit him with a Knee Strike before using another Exploder to beat him.

One of the dark matches was put together by Tokyo Joshi Pro to promote “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” taking place at Sumo Hall on 29th March. HIMAWARI, Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase went on to beat Toga, Ren Konatsu & Shion Kanzaki. Kazashiro scored the win for her team and got to advertise the show for her post match victory speech.

The other dark match was Yuni taking on Hinata Kasai. As already mentioned earlier, Kasai still has not won a match by himself yet. He tried to submit Yuni with the STF but Yuni got out of it and used the Jorge Clutch out of an Arm Drag to pin him.

The participants for King Of DDT 2026 were revealed during the show. The entries are HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno, MAO, Chris Brookes, Yukio Naya, KANON, Takeshi Masada, Hideki Okatani, To-y, Shinya Aoki, Yuya Koroku, Daichi Sato, Kaisei Takechi, Junta Miyawaki, Kazuma Sumi and Minoru Suzuki.


DDT “NARAHA TOWN COME ON!!” Results

March 1, 2026

DDT “NARAHA TOWN IMMIGRATION AMBASSADOR (UNOFFICIAL) TO-Y THANKSGIVING SEASON 3 – NARAHA TOWN COME ON!!”, 01/03/2026
Fukushima Naraha Sky Arena
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Viento Maligno defeated Ilusion with the Driver Maligno (9:38).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul defeated Takeshi Masada, Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai when Okatani pinned Kazai with the Skewered Claymore (13:05).
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata and Gorgeous Matsuno when Dieno pinned Hirata with the Gaydo Clutch (0:08).
3a. Rematch: Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Danshoku Dieno and Kazuki Hirata when Matsuno pinned Hirata with a School Boy (9:08).
4. Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku defeated Yukio Naya & Junta Miyawaki when Koroku pinned Naya with a Crucifix Pin (10:01).
5. MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Kazuma Sumi & Yuki Ishida when KANON pinned Ishida with the Lariat (13:37).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Akito defeated Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda when To-y pinned Honda with the Kojima Impact (22:47).

Hideki Okatani may have spoiled To-y’s moment yesterday but today there was no fear of that happening again. To-y had the rest of The 37KAMIINA around for the main event including Shunma Katsumata as a ringside second (and Yuzutaro the mascot was there too). Katsumata prevented Chris Brookes from using a chair and even hit a dive out of the ring onto FANTÔMES DRAMATIC. With that taken care of, To-y was able to win the match in front of the Naraha crowd. He told the fans they can get back up again and again because they are a town full of energy. Katsumata then announced that today was his last day of being an unofficial immigration ambassador for Naraha Town and he regrets only wrestling here once. To-y felt sorry for him and decided he will not pay off his debt to the town because that would mean he’ll still have to bring DDT back here every year.

MAO was back in Japan after he and Yoshihiko went to wrestle in England a few days earlier. After wrestling Kazuma Sumi today he gave him some advice for his DDT Universal Title match later this month. Sumi has worked hard to earn his D GENERATIONS CUP success and MAO is proud to see how much he has grown. He also told Sumi that Daisuke Sasaki is secretly getting worked up over his upcoming tour of America so that is a weakness Sumi should exploit!

Yuni suffered a left elbow injury during yesterday’s show in Kanagawa and wasn’t able to wrestle. Ilusion took his place in the opening match against Viento Maligno while MJ Paul made up the numbers for DAMNATION T.A in Match #2. Yuni still performed a song with NωA Jr. at the start of the show.


Video – Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match

February 28, 2026


DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
715 Fans – Super No Vacancy

7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru Vs Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata


Wrestlers Should Be Treated Like Gacha, Judgement 2026 Updates, New Princess Title Belts

February 23, 2026

“URANO EN 3”, 24/02/2025
TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi

1. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ikuto Hidaka Vs Ilusion
2. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Yasu Urano Vs Fuminori Abe
3. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ilusion Vs Ayato Yoshida
4. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ikuto Hidaka Vs Yasu Urano
5. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Fuminori Abe Vs Ayato Yoshida
6. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ilusion Vs Yasu Urano
7. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ikuto Hidaka Vs Fuminori Abe
8. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Yasu Urano Vs Ayato Yoshida
9. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ilusion Vs Fuminori Abe
10. Extreme Five Warriors Iron Man Tournament: Ikuto Hidaka Vs Ayato Yoshida

Each match will have a ten minute time limit. As best as I can tell, the winner of the one night round robin will be whoever has the highest score of total falls in all of their Iron Man matches combined. Given the show consists of ten Iron Man Matches that sounds like a nightmare to keep track of for one night.

The first two “URANO EN” events that Yasu Urano put together took place last year and were both Iron Man matches with Ikuto Hidaka and Akito respectively. The matches are on Minoru Fujita’s Youtube channel under the Live archive tab. I don’t think I’m going to follow this regularly unless BASARA continues to help promote it.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 28: BIG BEAT FROM BADSVILLE”, 24/02/2026
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Chie Koishikawa, Mr. Bueno & Mr. Malo Vs Dark King Ueki, Princess Ram & X (w/ Munek)
3. Special Single Match: Kota Sekifuda Vs HARASHIMA
4. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Yuta Oya

It seems that only Dark King Ueki knows who the new member of Ueki’s Magic Kingdom is. Neither Ram Kaichow nor Munetatsu Nakamura seem to know.

DDT “KO KO! YOKOHAMA BATTLE 2026”, 28/02/2026
Kanagawa Radiant Hall

1. Naomi Yoshimura & Hinata Kasai Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuni
2. Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda
3. Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku Vs Daichi Kazato & Rukiya
4. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Shinya Aoki, Yukio Naya, Junta Miyawaki & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Akito Vs KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. DDT Extreme Title: To-y (c) Vs Yuki Ishida

We’re less than a week away from the DDT Extreme Title match and To-y hasn’t come up with the stipulation yet. He and Yuki Ishida have been arguing on Twitter about it.

Viento Maligno is now here as part of Strange Love Connection.

Another new unit seems to be appearing on the horizon. Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku want to start a group built around the D GENERATIONS wrestlers. Does either Daichi Kazato or Rukiya want to join in?

GANBARE☆PRO “KINKI CHIHO NO ARU BASHO NI TSUITE 2026”, 01/03/2026
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Sentaro Motoshima Vs Sora Fujikawa
2. Moeka Haruhi & Fairy Nihonbashi Vs Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru & Hibiscus Mii
3. Mizuki Watase & Shota Kawakami Vs Yuto Kikuchi & Violence Dragon
4. Shuichiro Katsumura, Tsuyoshi Okada & YuuRI Vs Keisuke Ishii, Tyson Maeguchi & PSYCHO
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga (c) Vs Ken Ohka & Hiroaki Moriya

With Yuna Manase out of action, PSYCHO has been asked to fill in for her when Ganbare☆Pro heads over to Osaka.

BASARA “BASARA 301 ~UTAGE~”, 06/03/2026
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takeru Inoue Vs Fuminori Abe
2. Ryota Nakatsu & Isami Kodaka Vs FUMA & Seiya Morohashi
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Banana Senga (w/ Gouma Ryu) Vs SAGAT & Lil’ Kraken
4. Takumi Tsukamoto, Daiki Shimomura & Tatsuya Hanami Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano
5. Union MAX Title – 3 Way Match: Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs Daichi Kazato Vs Tsutomu Oosugi

A few returning faces will be at BASARA next month. Tatsuya Hanami had fun the last time he was here before the new year, it’s been a while since Gouma Ryu showed his face and Seiya Morohashi is back as well.

DDT “ICHIKABACHIKA 2026”, 11/03/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & KANON (c) (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine

Over in New Japan recently Yota Tsuji ruffled some feathers by criticizing the company’s owners Bushiroad for treating the wrestlers as nothing more than just content for trading card and gacha games. Well Super Sasadango Machine wishes CyberAgent would be that way for the likes of him and Danshoku Dieno! They need to make a convincing argument so they’ve challenged MAO & KANON for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. If they win the belts they hope it will raise their power within DDT to start making some business demands and turn the company towards the TGC and gacha industries.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026 ~29TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 22/03/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kazuki Hirata (w/ John Robinson)
3. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs KANON

This year’s D GENERATIONS CUP winner Kazuma Sumi has earned himself a DDT Universal Title shot. Daisuke Sasaki congratulated him with a kick to the balls. Sounds like something he would do.

It’s not Magnum TOKYO but we’re one step away from it. Kazuki Hirata is getting John Robinson, the DJ behind “TOKYO GO!” to perform the song live for his entrance!

Shunma Katsumata wants MAO to be his first opponent for his big return match. It’s a match MAO has wanted too because one of the reasons he left The 37KAMIINA was to become Katsumata’s opponent rather than his teammate.

His match hasn’t been announced yet but DDT’s newest signing Masami Inahata will debut on this show.

BASARA “BASARA 303 ~UTAGE~”, 27/03/2026
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Takumi Tsukamoto & Daiki Shimomura (c) Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

The team of Takumi Tsukamoto & Daiki Shimomura are taking on all comers looking to become the next Iron Fist Tag Team Champions. Next up for them is Aijin Tag, one of BASARA’s most established teams. Takato Nakano thinks Masato Kamino hasn’t been taking wrestling seriously lately so they need to lock in to become the champs again.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”, 29/03/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine
2. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai

All three championships in Tokyo Joshi Pro are in the process of receiving new belt designs. The next generation belts for the Princess Of Princess Title, the Princess Tag Team Titles and the International Princess Title will all debut at Sumo Hall. It will be the third belt for the Princess Title while the other two championships are both getting redesigned for the first time.

DDT “CHANGE AGE 2026 ~TOBIKIRI ZENKAI POWER~”, 05/04/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & KANON (c) (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs X & X

Some upcoming title matches are being planned for April because DDT is holding two Korakuen Hall shows within a fortnight that month before King Of DDT kicks off in May. The KO-D Tag Titles will be defended on the first Korakuen show.

DDT “DREAM LIGHTS ~HOW DO YOU LIKE DDT WEDNESDAY~”, 15/04/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title: To-y (c) Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

Then the second Korakuen gets a KO-D Openweight Title match as well as an Extreme Title match.


DDT “HYBRID PERFORMER 2026 ~KAISEI TAKECHI 2ND ANNIVERSARY~” Results

February 22, 2026

DDT “HYBRID PERFORMER 2026 ~KAISEI TAKECHI 2ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 22/02/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Ryoma Tsukamoto when Naya pinned Matsunaga with The World’s Best Back Drop (9:11).
2. Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai defeated To-y, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuni when Honda pinned Hirata with the Diving Fist Drop (9:41).
3. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki defeated Yuya Koroku & Rukiya when Miyawaki pinned Rukiya with the Sunshine Clutch (10:32).
4. DAMNATION T.A Vs Harimao!: Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion (w/ MJ Paul) when Yoshimura pinned Ilusion with the Harai-goshi (10:56).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito when Maligno pinned Akito with the Driver Maligno (10:37).
6. D GENERATIONS CUP 2026 – Final: Kazuma Sumi defeated Takeshi Masada with the School Boy (17:08).
7. Kaisei Takechi 2nd Anniversary Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Kaisei Takechi with WR (20:50).

To celebrate the second anniversary of his pro wrestling debut, Kaisei Takechi asked DDT for a particular opponent he wanted to face one on one. Up until today Yuki Ueno has been supporting Takechi as a tag partner in the majority of the dozen matches he’s had so far. Now Takechi wanted Ueno to be his first singles opponent. The result of this is Ueno has become the first person to make Takechi look up at the lights, handing him his first pinfall defeat. Takechi brought the fight to Ueno from the start, delaying an early rope break and firing Elbow Strikes along with Dropkicks to Ueno. That made Ueno take him more seriously and bring the fight outside the ring. Ueno threw Takechi into a row of chairs but Takechi got his own back by doing a Diving Cross Body above one of the stairways in the seating section. Back in the ring Takechi got close to winning by using the Choke Slam and Swan Dive Forearm. He then went to use a Sleeper Hold but Ueno got out of it to use his own Dropkicks and Elbow Strikes. Takechi couldn’t withstand the punishment for long and he was pinned with the WR.

Ueno congratulated Takechi after the match and if there is anyone out there who thinks Takechi is only doing pro wrestling as a side gig, Ueno wants them to come tell him. He told Takechi he isn’t at the level to compete for the KO-D Openweight Title yet but the next time they have a singles match against each other, Ueno will put the championship on the line. Takechi thanked him for welcoming him into DDT and talked about experiencing more losses than wins since before he even entered the entertainment industry. That has helped make him strong for wrestling. He also said he regrets not entering the King Of DDT tournament last year or appear at “WRESTLE PETER PAN” because of his summer schedule back then. So this year he has opened up his schedule in order to enter the tournament as well as take part in DDT’s big summer show! He will show everyone how much he will evolve until the day comes when the KO-D Title is worn around his waist! Takechi still has may tours with THE RAMPAGE lined up for 2026 but he is hoping to find gap where he can be booked for some of DDT’s shows outside of Tokyo too.

Kazuma Sumi has now been crowned this year’s best wrestler out of D GENERATIONS by winning the D GENERATIONS CUP! The final of the annual tournament’s fourth edition had Sumi beat the first ever winner Takeshi Masada. He relied on big high flying moves such as the Lionsault and Reverse 450 while Masada kept to a more balanced moveset to keep things under his control. It almost worked out for the latter as he used a Dominator to counter a Frankensteiner, then used the Triangle Kick and the Manburi for a nearfall. But when he went to use his finisher, Sumi suddenly flipped out of it and rolled him over with the School Boy lightning fast for the victory!

When Sumi received his trophy he told Masada that the best classmates are those to eat together, practice together and share both the good times and bad together. While they have trained together and experienced hard times, they were never close like that. Masada was always ahead ever since Sumi debuted but it gave Sumi something to chase after and made him work hard enough to become strong. So in a way Masada really is the best classmate Sumi could ever have. Daisuke Sasaki entered the ring to congratulate Sumi and tell him they can have an exciting match on 22nd March when Sumi gets his DDT Universal Title shot as his reward for winning the DGC. Sumi went to shake his hand until Sasaki kicked him between the legs. Sasaki called him stupid and there is zero chance Sumi will win the title from him. When Sumi recovered he said he isn’t a kid anymore and he is incredibly confident he will beat Sasaki for the belt next month. Meanwhile Masada talked to Yuya Koroku backstage about forming a new unit centered around the D GENERATIONS. Koroku agreed to be a part of it and Masada will now go look for other potential members to join.

The newest member of Strange Love Connection has arrived! The masked man Viento Maligno is a newcomer to DDT although some people suspect he may be more familiar to them than they realize. Danshoku Dieno gave him the Danshoku Claw early in the match then paused to give a reaction that suggested he recognized who Maligno is just from feeling his crotch. He didn’t dwell on it for long because he wanted to impress the guest commentator Riki Matsui from BALLISTIK BOYZ and tried to do so by doing lewd things to KANON in the ring. Viento got the hot tag in and used a llave submission on Akito while MAO did a Moonsault onto everyone outside. Viento then got the win by pinning Akito with the Driver Maligno, a move that looks like a Leg Clutch Olympic Slam thrown into a Michinoku Driver.

Dieno got on the microphone after the match to complain because DDT bringing in new wrestlers is making his generation feel disposable. Super Sasadango Machine agreed and wanted to send a message to CyberAgent. Pro wrestlers like them are not supposed to be treated like trading cards or gacha games… but they should be! CyberAgent is responsible for making loads of different card and gacha games so why are the wrestlers belonging to them being left out of being turned into content (don’t listen to Yota Tsuji, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about)? In order to make a more convincing arguement to the corporation, Dieno & Sasadango challenged SLC for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. MAO sort of understands their intentions because they want to work hard together for DDT’s sake so he accepted the challenge for 11th March. KANON then reluctantly shook his opponents’ hands to confirm they have the title shot.

At first it looked like Harimao were going to be in trouble fighting DAMNATION T.A because the numbers game was against them. Sasaki and Hideki Okatani both attacked Yuki Ishida with weapons but Ryota Nakatsu was able to give them more of a fight. Sasaki also threw a chair at Naomi Yoshimura while MJ Paul interfered a couple of times. Ilusion missing the Swanton Bomb gave Yoshimura his second wind while Kazusada Higuchi at ringside finally stepped in to grab Sasaki and then Paul with the Claw Hold at ringside. With the coast clear, Yoshimura threw over Ilusion with the Harai-goshi to get the victory. Harimao were fired up over the win and all said they couldn’t sense any sumo spirit from DAMNATION T.A. Harimao said they will climb higher from here and Nakatsu told the others he can come back for another match in DDT on 2nd March.

So far during his stay Junta Miyawaki is making both friends and enemies in DDT. He looks up to Shinya Aoki and got to team with him today but one of the wrestlers facing him, Rukiya, is getting more frustrated with him every time they fight in the ring. It continued here when Miyawaki pinned him with the Sunshine Clutch, a new cradle pin he created inspired by the Aoki Clutch where it is set up Tiger Suplex style instead of with a Full Nelson. Rukiya didn’t like how smug Miyawaki looked after the match and tried to fight him again until Koroku and others at ringside held him back. Backstage Miyawaki said he can really tell that Aoki enjoys pro wrestling which makes him enjoy wrestling even more too. Aoki though kept asking him if he saw Keigo Nakamura anywhere because that is who he used to team with. Unfortunately, Miyawaki doesn’t know who Nakamura is.

Today was the first time all four members of FANTÔMES DRAMATIC got to team together for an 8-Man Tag match and it turned into a success. Hinata Kasai was called out by Toru Owashi to begin the match then after some lucha spots he wanted to tag in Yuni to let the young blood take the stage. Kazuki Hirata didn’t care and burst in wanting to do his dance instead. Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA took over to fight with Yuni & To-y while Hirata kept trying to get in the way. Antonio Honda did an Olympics joke for Gongitsune, Hirata tried to counter it with dance but fell to a 4-on-1 situation all in tune to “TOKYO GO!”. Honda ended up pinning him with the Diving Fist Drop to give FANTÔMES DRAMATIC the win.

Hirata was made to stay behind after the match because Hisaya Imabayashi wanted to talk to him. The GM had an announcement regarding Hirata’s big match against Konosuke Takeshita happening on 22nd March. For years now Hirata has been using “TOKYO GO!” as his entrance song, even recording his own cover to avoid getting DDT into any copyright trouble. Well now DDT has invited the creator of the song John Robinson to attend the show and perform “TOKYO GO!” live for Hirata’s match entrance! Hirata is thrilled with the news and cannot wait to do the original “Magnum” dance with the actual DJ singing for him.

It’s not that often Makoto Oishi appears in DDT nowadays but he was here today because he is Takechi main mentor who trained him from scratch. It meant he got to wrestle Ryoma Tsukamoto for the first time and experience his strength up close. When that got too overwhelming Oishi tagged in Yukio Naya to give Tsukamoto a more powerful challenge. Tomomitsu Matsunaga had some fun keeping Oishi away from his corner when the going got tough. Sanshiro Takagi was also fired up and attempted a Coast To Coast Dropkick… where he just landed on his feet and then gave Oishi a regular Dropkick in the corner. He also took an Exploder Suplex from Jun Akiyama only to get back up and hit back with a Stunner. Akiyama came back later to Headbutt Matsunaga while Matsunaga had Naya in a Sharpshooter. Naya then purposely Choke Slammed Oishi onto Matsunaga for a near fall. Matsunaga also kicked out of a Running Knee Strike from Naya but was put down for good with The World’s Best Back Drop. Backstage Oishi said once Kaisei Takechi surpasses his then he will become a real pro wrestler.

A new wrestler was announced during the show to have joined DDT as a full time member of the roster. Masami Inahata is a 20 year old wrestler from Toyonaka City, Osaka who was formerly known as Thunder Masami in JTO. He only has a year’s worth of experience under his belt but announced in January he had graduated from his home promotion. What funny timing that this is happening so soon after his older brother Katsumi Inahata (formerly Fire Katsumi) went through a similar path from JTO to NOAH recently. Masami Inahata told the audience he has come to DDT because the company has many wrestlers his age here. His first match in DDT will take place on 22nd March.

When NωA Jr. finished their musical performance at the start of the show, Shunma Katsumata talked about his planned comeback from injury happening on 22nd March. He has someone in mind he wants his first match back to be against. It’s MAO! They have a lot of history together so it will mean a lot to Katsumata for MAO to be his opponent. MAO acted like he was going to attack his friend but instead he shook his hand and welcomed him back. He also said one of the reasons he left The 37KAMIINA was so he could fight Katsumata but the ACL injury happened to Katsumata before that could happen. MAO told him never to skip a match like that again and he’ll see him on 22nd March.


Video – CHOSHI ELECTRIC RAIL X DDT “TRAIN PRO WRESTLING”

February 20, 2026


CHOSHI ELECTRIC RAIL X DDT “TRAIN PRO WRESTLING”, 16/04/2017
Nakano Town Station
40 Fans – 100% Boarding Rate

1. Falls Count Anywhere Time Difference Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Rekka Vs HARASHIMA Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Yasu Urano Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Mad Paulie Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Royce Isaacs Vs Guanchulo Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs MAO Vs Saki Akai Vs Lady Beard Vs Kazusada Higuchi


Max Heart After The Final, Katsumata’s Return Date, BeeStar Pride

February 14, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CLUB EX: CHAPTER PAUSE”, 15/02/2026
Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX

1. Toga Vs Shion Kanzaki
2. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Sara Phoenix
3. MAX HEART After The Final: Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara, Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Raku & Ren Konatsu
4. MAX HEART After The Final: Mizuki, Uta Takami, HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki Vs Yuki Arai, Mifu Ashida, Kira Summer & Chika Nanase
5. MAX HEART Beyond The Bracket: Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
6. MAX HEART Beyond The Bracket: Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo

The Max Heart Tournament is over for another year but before everything gets packed up, there’s one more day of matches for all of the teams to get involved in. Two matches happening tomorrow are both potential finals that could have been. Pompaler Vs Daisy Monkey and Daydream Vs Shunrai Rekka!! Prism Greed could have only happened in this year’s tournament if both teams had made it to the final. The other two matches are both 8-Women Tags featuring all the other teams from the winners right down to those who fell in Round 1.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2026 ~29TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 22/03/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs X
2. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs KANON

As announced during The 37KAMIINA’s show earlier on today, Shunma Katsumata returns to action on 22nd March. He’s been out injured with a torn ACL since last July.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’26”, 29/03/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Special Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Hyper Misao & Super Sasadango Machine
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs X & X
3. International Princess Title: MIRAI (c) Vs Suzume
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Arai

It’s going to be a battle of pride and history over the International Princess Title in Sumo Hall next month. MIRAI has chosen Suzume to be her next challenger because both have grown stronger in their own different ways in the time that’s occured since MIRAI left Tokyo Joshi Pro. The two were classmates who both debuted in 2019 and had a short lived tag team called BeeStar. If that’s not enough, both of them are going into the match carrying the expectations for their respective companies on their backs. Suzume wants to win back the IP Title for TJPW while MIRAI is fighting for Michinoku Pro who have taken to her like family throughout her tenure there so far.

It has not been made official yet but Ober Eats are going to have their next Princess Tag Team Titles defence on this show. By winning the Max Heart Tournament they have virtually prevented any other team in TJPW from becoming the No. 1 Contenders for the time being. Yuki Kamifuku says she doesn’t care who she and Wakana Uehara will fight against but she would prefer it if TJPW can find a buzzworthy tag team that is cooler, sexier and more popular than them.


DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 5 ~THE ONLY SAUNA IN THE WORLD~” Results

February 14, 2026

DDT “NEPPA OVER FLOWERS 5 ~THE ONLY SAUNA IN THE WORLD~”, 14/02/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Young Boy Akito Nishigaki Shinjuku FACE Debut Match: Rukiya Vs Young Boy Akito Nishigaki ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
1a. Overtime: Rukiya defeated Young Boy Akito Nishigaki with a Cradle (1:59).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shin KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Shunma KatsuMAO & Takeshi Masada defeated Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Koju Takeda when TAKESHITA pinned Hirata with the Wagamama (15:33).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Brahman Sasaki defeated Yuya Koroku, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi when Sasaki pinned Yuni after the Gotai Fumanzoku (12:23).
4. SeaSaunaShack Presents: Shinya Aoki defeated Hinata Kasai with the Aoki Clutch (10:35).
5. Ueno Nordic Presents Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Pokotan (w/ Chris Bathooks, Naya Tonttu & Sauna Stones・Den) with the Frog Splash (15:03).
6. Naniwa Health Land Utopia Presents Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated To-y with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (14:51).
7. Bonus Track Exhibition Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Shunma Katsumata ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).

A surprise attack from To-y led to him and Minoru Suzuki brawling around ringside during the main event. Suzuki got the advantage by Heel Hooking To-y over near the entrances. To-y tried fighting back with Chops as well as the Kojima Wonderland. But Suzuki got back in control, fired himself up in a To-y like manner and won with the Gotch-Style Piledriver. After the match Suzuki had something to say to To-y and the rest of The 37KAMIINA. He likes saunas too! When Suzuki left the ring, To-y admitted to everyone he was scared of fighting him but also discovered it was exciting too. He wants to go crazy but couldn’t because something else crazy was about to happen in the surprise bonus main event!

Shunma Katsumata then got into the ring. He had spent the entire show playing multiple roles from event producer to ring announcer. Now after eight months since his last match, he was going to wrestle again! The surprise match was a three minute exhibition between Katsumata and Yuki Ueno. It ended in a tie and Katsumata told everyone today has been the most tiring day of his life. However he is now in great condition and will have his official return match from injury on 22nd March!

Ueno earlier found himself in what was pretty much a 1 Vs 4 match. His opponent was Pokotan but the mascot was accompanied with three DDT wrestlers taking up their own sauna gimmicks: Chris Bathooks (Chris Brookes), Naya Tonttu (Yukio Naya) & Sauna Stones・Den (Yuki Ishida). Pokotan lost its head during the match and one of the other wrestlers would put it on to take its place in the match. Ueno took everyone’s moves until the original Pokotan got its head back. Ueno wiped out the others with a Plancha and then hit a Frog Splash onto Pokotan while using its head for extra impact to get the win.

Hinata Kasai got to go ten minutes with Shinya Aoki. Whether or not that can be seen as valuable experience or an excuse to get stretched apart is for him to figure out. While Kasai got to get some offence in, Aoki was firmly in control for much of the match and he got Kasai with the Aoki Clutch to get the three count. Aoki said Kasai gave it his all and that was the reason why Aoki couldn’t end the match as soon as he wanted to. He’s happy with Kasai’s performance and looks forward to what’s to come for the rookie. Kasai called himself weak and said his entire body is in pain but he was able to resist the pain in order to fight Aoki with all that he’s got. He will treasure this match and will definitely beat Aoki some day, even if it takes a few years to get there.

Something Katsumata wasn’t able to do today was perform with NωA Jr. so Daichi Sato was supposed to take his place. Sato is out injured so Yuya Koroku ended up filling his spot instead. Meanwhile The Brahman Brothers had a new ally in the blue form of Brahman Sasaki. He joined in their shenanigans of throwing buckets of water at everyone and spewing mysterious goo out of his mouth. However NωA Jr. ended up doing something similar by drooling what was described as melted chocolate from their mouths onto the Brahmans. Things ended up backfiring for Koroku, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi with missed attacks that ended with powder being thrown into their faces. From there the Brahmans trapped Yuni in the Gotai Fumanzoku double pin for the victory. It took until after the match for Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei to figure out that NωA Jr. used melted chocolate because today is Valentine’s Day.

While the real Konosuke Takeshita is busy wrestling over in Australia, Shin Konosuke Takeshita made their big return a year after their previous appearance on this series. Kazuki Hirata was impressed with Shin Takeshita’s world class ability. Danshoku Dieno was fixated on fighting ShunMAO Katsumata and Koju Takeda joined in on his lewd spots. Shin Takeshita hit the Takeshita Line but couldn’t get over the ropes to do a Topé. Instead ShunMAO & Takeshi Masada used a spinning chair to help Shin Takeshita give Hirata the Raging Fire. Hirata kicked out much to everyone’s surprise but was then thrown into the Double Hell Gate that was Dieno & Takeda’s rear ends. ShunMAO then did the Totonou Splash onto Hirata and Shin Takeshita finished him off with the Wagamama.

Akito rolled back the clock and wrestled his match as a “Young Boy”, wearing the plain black trunks and using a more basic moveset. His match with Rukiya only lasted five minutes because that was the time limit allowed but Katsumata decided to give them a restart in order to determine a winner. Rukiya got the best of Akito here after a series of countered cradles ended with Rukiya getting the pin.

Before the show began, a press conference was held for the upcoming D GENERATIONS CUP final between Kazuma Sumi and Takeshi Masada. Sumi has thought about this match a lot but his thoughts are just him surpassing Masada to win the tournament. He thinks Masada is amazing but he is just as amazing too. Masada (accompanied by Bunbun) appreciated being called an amazing wrestler and competed in this year’s DGC tournament to get more fans to watch it. He wants as much support he can get to win and get the DDT Universal Title shot against Daisuke Sasaki. The two were asked what were their favorite matches in the tournament? Sumi’s answer was his match against Daichi Sato because they punched and kicked each other as hard as they could. Masada chose his two matches with Koroku because they left a lasting impression on him he will never forget. They were then asked about getting a Universal Title match. Sumi said he would like to challenge for that title for the first time and his goal is to become a top Junior Heavyweight wrestler. Masada feels uneasy because he had two previous title shots that both ended in failure. But if he wins it he wants to express what it’s like to be the Universal Champion in his own way.