DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018” Results

January 3, 2018

DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018”, 03/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,187 Fans

0. Under Match: Hoshitango & Rekka defeated Mizuki Watase & Daiki Shimomura when Rekka pinned Shimomura with a Reverse Power Slam (6:23).
1. Akito defeated Yuki Ueno with the Scorpion Lock (8:19).
2. Infomercial Match – “LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow” Movie: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (w/ Mai Hakase) defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Veda Scott when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (11:41).
3. New Year Kakizome Rumble (Calligrapher: Nachu): Keisuke Ishii defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Super Sasadango Machine, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Gorgeous Matsuno, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi, Joey Ryan and Joey Axl (17:46).
3a. Joey Axl was eliminated by speaking Japanese (4:39).
3b. Nobuhiro Shimatani was eliminated by climbing the corner post (6:04).
3c. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was eliminated by saying his name (6:14).
3d. Joey Ryan was eliminated by speaking English (9:31).
3e. Sanshiro Takagi was eliminated by doing the Stunner (12:37).
3f. Gota Ihashi was eliminated by missing a Moonsault (14:03).
3g. Gorgeous Matsuno was eliminated by doing the Gorgeous Star☆Elbow (14:38).
3h. Mad Paulie was eliminated by laughing (15:55).
3i. Super Sasadango was eliminated by doing a Flying Body Attack (17:46).
4. Road To D-King GP Special Special Single Match: Soma Takao defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Endless Waltz (9:13).
5. NωA, If You Lose Immediately Withdraw Your Dissolution Special: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Danshoku Dino, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when Oishi pinned Dino with the Triple Ecstasy (10:02).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Colt Cabana & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Shooting Star Press (16:21).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Colt Cabana (c) with a Flying Body Attack (8:40 pm).
*Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 1,286th champion.
7. Road To D-King GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Jiro Kuroshio defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Mike Bailey & Shuji Ishikawa when HARASHIMA pinned Bailey with the Somato (20:17).

With the D-King Grand Prix just days away from starting, six of the participants took part in the 6-Man Tag Team main event of 2018’s first DDT show. Jiro Kuroshio is already testing the patience of some wrestlers with his long entrance that this time involved the unwilling participation of a small child. Konosuke Takeshita in particular made Kuroshio his target in the match. Elsewhere Shuji Ishikawa and Kazusada Higuchi squared off in a power battle while HARASHIMA had his hands full with Mike Bailey. It all built up to unlikely team moves like Takeshita doing a Codebreaker on HARASHIMA then holding him down for a Body Press from Ishikawa followed by the Standing Double Knee Moonsault from Bailey. However, HARASHIMA avoided the Ultima Weapon from Bailey and pinned him with two Somatos.

HARASHIMA was about to give his victory speech when Kuroshio grabbed the microphone and gave his own speech. He said he was happy to be in the tournament and is looking forward to beating up Takeshita even more. Higuchi threatened to rampage his way through the block to the final. He is happy to see that Ishikawa is even stronger than ever and looks forward to fighting him. Ishikawa asked if Higuchu knows how many championships he has won? Ishikawa guarantees he will win the GP because he is at his best. Bailey said the Somato he took made him understand his wrestling career could end at any moment. But if it does end it will be when Bailey fights HARASHIMA in the final. Takeshita told Kuroshio he will make his handsome face look awkward when they fight again. HARASHIMA said he will win the league and headline Sumo Hall. As usual. He tried to close out the show but Kuroshio stole all the attention again by posing in front of him.

Daisuke Sasaki is sick of Antonio Honda telling his “Gon, The Little Fox” stories. He told Honda his goal for 2018 should be to give up telling them. Colt Cabana backed up Honda by going along with his story and joining in with his antics. They performed the Superman Dive together for a double nearfall. But it all went wrong when a double Bionic Elbow ended with them hitting each other. Tetsuya Endo took advantage with the Springboard Overhead Kick and then won the match with the Shooting Star Press on Honda.

After the match Cabana was attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani because he wanted to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Cabana fought him off but then Super Sasadango Machine came in and pinned Cabana with a Cross Body Block. Cabana tried to win the title back at the end of the show but failed.

The NωA had to fight for their lives against Danshoku Dino and the Brahman Brothers. They were told by the brothers before the match that they would fall into Hell! What followed was a brawl between both sides that moved into the audience. The Brahmans took out a mixer and blended together a liquid made out of beer, boiled egg, natto and raw squid. They considered throwing it into the audience but they poured it over Yuki Ueno instead. NωA turned the tables and used the Brahmans’ own tricks against them including throwing the bowling ball and suitcase at them and spitting the black India Ink at their faces. They then attacked Dino with a piece of wood up the backside and pinned him with the Triple Ecstasy. The NωA are now allowed to break up and their final match will take place on 28th January. They asked for T2Hide to be their final opponents. All of T2Hide came down to the ring crying with happiness over being chosen.

In the second D-King GP preview of the night, Soma Takao beat Masahiro Takanashi. He countered the Takatonic into the Endless Waltz series of rolling pin attempts, constantly rolling Takanashi into another pin until he finally got the three count. Takao thinks the move will help him immensely in the tournament. Just using today’s match as an example, the Endless Waltz got Takao a total of 10 pin counts, that’s enough for three wins. Takao hopes the Endless Waltz along with the Gin And Tonic will help him win both the Grand Prix in January and also All Japan’s Junior Heavyweight league in February.

Two years ago a calligrapher named Nachu was invited over to DDT to paint Kakizome new year messages on the backs of the wrestlers. She came back this year so it could be done again. The rule of the Battle Royal was every wrestler had a “Prohibited Skill” painted on their back. If the wrestler performed the skill during the match they would be disqualified. But since it was painted on their backs they did not know what their banned skill was. So the wrestlers all tried to bait each other into doing their prohibited moves. One of the entrants was Joey Axl, a pro wrestler from Australia. He appeared during the show opening ceremony unbeknown to the rest of the roster. It was only when Hisaya Imabayashi noticed him standing next to the other foreign wrestlers that he introduced himself and asked to wrestle in DDT. It was decided he would be added to the Battle Royal.

Sadly for Axl he was the first one eliminated. His prohibited skill was speaking Japanese and he was tricked into saying “Ichiban!” after he overpowered his opponents. Nobuhiro Shimatani was out when he climbed the turnbuckle to do a high flying attack. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was not allowed to say his name in the manner of the RVD/Toru Yano taunt that he likes to do. He teased doing it first but later did it for real to get eliminated. Joey Ryan was tricked into speaking English when Gorgeous Matsuno told him he had a small dick. Sanshiro Takagi was out after he gave Gota Ihashi a Stunner. Matsuno wasn’t allowed to do his Gorgeous Star☆Elbow. It took him several attempts to do the move because he kept getting tangled into the ropes mid-move. He finally did it with Keisuke Ishii’s help but that meant he was now out of the match. Ihashi did his Moonsault but he wasn’t supposed to. He also missed. Super Sasadango Machine eliminated Mad Paulie by making him laugh. Sasadango unmasked himself to show he was wearing similar facepaint as Paulie. It made Paulie so happy that he laughed. Finally Sasadango eliminated himself by doing a Cross Body to Ishii. Ishii was declared the winner because he avoided doing his prohibited skill, performing a combination attack with another wrestler.

The Infomercial Match was supposed to begin with a trailer for the upcoming movie LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow which features Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai in supporting roles. However Kazuki Hirata stopped the trailer because he wanted to dance with the movie’s lead star Mai Hakase instead. Hakase appeared with Shuten-dōji wearing her movie character’s costume. Sakaguchi got so mad at Hirata for his behaviour that Toru Owashi & Veda Scott bailed from the apron and left Hirata alone in the ring with him to get beaten up. Later in the match Hirata challenged Hakase to a duel. Hakase pulled out her prop sword and looked to have bested Hirata until he knocked her out with a sudden karate chop. Sakaguchi stole the Hirata Go! glasses and danced his way into beating up Hirata again to win the match. With Hirata defeated, the movie trailer was allowed to be shown. Afterwards Hakase, Sakaguchi and Akai spoke about their experiences during the making of the movie. Hakane said that she was afraid of Sakaguchi when they first met and she wanted to run away when it was time for them to film their fight scene. But he was able to work with her shyness and it turned out fine. She also said Akai was really strong when they filmed their scenes together. Next time she’d like to see her get a role as a sexy ninja.

Akito’s tune up match for the GP was against the rookie Yuki Ueno. While it wasn’t a big challenge for Akito, he felt it was a good way to prepare for the tournament. He was also nicely surprised by how well Ueno wrestled in the match. He’s pleased to see the younger wrestlers in DDT growing up in the ring and thinks he can teach them stuff that other wrestlers in the company cannot.

The wrestlers in the pre-show match all yelled “Happy New Year!” mid-move to each other at some point. Rekka & Hoshitango worked well together and did a lot of damage to Daiki Shimomura. Their big move involved Rekka climbing onto Hoshitango’s back then Hoshitango doing a Splash onto Shimomura with Rekka still on top of him. Mizuki Watase stopped the pin but once they got rid of him it was easy pickings for Rekka to finish off Shimomura.

It was announced that The Great Muta will appear at “JUDGEMENT 2018” in Sumo Hall on 25th March!


“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2017” Results

January 1, 2018

“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2017”, 31/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,411 Fans

1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Ryota Hama & Soma Takao when Sekimoto pinned Takao after a missed Okido Press from Hama (6:06).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito defeated Kota Sekifuda & Ryota Nakatsu when Akito submitted Nakatsu with the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock (4:32).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Brahman Kei & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Shu) defeated Antonio Honda & Takuya Nomura (w/ Jaki Numazawa) when Sasaki pinned Honda after the Syachihoko Clutch (7:21).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto defeated Keisuke Ishii & Takayuki Ueki when Dino pinned Ueki with the Danshoku Screwdriver (9:53).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Aoki when Miyamoto pinned Aoki with the Fire Thunder (3:28).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Isami Kodaka & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Tatsuhiko Yoshino when Uto pinned Yoshino with the Axis Fall (6:34).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Abdullah Kobayashi & Colt Cabana defeated Minoru Fujita & Shunma Katsumata when Kobayashi submitted Katsumata with a Crab Hold (4:21).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Tetsuya Koda Vs Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
8a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Great Kojika & Tetsuya Koda when Takeshita pinned Kojika with a Rope Assisted School Boy (1:38).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito when Higuchi pinned Akito with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (1:52).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Brahman Shu & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Kei) defeated Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto when Shu pinned Dino with a School Boy (8:09).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Isami Kodaka & Yoshihisa Uto when HARASHIMA pinned Uto with the Somato (9:57).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita Vs Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher ended in a No Contest after a Referee Assault (2:17).
12a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Hideki The Brodie & Jimmy Takeshita defeated Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher by Countout (2:50).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto when Sekimoto pinned Miyamoto with the Roll Through German Suplex (9:47).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita defeated Brahman Kei & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Shu) when Takeshita pinned Kei with the Superfly Splash (7:02).
15. TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary Match: Kotaro Yoshino, Dinosaur Takuma, Kazumi Kikuta & MAO defeated TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Ryuji Ito & Sanshiro Takagi when MAO pinned Michinoku with a School Boy (13:16).
16. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi when Suzuki pinned Higuchi with the Double Arm Suplex (12:44).

DDT and Big Japan ended 2017 and begun 2018 with what they usually do at this time every year, a big pro wrestling get together at Korakuen Hall! This year’s tag team tournament was themed around one wrestler from each company joining forces. Every pairing also had their own custom team name too.

Round 1

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Hamamatsu. The show kicked off with Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi entering the ring both wearing sunglasses and carrying samurai swords. They won over Ryota Hama & Soma Takao in a match where Hama made the most impact. First he squashed Higuchi with a Hip Attack in the corner. But then he squashed Takao by accident when he missed the Okido Press. Sekimoto pinned a lifeless Takao to win. Hama tried to apologise to Takao afterwards but Takao was too afraid to approach him.

Team Hitomishiri Vs Team 14. Pretty simple first round win for Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito. Although Kota Sekifuda dove onto Hashimoto, he was nowhere to be found when Akito locked Ryota Nakatsu into the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock. Sekifuda & Nakatsu didn’t get much time in the ring together but they would like to team up again someday, maybe in next year’s tournament.

Charming Dolls Vs Charisma Brahman. Throughout the night the Brahman Brothers switched back and forth to team with Daisuke Sasaki in their matches. For the first match, Brahman Kei was the legal participant. Sasaki gleefully joined in with their act of throwing water at the audience during their entrance. Meanwhile Takuya Nomura wore identical wrestling gear to Antonio Honda and they were accompanied by Jaki Numzawa in their corner. The match broke down into a 6 Way at one point when Brahman Shu and Numazawa got involved in the fighting. Kei accidentally blinded Sasaki with the black ink. Nomura grabbed the Brahmans’ bucket of water and threw it at them in the corner. But Sasaki & Kei rallied to pin Honda with the Crucifix And Jackknife pinning combination. As the Brahmans walked off they had an idea. For the next match they should become Charisma like Sasaki!

Hakai Kyodai Vs With Love And Enthrallment And Reassurance. Keisuke Ishii & Takayuki Ueki came out dressed as Ryu and Zangief from Street Fighter. At first they acted like the characters but Ueki then got so frustrated by Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto that he pulled out his gun. Ueki held Dino hostage and demanded that they switch tights so he could possess Dino’s Danshoku skills. Unfortunately Ueki slipped off the top rope and crotched himself. Dino, now wearing the Zangief tights, gave Ueki a Zangief style Spinning Piledriver to advance his team to the next round.

Smile Yankee Vs Team Yokohama. The match begun quickly when Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Aoki attacked HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto. But once Smile Yankee isolated Aoki it didn’t take long for them to put him down. Sakaguchi apologised to Aoki for coming up with the reckless plan but Aoki apologised too for being weak.

Yoshino-ka Vs Jikujion. Masahiro Takanashi joined in with Tatsuhiko Yoshino’s local boy gimmick. Yoshihisa Uto carried Isami Kodaka on his shoulders for their entrance but accidentally whacked Kodaka’s head off of the stage. This would happen for all of their matches tonight. Kodaka trusted Uto to carry both him and his victim of a Superplex but Uto struggled to pull it off. He finally succeeded but Kodaka was hurt in the process as if he was given a German Suplex. The move worked well enough to pin Yoshino though.

Shunma To Minoru Vs KobaCabana. Minoru Fujita wanted to sing along with Shunma Katsumata during their entrance but his microphone was switched off for a lot of it. He also wore a strand of barbwire disguised as a headband around his forehead. Sadly their idol behaviour didn’t work and they both submitted to Abdullah Kobayashi & Colt Cabana.

Great To Mago Vs Most Strongest Combi. In a rare occurrence for this tournament, only one match in the entire show went to a time limit draw. The combined skills of Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita were not enough to figure out The Great Kojika in under 10 minutes. Tetsuya Endo tried his best to beat Takeshita for the second time in two days but the time ran out during their skirmish. 1 Count Pinfalls were activated for overtime and Kojika surprisingly came close to pinning Takeshita with the Iron Claw. Shockingly, Suzuki pulled the referee away to stop him from counting. Takeshita then used the distraction to School Boy Kojika and Suzuki held down his feet onto the ropes for leverage. Yes, it took that much cheating to pin The Great Kojika for one second!

Round 2

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Team Hitomishiri. The first bout of Round 2 ended in quick fashion when Higuchi of all people pinned Akito with a Rolling Leg Clutch. Akito & Hashimoto tried to tap out their opponents with Scorpion Locks and Ankle Locks but it wasn’t enough. Akito promised to keep in touch with Hashumoto through LINE.

Charisma Brahman Vs Hakai Kyodai. This time Brahman Shu was teaming with Sasaki. Also this time the Brahmans dressed like Sasaki and were also armed with plates filled with…well…some sort of foul substance I don’t want to think about. Sasaki accidentally got a face full of it. At one point Dino suddenly started grabbing around his partner and pulled out Ueki’s gun from his pants! Sasaki and the Brahmans stopped him with a traffic sign attack then made him sit onto a chair with the plate of dirt placed on it. Sasaki took out toilet roll to wipe the substance off of Dino’s backside and then rub it into his face. Shu then pinned Dino with a School Boy to end the madness. The Brahmans praised Sasaki for his technique in using the plate.

Smile Yankee Vs Jikujion. Uto again carried Kodaka head first into the entrance stage. Their double team Suplex attempt off the top rope failed when Miyamoto held onto HARASHIMA to keep him on the corner. Uto ended up just giving Kodaka a German Suplex instead. Miyamoto dropped Uto with a Fire Thunder then narrowly rolled out of the way of HARASHIMA’s Somato. That was it for Uto & Kodaka’s run in the tournament.

KobaCabana? Vs Most Strongest Combi?. Due to earlier injuries dealt to everyone involved in this match, both teams had to be replaced. Luckily a bunch of “legends” happened to be in the building and stepped in to fill the gap. Suzuki & Takeshita were replaced by Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita while Kobayashi & Cabana were replaced by Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher. The two teams brawled with each other around the ring and then all threatened to attack Yukinori Matsui with their weapons. The match ended in a Double DQ because of the threats and had to be restarted. The four then brawled up towards the crowd and Brodie wrapped his chain around both Kobayashi & Cabana. He held them back while Takeshita crawled back to the ring to win the match by countout. When the match was over they all re-entered the ring and attacked a ringside assistant with their finishing moves.

Japan Indie Grand Prize Awards

Samurai TV and Occupation Of The Indies held their annual Japan Indie Grand Prize awards after Round 2. The MVP Award went to Hideki Suzuki. The Best Bout Award went to the Big Japan match between Masashi Takeda Vs Masaya Takahashi from 17th December. Best Unit went to DAMNATION. Best Show went to Big Japan for their 17th November outdoor event in Ueno Park. Best Newcomer went to Andre The Giant Panda. The Special Achievement Award was given to the late Mr. Pogo.

Semi Finals

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Smile Yankee. A random drawing put together the semi final matchups. Lariats from Sekimoto & Higuchi were the difference maker. Miyamoto also wasn’t prepared for Sekimoto to roll him into the German Suplex from the ropes.

Charisma Brahman Vs Most Strongest Combi. Remember when I said the madness was over? It came back. Suzuki & Takeshita were still in their legend gimmicks and this time they had Kobayashi & Cabana on their side to combat Sasaki & The Brahmans’ tricks. Kei was isolated from his teammates and was put through the Western Lariat, the King Kong Knee Drop, the Poisoned Elbow Drop and finally the Superfly Splash to lose the match. Sasaki and The Brahmans still threw water at the audience afterwards.

TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary Match

The final pro wrestling match of 2017 in Japan was TAKA Michinoku’s 25th Anniversary match. He led a veteran team of K-DOJO, Big Japan and DDT wrestlers to face some of the new generation coming from those companies. MAO became a butt of a joke by being the victim of a never ending Corner Train Attack featuring everyone else in the match, loads of wrestlers who weren’t in the match and even one of the Samurai TV cameramen! Cabana was involved too but he just wanted to take a selfie with MAO. This went on for so long that the countdown to the new year began. In the final seconds Michinoku charged in but MAO rolled him over with a School Boy to pin him right as the clock struck zero! Happy new year!

Final

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Most Strongest Combi. The tournament final is the first wrestling match in Japan of 2018. Suzuki & Takeshita were now back to normal. Both teams threw all that they had left at each other. It all came down to Higuchi and Suzuki fighting each other. Higuchi hit the Doctor Bomb but it wasn’t enough. Takeshita gave Higuchi a Dragon Suplex and Suzuki followed it up with a Dragon Suplex of his own. Higuchi kicked out! Suzuki then used the Double Arm Suplex and that wasn enough to beat Higuchi. The Most Strongest Combi are the Shuffle Tag Tournament winners! When they were given the rewards Takeshita joked that they only wrestled twice in the tournament this year and still won. Suzuki said he was honoured to fight Sekimoto & Higuchi. He also bragged that he wasn’t feeling tired at all. Sekimoto grabbed the microphone and swore into it.


D-King Grand Prix 2018 Preview

December 27, 2017

More details have emerged for the D-King Grand Prix tournament taking place in January. At the end of “NEVER MIND 2017” on Christmas Eve, Konosuke Takeshita asked what would be the big prize for him because he is already the KO-D Openweight Champion and will most likely be the defending champion in the main event of “JUDGEMENT 2018” next March. The original announcement of the tournament was that the winner will get a main event KO-D Title shot on that show. DDT Producer Danshoku Dino revealed his intentions behind setting up the D-King GP. The winner will be “cast in the leading role” for DDT in 2018 so whoever wins the GP will become a major focal point of the company over the next 12 months. If that isn’t enough, a few days later the Assistant Producer Hisaya Imabayashi revealed that the winner will also receive 2,000,000 yen in prize money!

A press conference was held with all of the Japanese entrants making an appearance to comment on their chances in the tournament. Takeshita said he’s been satisfied by defending the KO-D Title in Korakuen Hall but there are many regions in Japan where the title has never been defended in. Some of those areas are on the tour schedule and while he is not defending the title in the tournament, he wants to wrestle in those towns as if the title is on the line every show. He thinks the strongest wrestler should win the Grand Prix and it doesn’t make sense if the champion is not the strongest.

The rest of Block A gave their opinions. For HARASHIMA it has been years since he last competed in a Round Robin tournament. He knows how much risk there is in suffering an injury because there have been times when he got hurt early in tournaments and could not complete his remaining matches. Keisuke Ishii sees the Grand Prix as an opportunity to end his current depressing run. He is confident he will win because his total singles record against his Block A opponents are 9 wins, 7 losses and 5 draws. Tetsuya Endo claims that he is only interested in fighting Jiro Kuroshio, nobody else. Masahiro Takanashi had spent his recent time wondering why he was put in the tournament because he is more of a 6-Man Tag Team specialist. He found out it was because KUDO is not in good enough condition to compete in a league format and Takanashi was nominated in his place. Now he realises he is the second most experienced wrestler in the tournament after HARASHIMA. When he looked at the poster for “JUDGEMENT 2018” that was when he found his answer. He believes he will face Kazusada Higuchi in the final. Jiro Kuroshio is happy for the opportunity and is excited for his matches. He wants to win the Grand Prix for himself rather than for WRESTLE-1.

Over in Block B the atmosphere is a bit different. Daisuke Sasaki has become depressed after losing the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title to Ken Ohka then failing to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Endo. He doesn’t think he will win the tournament. He feels so low that he thinks he will only win one match. He said this while looking at Shuji Ishikawa. Yukio Sakaguchi is delighted to take part because he gets to prove he is the clearly the strongest in DDT. Soma Takao is entering his first league competition and is counting on the experience he learned wrestling in All Japan to bring out his full potential. Akito already has his battle plans in place to beat all but one person in his block. The one man he can’t figure out is Ishikawa. If he can beat him then as far as he is concerned, winning the tournament is guaranteed. He desires to face his friend Takeshita on DDT’s biggest stage. Kazusada Higuchi is keeping it simple and will focus on one match at a time. He’ll defeat whoever steps in front of him then the main event spot in Sumo Hall will come naturally to him. Shuji Ishikawa thinks he had a good 2017 and wants to continue that momentum going into 2018.

Some questions were asked to the wrestlers by the wrestling press. Takeshita was asked which wrestler he is most looking forward to fighting. He said Kuroshio because it is a new generation DDT Vs WRESTLE-1 match. Kuroshio said he has a plan to beat Takeshita but he’s keeping it secret. Ishikawa was asked about having to fight his friend Sasaki. Ishikawa said it was a conspiracy by DDT to put them together in the same block. But he will fight Sasaki if he has to. Sasaki joked that Ishikawa only has three seconds to beat him. HARASHIMA was asked about Takeshita throwing around the words “New Generation” in his earlier comments. HARASHIMA has no thoughts in particular about it and he is only focusing on winning his matches. Endo was asked about being separated from DAMNATION and being alone in his block. Endo promised to give the prize money to Sasaki when he wins it.

Ishii was asked to provide more data about his singles record against the rest of Block A. He said he has 6 wins & 1 loss against Endo, 3 wins & 0 losses against Takanashi, 0 wins & 5 losses plus 1 draw against HARASHIMA, 1 loss & 1 draw against Takeshita. He has never wrestled singles matches against Kuroshio and Joey Ryan. Sakaguchi & Takanashi were asked about wrestling in KUDO’s place. Sakaguchi described the tournament as being different from King Of DDT which KUDO usually participates in. They are sorry that KUDO is unable to compete in the GP but he will be there to celebrate with them when they win.

Akito was asked about what Ishikawa’s potential strategy will be against him. Akito repeated that he cannot figure Ishikawa out. He has time to come up with something but right now he can’t see anything at all when he looks at him. Endo was asked about getting to fight Takeshita one on one again for the first time since “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. He refused to give an answer. He doesn’t want to think about it until it happens. Finally, Ishikawa was asked if he has a blueprint in place for 2018. He said he has no such thing. He just does his best and the fans appreciate it. He doesn’t know if he will win the tournament but he will make the effort.

Neither of the two foreign entrants were in attendance so there are no comments available for Joey Ryan and Mike Bailey.

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2018
Shinjuku FACE

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Veda Scott Vs Antonio Honda & Soma Takao Vs KUDO & Toru Owashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jiro Kuroshio
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Keisuke Ishii
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Akito
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kazusada Higuchi
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Mike Bailey Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS”, 07/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Danshoku Dino, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno Vs Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Veda Scott
2. 4 Way Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kouki Iwasaki Vs Naomi Yoshimura
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Joey Ryan
5. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Jiro Kuroshio
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Kazusada Higuchi
8. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito Vs Mike Bailey

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS”, 08/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Danshoku Dino Sometimes Throws Away The Heavy Responsibilities Of A Producer To Hit The Desire Of Man New Year’s Special Battle Royal: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Tetsuya Endo Vs Toru Owashi Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno Vs Veda Scott (Special Referee: Danshoku Dino)
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Joey Ryan
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Jiro Kuroshio
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Masahiro Takanashi
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Mike Bailey
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN NERIMA”, 10/01/2018
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall

0. Under Match: KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi, Kouki Iwasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mike Bailey, Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs HARASHIMA
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Joey Ryan
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Jiro Kuroshio
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Soma Takao
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito Vs Kazusada Higuchi

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN YOKOHAMA”, 11/01/2018
Yokohama Radiant Hall

0. Under Match: HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda, Mizuki Watase & Rekka Vs Kazusada Higuchi, MAO, Daiki Shimomura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Jiro Kuroshio
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Ryan
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Shuji Ishikawa
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Mike Bailey
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Akito

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHIMIZU”, 13/01/2018
Shizuoka Shimizu Marine Bill

1. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Masahiro Takanashi
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Tetsuya Endo
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Joey Ryan Vs Jiro Kuroshio
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Akito
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Mike Bailey
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINKIBA”, 14/01/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

0. Under Match: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Ueno
1. 7 Way Match: Danshoku Dino Vs KUDO Vs Akito Vs Mad Paulie Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Keisuke Ishii
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Tetsuya Endo
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Joey Ryan
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Mike Bailey
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Soma Takao
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 THE FINAL!!”, 28/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. D-King Grand Prix – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block


D-King Grand Prix 2018 Schedule

December 4, 2017

DDT is trying out a round robin tournament to set up the main event of their next Sumo Hall show in March. The D-King Grand Prix will have two blocks both consisting of seven wrestlers. The winners of each block face each other in the final and the tournament champion gets added to the main event of “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~”. This is the first round robin DDT has done since the 2010 Young Drama Cup and I think the first on DDT’s main shows since the 2005 KO-D Tag League. Every block match has a 30 minute time limit, I assume the final will have no time limit. Every show during the group stage will have one or two non-tournament matches as well.

A Block

Konosuke Takeshita
HARASHIMA
Keisuke Ishii
Tetsuya Endo
Masahiro Takanashi
Joey Ryan
Jiro Kuroshio

B Block

Daisuke Sasaki
Yukio Sakaguchi
Soma Takao
Akito
Kazusada Higuchi
Mike Bailey
Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2018
Shinjuku FACE

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Jiro Kuroshio
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Keisuke Ishii
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Akito
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Mike Bailey Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS”, 07/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Joey Ryan
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Jiro Kuroshio
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Kazusada Higuchi
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito Vs Mike Bailey

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS”, 08/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Joey Ryan
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Jiro Kuroshio
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Masahiro Takanashi
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Kazusada Higuchi
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Mike Bailey
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN NERIMA”, 10/01/2018
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs HARASHIMA
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Joey Ryan
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Jiro Kuroshio
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Soma Takao
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito Vs Kazusada Higuchi

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN YOKOHAMA”, 11/01/2018
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Jiro Kuroshio
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Ryan
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Shuji Ishikawa
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Mike Bailey
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Akito

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN SHIMIZU”, 13/01/2018
Shizuoka Shimizu Marine Bill

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii Vs Tetsuya Endo
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Joey Ryan Vs Jiro Kuroshio
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Akito
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Mike Bailey
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 IN SHINKIBA”, 14/01/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Keisuke Ishii
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA Vs Tetsuya Endo
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Masahiro Takanashi Vs Joey Ryan
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Mike Bailey
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Soma Takao
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2017 THE FINAL!!”, 28/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. D-King Grand Prix – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block


DDT “UCHIKOMI! PRESENTS GOD BLESS DDT 2017” Results

November 23, 2017

DDT “UCHIKOMI! PRESENTS GOD BLESS DDT 2017”, 23/11/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,271 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Mad Paulie defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Paulie Buster (3:04).
1. DNA Generation Struggle! ~NOW Leader Vs NEW Leader~: Kota Umeda defeated Yuki Ueno with the Umeda Driver (5:06).
2. King’s Game The Animation Infomercial Match – Irregular Battle Royal: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dino by Mission Failure (7:35).
2a. Mizuki Watase was eliminated by Mission Failure – Slap Hirata (3:53).
2b. Nobuhiro Shimatani and Saki Akai were eliminated by Mission Failure – Kiss Me (5:02).
2c. Koji Yoshida was eliminated by Mission Failure – Strike With Lariat (6:05).
2d. Danshoku Dino was eliminated by Mission Failure – Do Not Show Your Ass (7:35).
3. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Diego and Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Rekka when Sakaguchi submitted Rekka with the Cobra Clutch (6:01).
4. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: LiLiCo, Makoto Oishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated Shiro Koshinaka, Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Shigehiro Irie & Antonio Honda when LiLiCo pinned Honda after the Fire Spear from Ohka (8:06).
*V1 for Makoto Oishi, LiLiCo, Lady Beard, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka.
5. Do You Fly? Are You Flying? Special Single Match!: Tetsuya Endo defeated Mike Bailey with a Green Tea Plunge Switchback (10:02).
6. DDT Extreme Title – No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) defeated Soma Takao by Referee Stoppage with the Crossover Facelock (18:24).
*V8 for Daisuke Sasaki.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Akito when HARASHIMA pinned Akito with the Somato (24:01).
*V4 for HarashiMarufuji.

There were two stories to keep an eye on in the main event. One was the first meeting between Konosuke Takeshita and Naomichi Marufuji. But the other that led to the match result was HARASHIMA getting a measure of revenge on Akito after losing to him earlier this month. Takeshita and Marufuji took each other out of the match late. Takeshita hit the Knee Strike but Marufuji fired back with the Tiger King. Akito locked HARASHIMA in a European Clutch again but this time HARASHIMA kicked out. Akito kicked him afterwards but all it did was made HARASHIMA angry. In response HARASHIKA kicked Akito until Akito was knocked out. From there HARASHIMA hit the Somato and that was it. Marufuji praised the challengers afterwards for providing them with a highly tense match. He called Akito a wonderful wrestler and told Takeshita he would like to fight him again.

When ALL OUT left the ring, DAMNATION appeared to declare themselves as the next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Tetsuya Endo told the champions there are two geniuses in pro wrestling: himself and Daisuke Sasaki! HARASHIMA accepted the challenge and told Marufuji the next DDT show in Korakuen Hall is on Christmas Eve. It took some discussion for Marufuji to accept because he already has plans that day but he agreed to be there.

Chairs, steel basins and plastic boxes were all used in violent fashion during the No DQ Match. Soma Takao broke the plastic box over Sasaki’s head then hit a Diving Double Stomp while Sasaki was buried beneath a pile of chairs. Sasaki brought in handcuffs but he ended up wearing them instead. Tetsuya Endo and Mad Paulie eventually freed him but they took some chair shots from Takao during the process. Sasaki gave Takao the Vietnam Driver II onto the basin for a nearfall. Sasaki then locked in the Crossover Facelock until Takao lost consciousness. The referee called for the bell and rewarded the match to Sasaki. With this result Sasaki has now tied the record for most DDT Extreme Title defences in a single reign.

Dodgy translations aside, Mike Bailey had a clear plan put in place against Tetsuya Endo. Bailey thinks he is the calmer of the two so if he could make Endo mad, he can then use it to his advantage. Bailey intentionally left his guard open at the start by bowing to Endo. Endo didn’t fall for the trap. Instead he bowed back. Endo’s ability to match Bailey’s calmness with his own was the deciding factor. Bailey kicked out of the Tetsuya In The Sky and dodged away from the Shooting Star Press. But when it was his turn to fire back, Endo used Bailey’s momentum from the Green Tea Plunge to roll on top of him for the sudden three count. Whatever tension that existed between the two seems to have vanished after the match because they bowed to each other again. Bailey is taking the loss in his stride. He was hoping to win and go into his upcoming Impact X Division Title match against Taiji Ishimori at the Differ Cup with a lot of momentum. Instead he is going into the match as the clear underdog.

Super Sasadango Machine laid out his plans to beat the YaroZ in the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles match. He singled out Shiro Koshinaka as the biggest threat on the challenger team. In order to beat YaroZ, the champions will have to destroy Koshinaka’s greatest weapon. His ass! So a special rule was put in place. If anybody laughs during the match, they must take a baseball bat swing to the ass. The goal is to make Koshinaka laugh. Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno and Daiki Shimomura appeared dressed in black bodysuits carrying bats to attack any wrestler who laughed. Some of the others had some surprises in store to make Koshinaka laugh. Sasadango swapped places and costumes with the referee, LiLiCo was very aggressive with her shouting and everyone piled onto Sanshiro Takagi to stop him from doing the Spiccoli Driver. Takagi collapsed with back pain so Antonio Honda called for a doctor. Ultraman Robin appeared wearing a medical coat and he helped bring Takagi back to the locker room. He was interrupted by Yuki Iino dressed as a nurse. Iino decided that Takagi needed mouth to mouth resuscitation. It worked, Takagi regained consciousness and yelled at Iino not to use his tongue. Back in the ring the batsmen continued to attacked those who laughed but everyone noticed there was now a fourth batsman. It was Shinjiro Otani! He even used his bat the same way he does his Facewash Kicks in the corner. Honda stopped the match so he could talk about Gon, The Little Fox but he mixed it up with Fist Of The North Star. This made Koshinaka smirk and that was enough for him to get attacked. However Koshinaka shrugged off the bat shots and attacked the batmen and the others with Hip Attacks. Honda held LiLiCo in place for Koshinaka to hit the Super Hip Attack but LiLiCo moved out of the way. Honda got hit instead and he was then hit by Ken Ohka’s Fire Spear. LiLiCo climbed on top of Honda for the three count and a first successful defence of the 10-Man Titles. In the post-match interview Sasadango opened up a challenge for any fivesome in Japan to come over and face them. Big Japan, K-DOJO, WRESTLE-1, even All Japan or NOAH. Come on over!

A wild mix of teams were put together into a 3 Way Trios match. Diego was put with NωA and he filmed their entrance on his phone. Shunma Katsumata & MAO wiped out most of the field with stereo Suicide Dives but Shuten-dōji got away from them unscathed. That gave Yukio Sakaguchi the chance to pick apart Rekka and win the match for Shuten-dōji.

The King’s Game match featured plenty of surprises and suspense for the wrestlers involved. The match was overlooked by four of the voice actresses from the show. They spoke in-character and announced missions for the wrestlers to complete during the match. If anyone failed a mission they would be eliminated by death! The first twist came when the match was changed from a 5-on-1 Handicap Match into an all against each other Battle Royal. The first mission was to perform a throwing technique within 30 seconds. Everyone passed. Kazuki Hirata was about to dance when he was told dancing was prohibited by one of the other missions. The next mission was to slap Hirata within 30 seconds. Everyone did it except for Mizuki Watase. When the time expired the lights went out for a moment. When they came back on Watase spat blood out of his mouth and collapsed dead. He was out. The next mission was for the wrestlers to kiss each other. Danshoku Dino gladly kissed Koji Yoshida but Saki Akai hesitated to do the same with Nobuhiro Shimatani. They almost went through with it but Akai instead slapped him at the last second. The time expired, both of them spat out blood and they died. The next mission was to hit a Lariat. Yoshida failed and died. Lastly, Dino was instructed not to expose his ass. Hirata pulled down Dino’s tights and that was enough for Dino to fail the mission. He died and Hirata was declared the winner! Hirata danced to celebrate only to discover that his No Dancing mission was still active. Blood burst out of his mouth and he died to end the segment.

In his first singles match back from injury, Kota Umeda was victorious over Yuki Ueno. A Brainbuster, a Penalty Kick and the Umeda Driver scored him the win.

Mad Paulie made easy work of Daiki Shimomura in the dark match. The only time he was threatened with defeat was from a Missile Dropkick and a School Boy. After that Paulie lifted Shimomura up for an Argentine Backbreaker then put him away with the Paulie Buster.

Shuten-dōji are the subjects of the new DDT PREMIUM PHOTO book released at the show. Masahiro Takanashi was embarrassed when one of his sexy photos was shown on the screen and asked for the segment to be clipped out of the broadcast. KUDO’s picture was of him taking a batch and Sakaguchi’s was of him wearing only a fundoshi. He hopes those who buy the book will enjoy it “with a sense of comfort”.

The two block entries for the D-King Grand Prix were released. Block A contains Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA, Tetsuya Endo, Keisuke Ishii, Masahiro Takanashi, Joey Ryan and Jiro Kuroshio. Block B contains Daisuke Sasaki, Yukio Sakaguchi, Soma Takao, Akito, Kazusada Higuchi, Mike Bailey and Shuji Ishikawa.

Shuji Ishikawa & Suwama will team up to face the Brahman Brothers at “DAMNATION ILLEGAL GATHERING VOL. 2” in Korakuen Hall on 30th December.

Diego’s farewell match will be against Dick Togo on 1st December.

“RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” is scheduled for 21st October next year.


DDT “CARP IN THE KOI! 2017” Results

November 21, 2017

DDT “CARP IN THE KOI! 2017”, 20/11/2017
Hiroshima Aster Plaza Multi-Purpose Hall
187 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Shuten-dōji Vs T2Hide!: Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kota Umeda defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Umeda pinned Hirata with a School Boy (0:15).
1a. Rematch: Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kota Umeda defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata after the Sandwich PK (8:42).
2. MAO defeated Yuki Ueno with the Michinoku Driver I (10:17).
3. Kenshin Chikano & Takeshi Okada defeated Akito & Kouki Iwasaki when Chikano pinned Iwasaki with the Sliding Leg Lariat (10:47).
4. Local Hiroshima Born Danshoku Dino Wants To Make A Triumphant Return As A Producer 6-Man Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie, Antonio Honda & Rey Paloma defeated Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Keisuke Ishii when Paloma submitted Oishi with the Three Arrows Mark II (9:32).
5. Konosuke Takeshita & Diego defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Shunma Katsumata when Takeshita pinned Katsumata with a Diving Body Press (13:14).
6. Hiroshima Specialty! Special Honorable 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Mike Bailey defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie when Takao pinned Sasaki with the Gin And Tonic (16:01).

More chairs went flying between Daisuke Sasaki and Soma Takao. Sasaki introduced one to the main event and used it on Takao outside the ring and also when the referee was distracted. The tide turned when HARASHIMA and Mike Bailey wiped out the rest of DAMNATION with dives. There was no one to save Sasaki when Takao pinned him with the Gin And Tonic. Takao said the last time he was in Hiroshima he lost his match (to Mad Paulie) so the victory today made him a lot happier. Takao, HARASHIMA and Bailey all promised to win their matches at Korakuen Hall on Thursday.

Local wrestler Rey Paloma got some of the spotlight during DDT’s visit to Hiroshima. Before his match began, he and a few of the other wrestlers spoke about their family histories. Paloma revealed that he learned of a technique used by his ancestors known as the Three Arrows. It involves three people pressing their knuckles into the victim’s head at the same time. Paloma’s attempts to use the technique with Shigehiro Irie & Antonio Honda did not work until Paloma created a new Mark II version. He trapped Makoto Oishi in a Figure Leg Lock then he, Irie & Honda all swiveled their waists together until Oishi could not bear them anymore. The new technique worked and Paloma’s team picked up the victory.


DDT “DRAMATIC FLOWER FAIR 2017” Results

November 19, 2017

DDT “DRAMATIC FLOWER FAIR 2017”, 19/11/2017
Osaka City Tsurumi Greenland Hanamizuki Hall
351 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Mad Paulie defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Paulie Buster (7:05).
2. YuniωA Handicap Match Trials!: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & Yuni defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Antonio Honda when Oishi pinned Honda after the 2nd Rope Sky Twister Press from Yuni (7:25).
3. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kota Umeda defeated Toru Owashi, Keisuke Ishii, Kazuki Hirata & MAO when Sakaguchi submitted MAO with the Cobra Clutch (9:33).
4. Ref. DNA Naniwa War ~Osaka City Vs Yaoshi City~: Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuki Ueno with the Throwaway Power Bomb (10:32).
5. P Playful Series: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dino with a Gedo Clutch (9:46).
6. DAMNATION Vs Team OsaCanada!: Shigehiro Irie & Mike Bailey defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo when Bailey pinned Endo with the Ultima Weapon (13:21).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Diego (c) defeated HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Yasu Urano when Akito pinned HARASHIMA with a European Clutch (19:36).
*V1 for ALL OUT.

Akito dodged the Somato and rolled HARASHIMA into a European Clutch to score a big victory in the main event. First of all, it was ALL OUT’s first successful defence of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Second, Akito pinned one half of the KO-D Tag Team Champions in the run up to the next defence of that title. Akito asked HARASHIMA if he felt embarrassed over today’s result. HARASHIMA always trains but so does Akito and he will roll up the KO-D Tag Titles just like he did to HARASHIMA today!

Shuten-dōji came out to challenge ALL OUT to a KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles Match. KUDO thanked the champions for increasing the value of the titles while he was gone. Now he and his Shuten-dōji brothers are going to take the belts back where they belong. The best thing for those belts are to be with Shuten-dōji.

Today was Diego’s final match in Osaka before he goes home. He told the audience he loves Osaka because there is so much delicious food here. He is happy to wrestle one last match in the area and promises to keep the 6-Man Tag Titles with ALL OUT until the end.

Soma Takao attacked Daisuke Sasaki with a chair backstage during Sasaki’s post-match interview. Takao even knocked over the comment booth on top of Sasaki before leaving. Tetsuya Endo tried to stop Takao but he got some chairshots too. It was a bad day for Endo because he took the fall against his upcoming rival Mike Bailey. A confident Bailey said he has not lost to Endo since their King Of DDT match. Bailey is on the way up but Endo is on the way down. Bailey thinks what happened today will also happen at Korakuen Hall.

Kazuki Hirata went into his match against Danshoku Dino with something to prove. He thinks he deserves a shot at one of the DDT championships. Dino wasn’t convinced that Hirata was strong enough to get one. Sure he beat Dino yesterday but that was with the help of his Hirata GO! glasses. Dino gave Hirata a challenge. If Hirata could beat Dino without using his GO! glasses then Dino will consider giving him a title match. Toru Owashi protested the idea saying Hirata is just a normal person without those glasses. But Hirata accepted the challenge. Throughout the match Owashi and other wrestlers tried to pass the glasses over to Hirata. Dino stopped them and put Hirata in a Sleeper Hold. From there Hirata got his hands on the glasses, put them on and powered out of Dino’s grip. Dino attempted the Danshoku Driver but Hirata countered it into a Jackknife just like from yesterday’s match. This time Dino kicked out. Dino went for the Gaydo Clutch but Hirata reversed it into his own Gedo Clutch for the unexpected three count. Everyone was surprised by the result, even Hirata! He began to dream about what championship he will be fighting for. The KO-D Openweight Title? The KO-D Tag Team Title? Maybe even the DDT Extreme Title? Nope. On 1st December Hirata will be challenging for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Dino tried to sell Hirata on the idea. After all, the Iron Man Title is the symbol of DDT. Also the current champion is Yuu from Tokyo Joshi Pro so Hirata will have to fight a girl for the belt. Should be easy for him. Disappointed but with no other choice, Hirata decided to accept it. He will beat Yuu to win the Iron Man Title then from there his aim is to win the KO-D Title!


DDT “HEISEI DAIMYO DRAMATIC-KUN 2017” Results

November 19, 2017

DDT “HEISEI DAIMYO DRAMATIC-KUN 2017”, 18/11/2017
Shizuoka Create Hamamatsu
178 Fans

1. Hungry Black Trout Vs Tentative Fierce Fighter: Akito defeated Mizuki Watase with a Ground Headlock (11:17).
2. 4 Way Match: Shigehiro Irie defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda and Naomi Yoshimura when Irie pinned Honda with the Beast Bomber (7:33).
3. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii when Hirata pinned Dino with a Jackknife Pin (10:38).
4. Shuten-dōji Vs NωA!: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda defeated Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO when KUDO pinned Oishi with the Diving Double Knee Drop (6:00).
5. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Soma Takao, Kazusada Higuchi & Mike Bailey when Sasaki pinned Takao with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (13:22).
6. Hanamatsu Specialty! If You Do Not Sing, Wait Until Crying Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Diego when HARASHIMA pinned Diego with the Somato (14:09).

One day before their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match, HARASHIMA got the pin on one of the champions. HARASHIMA is looking forward to tomorrow’s match because the titles are one of the few belts in DDT he has never won.

Soma Takao angrily threw a chair at Daisuke Sasaki after their match. Sasaki pulled off a flash pin on Takao with a low blow and a Hurricanrana.

Kazuki Hirata got a surprise pinfall off of Danshoku Dino. The two have a singles match coming up tomorrow. Hirata asked Dino if he could get a title match if he beats him again. Dino said today’s defeat was a mistake and he won’t embarrass himself by losing to Hirata again tomorrow.


Speedball And Endo Cut Google Translate Promos, Differ Cup Teams Speak (Without Google Translate)

November 16, 2017

DDT “UTSUKOMI! PRESENTS GOD BLESS DDT 2017”, 23/11/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Mad Paulie Vs Daiki Shimomura
1. DNA Generation Struggle! ~NOW Leader Vs NEW Leader~: Kota Umeda Vs Yuki Ueno
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Diego Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Rekka
3. King’s Game The Animation Infomercial Match – 1 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Kazuki Hirata, Koji Yoshida, Mizuki Watase, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Saki Akai
4. Do You Fly? Are You Flying? Special Single Match!: Tetsuya Endo Vs Mike Bailey
5. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: LiLiCo, Makoto Oishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Shiro Koshinaka, Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Shigehiro Irie & Antonio Honda
6. DDT Extreme Title – No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Soma Takao
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Akito

A press conference was held in DDT HQ to announce the stipulations for the DDT Extreme Title match. Soma Takao showed up but the champion Daisuke Sasaki was absent. Hisaya Imabayashi called Sasaki on the phone to find out where he was. Sasaki admitted he was at his home sleeping and the phonecall just woke him up. He told Imabayashi that any match stipulation is fine, quickly picked a No DQ Match and then hung up. Takao was so angry at Sasaki’s behaviour that he grabbed a chair and threw it at the phone on the table.

There were no interpreters available to translate for Mike Bailey so he used Google Translate on his phone to speak to Tetsuya Endo. Bailey said Endo is a strong wrestler, he is very smart but also very angry. Bailey thinks if he can stay calm then he can beat Endo. He calls Endo one of the best high flyers in DDT. Bailey wants to prove he is the best high flyer. He said all of this into his phone but the Japanese translation was difficult for Endo and Imabayashi to understand. Bailey’s idea took them by so much surprise that they both struggled to keep in their laughter. Endo took out his own phone and spoke into it, translating his message to Bailey in English. He said Bailey is a good wrestler but also one pattern (I think he means one dimensional). Endo thinks it will be an easy match for him.

“DIFFER CUP MEMORIAL 2017”, 28/11/2017
Differ Ariake

1. Differ Cup 2017 – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Jun Kasai & Tomoya Hirata
2. Differ Cup 2017 – Round 1: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Hitoshi Kumano Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Sean Guinness
3. Differ Cup Memorial Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku Dino, Go Shiozaki & Mitomi Masayuki Vs Ryuichi Kawakami, Masa Kitamiya & KAZMA SAKAMOTO
4. Pro Wrestling NOAH Special Tag Match: Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada Vs Kenou & Hajime Ohara
5. Differ Cup Memorial Special Single Match: Taiji Ishimori Vs Mike Bailey
6. Differ Cup Memorial Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomichi Marufuji, HARASHIMA & Kappa Kozo Vs Ryota Hama, Minoru Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka
7. Differ Cup 2017 – Final: Winners Of Match #1 Vs Winners Of Match #2

The four teams all appeared at a press conference held in the SKY PerfecTV Media Center to give their thoughts on the Differ Cup. Konosuke Takeshita & Kota Umeda are the youngest team in the tournament. Takeshita wants to show everyone that DDT is the strongest group. Ueno is thankful to get such a big opportunity going into his second year as a pro wrestler. Jun Kasai said he chose the newly debuted Tomoya Hirata as his partner to give him some experience. Kasai has faith that Hirata is competent enough to rely on even though he just had his first match a few days ago. Hirata hopes to beat Takeshita. On the NOAH team, Hitoshi Kumano said he already has a lot of good memories wrestling in Differ Ariake. He wants to win this tournament as an act of gratitude to the venue. Katsuhiko Nakajima wants himself and Kumano to wrestle together with pride. Tatsuhito Takaiwa mentioned he was a runner up in the first Differ Cup. He wonders what the tournament will be like now that heavyweights are allowed to enter. Sean Guinness says his team with Takaiwa is called Team Highball because they both drink Highballs together after training.

Mike Bailey found out that Taiji Ishimori recently won the X Division Title in Canada. Bailey wants a title shot if he can beat Ishimori at the Differ Cup. Imabayashi will check with NOAH to see if that can be done.


BOYZ “HALLOWEEN SPECIAL ~WOMEN FESTIVAL 16~” Results

October 31, 2017

BOYZ “HALLOWEEN SPECIAL ~WOMEN FESTIVAL 16~”, 30/10/2017
Shinjuku FACE
386 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. The Most Scary Thing Is The Enemy Monster Or Maybe…: Shunma Katsumata, Diego & Rekka defeated Kazuki Hirata, Yukio Sakaguchi & Makoto Oishi when Diego pinned Hirata with the VHS (7:19).
2. Non-Halloween Generation And Halloween Generation Halloween War: Keisuke Ishii defeated Yuki Ueno with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (5:38).
3. Same Class Raw: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with a Switch Back from a Diving Cross Body (7:51).
4. Trick Or Treat! The Monsters Come Down For Halloween!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Pumpkin Paulie defeated Masahiro Takanashi, MAO & Mizuki Watase when Endo pinned MAO with the Shooting Star Press (10:17).
5. The Secret Weapon Finally Appears In BOYZ With Fullness!: Akito & Soma Takao defeated HARASHIMA & Super Higuchi Ikemen when Takao pinned Higuchi with La Magistral Cradle (12:09).

The BOYZ celebrated Halloween by transforming themselves into monsters for their matches. The BOYZ president Johnny Etajima pulled a lever to determine what monster the BOYZ would turn into before they made their entrances.

In the main event, Akito & Soma Takao were turned into “Wicked People” wearing monk clothing and carrying scythes. Takao kind of misread the description and acted more grumpy than wicked. HARASHIMA was a homicidal clown scaring everybody with his screams. Super Higuchi Ikemen was Kazusada Higuchi dressed as Elvis Presley. However, Higuchi struggled to fit in with the BOYZ and lost the match. He cried afterwards and asked Etajima if he was truly an ikemen. Etajima told him he worked 1.5 times harder than anyone else today but that what it means to be an ikemen. He struggled to explain why until music played and all of the BOYZ started dancing. Etajima then told Higuchi to join in. Higuchu saud he truly wants to be an ikemen from the bottom of his heart and he will do his best to become one.

Mad Paulie was the only DAMNATION wrestler to play dress up. It was already advertised that he would become Pumpkin Paulie so he had to go through with it. Masahiro Takanashi was Harry Potter and he briefly held back DAMNATION with magic spells. MAO & Mizuki Watase were both pirates.

For the remaining matches: Konosuke Takeshita was Dracula, Nobuhiro Shimatani was Where’s Wally/Waldo, Keisuke Ishii was No-Face from Spirited Away, Yuki Ueno was Pierrot, Rekka was a jiangshi hopping vampire, Shunma Katsumata & Diego were prisoners and everybody on Yukio Sakaguchi’s team were zombies.