DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019! DDT GROUP BIG GATHERING!”, 03/11/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura Vs Daichi Kazato, Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro 8-Woman Tag Match: Hikari Noa, YUMI, Mahiro Kiryu & Suzume Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mirai Maiumi
0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Shota (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs HARUKAZE Vs SAGAT Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Pokotan Vs Yoshihiko
1. 100 Plastic Cases Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Isami Kodaka
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku Dieno, Asuka, Yuki Iino, Mizuki & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Yuna Manase, Jiro Kuroshio, Hiroshi Yamato & Makoto Oishi
3. Gauntlet Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Cody Hall Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino
4. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Fuminori Abe
5. UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 4 Way Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
8. Union MAX Title: Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
10. Souken Holdings Presents Dramatic Dream Match: Kenny Omega & Riho Vs Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita
11. BLACK OUT Presents KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Extreme Title: Konosuke Takeshita (K/c) Vs HARASHIMA (E/c)
100 plastic cases, 81 wrestlers, 53 men, 26 women, 14 matches, 9 championships, 4 promotions (maybe make it 5), 2 non-human wrestlers and 1 Ultimate Party to hold it all inside Sumo Hall! Welcome to one of the largest shows DDT has ever put together. There are so many people booked that they could hold it in an empty arena and still outdraw ROH. Thanks to a lot of help from BASARA, Tokyo Joshi Pro and Ganbare☆Wrestling this show will have tons and tons of variety. It will probably last an eternity too so you should get comfortable.
The big family reunion is a little bittersweet. On the bright side we get a big star return. But BASARA will become a completely independent company from DDT at the end of the year and they have already begun the transition process. The BASARA wrestlers all have the same goal in mind for this show. Win and steal as many championships as they can from DDT before they leave! Tokyo Joshi and Ganpro have their own spots on the card where they will aim to steal the show.
0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura Vs Daichi Kazato, Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida
It’s always fun to see a trainee come in and grow from show to show. The abandoned DNA brand was great for that. The first newcomer to appear in DDT since DNA’s disappearance is Keigo Nakamura. For months before his debut Nakamura was made visible on shows by being dragged into the wacky antics DDT is known for. From the swimming pool to the campsite Nakamura always had a side role to play so he became a familiar face when he finally began wrestling in matches. For his first bout in Sumo Hall he is tagging with Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Mizuki Watase to form a DDT team against a combined BASARA & Ganpro team. Daichi Kazato leads that side with the young bloods Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida. Kazato may still be carrying the spirit of Best Stretchman V3 inside him.
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro 8-Woman Tag Match: Hikari Noa, YUMI, Mahiro Kiryu & Suzume Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mirai Maiumi
The new generation of Tokyo Joshi is in full effect here. The most experienced women are Hikari Noa and Raku and they only debuted back in January 2018! Then you get the HiSPC class of YUMI, Mahiro Kiryu, Pom Harajuku and Haruna Neko who all debuted over the last twelve months or so (poor Himawari Unagi is left out because of injury). Mirai Maiumi and Suzume are bringing up the rear as the newest girls on the roster.
0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Shota (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs HARUKAZE Vs SAGAT Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Pokotan Vs Yoshihiko
The promise of an Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title defence has been fulfilled. The belt made its way across the world to Mexico and the United States thanks to Puma King. Luckily for DDT, Kikutaro now lives in America and was able to bring the title back to Japan. Unfortunately Kikutaro already has a booking that conflicts with the date of “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” He can only make it to Sumo Hall in time if his match is placed in the semi-main event! Thankfully Hisaya Imabayashi came up with a solution. He knocked out Kikutaro and told Shota to pin him and become the new Iron Man champion. Problem solved. Now Shota has to defend the title in a Battle Royal and Kikutaro isn’t getting booked at all. Everyone who matters wins!
Let’s look at the rest of the field that Shota has to deal with. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata have been doing the usual stuff in DISASTER BOX. Gorgeous Matsuno’s wrestling career gained a new lease of life when he won the O-40 Championship, a belt exclusively fought for between wrestlers over the age of 40. HARUKAZE has been a staple of Ganpro’s joshi division. SAGAT is the violent yet at times plucky BASARA brawler. Yuki Kamifuku has found her groove in the wrestling ring and is now capable of racking up wins on a consistent basis. Her Pink Ready team with Mina Shirakawa is a big reason for that and Shirakawa herself won a championship in a wresting group ran by Best Body Japan. She also discovered a talent for rap. Then we are left with the mascots of DDT. Pokotan does its best to spread cheer until the head comes off and it violently malfunctions. And never underestimate Yoshihiko.
1. 100 Plastic Cases Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Isami Kodaka
Big Boss against BASARA Boss! The very first match announced for this show pits Sanshiro Takagi against Isami Kodaka in a rare singles bout between the two. This was placed in the proper opening spot because Takagi believes the curtain jerker is the second most important match after the main event. Kodaka wanted a crazy match to mark his goodbye from DDT so they decided on placing 100 plastic cases around ringside. Takagi has grown really fond of using them as weapons lately and they make satisfying noises when they break (take note American indies once the inevitable door shortage happens).
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku Dieno, Asuka, Yuki Iino, Mizuki & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Yuna Manase, Jiro Kuroshio, Hiroshi Yamato & Makoto Oishi
Bloody Hell they brought back the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. Why? Back in 2017 the first champions were crowned right here in Sumo Hall. DDT immediately discovered how difficult it was to book all members of the champion team on a regular basis so the belts quietly disappeared after the first defence. Two years later DDT stripped the champions of the belts under what I will now call the 770 Day Rule. So now we need new champions. I don’t know why but let’s go along with it. Two of the former champs Danshoku Dieno and Super Sasadango Machine were given the task of drafting separate teams to fight for the vacant titles. Dieno chose the fearless Asuka, the rugby fueled Yuki Iino, the Sugar Rabbit Mizuki and the weirdest advertisement for yoga Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi. Sasadango’s choices are the face (and body) of the Pocchari Joshi spin-off Yuna Manase, the soon to be co-opted by the Yanks Jiro Kuroshio, the always first at karaoke Hiroshi Yamato and the left until last Makoto Oishi. With the talent on offer the belts have a second chance at life no matter which team wins. Or maybe it will fall into obscurity until the 770 Day Rule kicks in again.
3. Gauntlet Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Cody Hall Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino
When DDT is in Sumo Hall you can always expect a Tag Team Gauntlet match in the undercard. Some newly established teams have filled out the ranks along with a couple of power duos. Yukio Naya & Cody Hall have spent several weeks feuding with each other. When Naya defeated Hall in a singles match the two put their differences behind them and formed a team together. Their thought process is nobody can stop their heavyweight size and power when it gets combined together. Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura begun teaming together when Yoshimura joined DISASTER BOX but took a step to the next level when they named their team Nautilus in September. Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu are the two premier strikers in DDT and BASARA joining forces. Ganpro are represented by Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki. The big wild card is the NEO Itoh Respect Army of Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes. Itoh is at a career high as the reigning International Princess Champion and Brookes is back in DDT for a run in both the tag team division and the upcoming D-ou Grand Prix. Last but certainly not least is the Tokyo Joshi team. Year after year DDT has told fans that The Steiner Brothers are not booked for their major shows. Well The Bakuretsu Sisters are sick of it! The Steiners won’t bother showing up so Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino have taken their place!
4. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Fuminori Abe
I feel bad for Shuichiro Katsumura. When he held the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title it was he who established the goal of defending it in Sumo Hall. He held onto the belt one match after another until Keisuke Ishii killed his dream just over a month before the show. So instead it is Ishii in the champion’s spot for Ganpro’s featured match on the card. When Ishii declared his intentions to make Ganpro more appealing than the other brands, Fuminori Abe answered his challenge. He also revealed a sinister plan the entire BASARA roster has put together for this show. Since BASARA is becoming independent, they want to win as many championships as they can from the DDT family and claim them as their own once they have completed the split! The Independent Jr. Title has called Ganpro its home for the last two years. Will it make the jump over to BASARA?
5. UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol
The UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles have been in DDT before. Around 9 years ago in fact. I even have an incomplete title history page written up back when it was abandoned. WRESTLE-1 revived the belts in 2015 only to give up on them in 2018. Then Big Japan brought them back and they quickly jumped over to BASARA. So now we have a mishmash of teams fighting for the titles. Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano are the current champions going for their second defence. DAMANTION are one of the two challenger teams. Tetsuya Endo has noticeably fallen down the pecking order ever since his failure to claim the headline spot on this show. He at least has Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani keeping him company. The third team is the alliance of Ken Ohka’s Ganpro and the pervy Pocchari Joshi sub-brand ran by Yumehito Imanari. Former FMW women’s wrestler Miss Mongol has been teaming regularly with those two throughout the year.
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
Friendship. Betrayal. Strength. Beauty. Championships. Roses. This match has it all. One of the biggest stories to watch in Tokyo Joshi this year was the transformation of Hyper Misao from a superhero to the Royal Guardswoman for Sakisama. Sick of failure and feeling weak, Misao gave up the mask so she could learn to become strong under Sakisama. Say what you want about her mysterious methods, Sakisama has gotten results from every woman who joined her side. Since Misao’s transformation in March, her personality completely changed along with her win-loss record. The NEO Biishiki-gun team have been nigh on unbeatable and have held the Princess Tag Team Titles for almost 5 months. Along the way they picked on those they feel are below them. Sure that’s everybody but the two most who have received the brunt of it are Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe. In fact this whole storyline began when Misao betrayed Tatsumi during a failed attempt to rescue Watanabe from Sakisama’s attacks. It all comes full circle with Tatsumi & Watanabe joining forces. Tatsumi believes that deep, deep down Hyper Misao is still alive and the evil version of Misao is only a cover. Misao has resisted all attempts to bring back the hero but maybe losing the tag titles could make her snap out of it.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 4 Way Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
Four teams charging into a chaotic Hardcore Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. The DAMNATION duo of Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao are currently having the most successful KO-D Tag Title run in years. They are one win away from tying the record for the second most title defences. They most recently defended the belts against ALL OUT so they already have a win over Akito. The difference here is this time Akito is teaming with Shunma Katsumata and he is the closest thing to a hardcore wrestler in the group. BASARA provides the two other teams. The IRON PRIEST team of FUMA & Yusuke Kubo are possibly the biggest threat to the champs. They regularly wrestle the hardcore style and also hold the brand new IRON FIST TAG Titles. A double crown tag championship is in their sights. Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura are also into hardcore wrestling and want to win the belts for Sento Minzoku. The winners won’t have much time to recover. The next KO-D Tag Title defence will be in a week when the champions take on The Calamari Drunken Kings.
8. Union MAX Title: Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
On paper this looks like a match between BASARA and DDT but it is anything but. Ryuichi Sekine has been confidently holding his own as the Union MAX Champion ever since he won it back in May. He has earned the respect of the BASARA roster so who could he defend the belt against next? Out comes Masahiro Takanashi. The DDT wrestler said he wanted to take a different direction when he turned down the offer to compete in the D-Ou Grand Prix again. It turns out he wants to fight a strong champion in a match where both men are wrestling for themselves, not their companies. Takanashi will be on his own and Sekine won’t have the other members of Sento Minzoku getting involved. Only the strongest will leave Sumo Hall with the MAX Title.
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
Two of the most important figures in Tokyo Joshi’s existence face off for the big prize. The third one is a bit busy but we’ll get to her later. When Shoko Nakajima won the (TOKYO) Princess Of Princess Title in May, it begun the reign of the BIG KAIJU! With the belt getting redesigned, every defence has felt to her like she won the title again for the first time. Thunder Rosa compacting her spine on the ring apron couldn’t stop her, Mizuki’s Double Stomps coulddn’t stop her and Misao’s newfound strength couldn’t stop her. It might take a miracle to beat her. Or a comedian. How about a Miraclian? Well we’ll find out because Nakajima chose Yuka Sakazaki to be her opponent at Sumo Hall!
Sakazaki has gone through some highs and lows during the summer. She lost the Princess Tag Titles but charmed a brand new audience overseas with her appearances in All Elite Wrestling. Her and Nakajima have been testing just how much they have both leveled up in tag matches over the last month. Evenly matched, the champion and the challenger are ready to show everybody the best of Tokyo Joshi!
10. Souken Holdings Presents Dramatic Dream Match: Kenny Omega & Riho Vs Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita
And now we get to the big draw of the show. It’s the DDT return of Riho!
(featuring Kenny Omega)
It’s been five years since Omega said his goodbyes and left DDT for greener pastures. A new generation grew up in DDT while he worked his magic in New Japan and turned the wrestling world upside down. Now representing AEW, the doors opened for a return to his original Japanese home. A match at Sumo Hall was certain but Omega had requests for the other participants. He wanted Riho to be his tag team partner. Riho was the first person Omega ever established a tag team with in Japan (before “Him”). The opposition picked were Antonio Honda because Omega thinks of him as one of his biggest rivals and Miyu Yamashita because he wants to see for himself how talented she is. I’m not saying AEW is in her future but I find it hard to believe she will be left out after Nakajima and Sakazaki wrestled there. Both teams have had practice matches away from each other. Omega & Riho reconnected fine but Honda & Yamashita took a few tries. Yamashita couldn’t understand Honda’s Gongitsune trick and kept believing his fake injuries. Eventually they found their groove but will it be enough to beat the AEW side?
11. BLACK OUT Presents KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Extreme Title: Konosuke Takeshita (K/c) Vs HARASHIMA (E/c)
And after all of that we reach the main event. The current ace of DDT against the previous ace with two championships on the line. Konosuke Takeshita had a rollercoaster run with the KO-D Openweight Title this year. He won it at Sumo Hall in February, lost it in New York two months later then regained it at Ota Ward Gymnasium in July. Since then he has had successful defences against Chris Brookes and Shinya Aoki to show that his style is the one that best represents DDT. The only way he can prove this further is to win the DDT Extreme Title.
HARASHIMA came into play when he, Tetsuya Endo and Jiro Kuroshio got into a 3 Way feud over that championship in the autumn. HARASHIMA pinned both of his opponents in a Survival 3 Way Match to win the title and cement his spot in the Sumo Hall main event. He still feels the sting of Takeshita beating him for the KO-D Title in Saitama Super Arena two years ago. Even worse is he still feels the sting in his back that Takeshita’s been giving him all month long. The Walls Of Takeshita has been used plenty of times to weaken and defeat HARASHIMA. He has lost matches both by having DISASTER BOX throw in the towel as well as outright tapping out to the hold. Takeshita meanwhile feels like he is in perfect condition going into the match. But despite his opponent being hurt, Takeshita knows that HARASHIMA is at his best after he has been defeated. Training doesn’t make him stronger, in fact it is losing. Whoever the strongest really is they will be leaving Sumo Hall a double champion!
The “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” preview is almost finished but I found some time to squeeze in this news report. The preview will be posted in an hour or two.
YAROZ “YAROZ PART 8”, 12/11/2018 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Cherry Vs Banny Oikawa
2. Sensual Novel Death Match: Naoki Tanizaki Vs Hiroshi Yamato
I get that Hiroshi Yamato is a lover, not a fighter. But Naoki Tanizaki? Really? Maybe back when he was a surfer.
Jiro Kuroshio will be on the show. Is he mean enough to fit in with YaroZ?
DDT “YOKOHAMA’S STRONGEST! DDT MARTIAL ARTS OPEN TOURNAMENT 2019”, 15/11/2019 Kanagawa Asobuild B1F PITCH CLUB
1. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Round 1: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi
2. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Round 1: Tanomusaku Toba Vs Pokotan
3. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Round 1: Hoshitango Vs Saki Akai
4. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Round 1: HARASHIMA Vs Keigo Nakamura
5. Danshoku Dieno & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
6. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Semi Final: Winner Of Match #1 Vs Winner Of Match #2
7. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Semi Final: Winner Of Match #3 Vs Winner Of Match #4
8. Konosuke Takeshita, Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino Vs Antonio Honda, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya
9. DDT Martial Arts Open Tournament 2019 – Final: X Vs X
No idea what to expect from DDT doing an open martial arts tournament.
DDT “DRAMATIC NIIGATA! 2019 ~SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 16/11/2019 Niigata Kobari Aoyama Public Hall
1. “Local Celebrity” Super Sasadango Machine Local Triumph! Niigata Specialty Ultra Super Mechanko Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Konosuke Takeshita
What does Super Sasadango Machine have up his sleeve for Konosuke Takeshita?
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2019”, 24/11/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Saki Akai “Okibariyasu” 7 Match Series – 1st Match: Saki Akai Vs Tsukasa Fujimoto
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita/HARASHIMA (c) Vs X
Saki Akai is setting up a series of matches against joshi from outside of DDT. She wants to show off what she can do on her own while still presenting how interesting a place DDT is. It is called the “Okibariyasu” series because that word means “Do Your Best” when said in the Kyoto dialect. The first match is against Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon. Akai had wrestled her once before in an exhibition match five years ago back when she was training to be a wrestler.
Shinya Aoki, Chris Brookes, Jiro Kuroshio and Hiroshi Yamato will all be on the show.
BASARA “BASARA 112 ~BANQUET~”, 26/11/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. IRON FIST TAG Titles: FUMA & Yusuke Kubo (c) Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT
The first ever IRON FIST TAG Champions are ready to defend the titles. IRON PRIEST will take on their friendly allies Hiroshi du Soleil. The challengers are going on a climbing expedition at Mt. Takao on 17th November in preparation for the match.
DDT “LEGEND THE DDT PRO WRESTLING”, 12/10/2019 Aichi Nagoya Legend Hall
1. MAO Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Cody Hall & Antonio Honda Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Toru Owashi, Masahiro Takanashi & Mizuki Watase
4. Nobuhiro Shimatani Marunage Match ~ Drop Kick Bar One Day Store Manager 3 Way Match: Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Akito Vs Asuka
5. Nagoya Specialty! Miso Stew Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs FUMA
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
The recent KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match between ALL OUT and DISASTER BOX was such a good warm up for Sumo Hall that the two teams agreed to have a rematch with the belts on the line again. Konosuke Takeshita and HARASHIMA get to prepare for their Sumo Hall main event while a rivalry between Yuki Iino and Naomi Yoshimura begins to grow. Maybe something will spark off between Shunma Katsumata and Yuki Ueno too.
DDT “DDT IN BIWAKO PART 3 ~BOAT RACING IS MARTIAL ARTS ON WATER!~”, 14/10/2019 Shiga Boat Race Biwako
1. Yukio Naya & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Mizuki Watase & Yuki Iino
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Cody Hall & Antonio Honda Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs MAO, Asuka & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. Boat Race Biwako Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani
DDT will be hosting matches at the venue in between some boat races.
DDT “RYOGOKU COLONEL SANDERS 2019”, 19/10/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Keigo Nakamura Debut Match: Naomi Yoshimura Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. DDT Megatonweight Single Match: Cody Hall Vs Yukio Naya
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Jiro Kuroshio
5. Road To Ultimate Party 2019! Antono & Yamashita 3 Match Trial: Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Mizuki Watase, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi
6. Road To Ultimate Party 2019! Special 8-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Akito, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Asuka
7. Road To Ultimate Party 2019! Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno
Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita are being put through a gauntlet to prepare for their match with Kenny Omega & Riho. They must face all three teams in the gauntlet no matter the result of each match.
Keigo Nakamura has already achieved his goal of shifting his weight up to 75kg. His debut match is going ahead.
DDT “PRE ULTIMATE PARTY 2019 ~ READY TO GO! ~RYOGOKU BIG EVE FESTIVAL!!~”, 27/10/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Keigo Nakamura
1. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Cody Hall & Antonio Honda
2. Road To Ultimate Party 2019! Special 10-Man Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Makoto Oishi, Yukio Naya, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino, Asuka, Saki Akai
3. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Jiro Kuroshio
4. Yukio Sakaguchi & Mizuki Watase Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Hiroshi Yamato
5. Next KO-D Tag Team Titles Challenger Battle: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
6. Road To Ultimate Party 2019! Special 4 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Akito Vs FUMA Vs Daiki Shimomura
7. Road To Ultimate Party 2019! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Ken Ohka & Shoko Nakajima Vs HARASHIMA, Isami Kodaka & Yuka Sakazaki
Cram everything in there!
At the end of Chris Brookes’s first tour with DDT he formed a tag team with Masahiro Takanashi called Calamari Drunken Kings. With Brookes coming in for a new tour the team are immediately setting their sights on the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Another new team have also wanted a title shot. That team is the Nautilus duo of Ueno & Yoshimura. The solution is a No. 1 Contenders match! The winners get whatever remains of the 4 Way Tag Title match from Sumo Hall.
There is unfinished business between Jiro Kuroshio and Tetsuya Endo. Part of the reason Kuroshio lost the DDT Extreme Title to HARASHIMA was because he focused too much on Endo in the 3 Way Match. Kuroshio then pinned Endo at last weekend’s show in Sapporo. Endo said that result doesn’t matter because it was in a tag match. They will get a singles match to settle the matter.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019! DDT GROUP BIG SET!”, 03/11/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Mizuki Watase & Keigo Nakamura Vs Daichi Kazato, Masato Kamino & Shuhei Washida
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: X Vs X
0. Under Match – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Yukio Naya Vs Cody Hall Vs Shota Vs HARUKAZE Vs SAGAT Vs Pokotan Vs Yoshihiko Vs X
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Maki Itoh & Chris Brookes
2. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Isami Kodaka
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Kenny Omega & Riho Vs Antonio Honda & Miyu Yamashita
4. UWA World 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Takato Nakano (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Fuminori Abe
6. Union MAX Title: Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Sakisama & Misao (c) Vs X & X
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
9. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku Dieno, Asuka, Yuki Iino, Mizuki & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Yuna Manase, Jiro Kuroshio, Hiroshi Yamato & Makoto Oishi
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 4 Way Hardcore Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
11. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Extreme Title: Konosuke Takeshita (K/c) Vs HARASHIMA (E/c)
Danshoku Dieno and Super Sasadango Machine have drafted their teams for the vacant KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles match. Dieno has picked Asuka, Yuki Iino, Mizuki & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi. Sasadango chose Yuna Manase, Jiro Kuroshio, Hiroshi Yamato & Makoto Oishi.
DDT “MASAHIRO TAKANASHI BOX OFFICE ~FOLLOW ME, THE DREAM IS STILL AHEAD~”, 15/09/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall 430 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Mizuki Watase & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Yoshimura pinned Shimatani with the Shonenba (8:59).
0. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Proxy War – Glove Match: Pokotan (w/ Sayaka Obihiro) defeated Chupacabra (w/ Miyako Haru) with a Straight Right Punch (R1 1:15).
1. Ryogoku Gauntlet Tag Match: Hoshitango & Seiya Morohashi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Riho, Gaijin A & Gaijin A, Konosuke Takeshita & Gorgeous Matsuno, Emi Sakura & Cherry, Saki Akai & Mei Suruga, Gota Ihashi & Shota (w/ Chinsuke Nakamura) and Yasu Urano & Ken Ohka.
1a. Antonio Honda & Riho defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Riho pinned Hirata with the Kurukuru Ribbon (1:47).
1b. Antonio Honda & Riho defeated Gaijin A & Gaijin A by Ring Out (5:46).
1c. Konosuke Takeshita & Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Antonio Honda & Riho when Takeshita submitted Honda with the Walls Of Takeshita (9:44).
1d. Emi Sakura & Cherry defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Gorgeous Matsuno when Sakura pinned Matsuno with a Cradle (3:14).
1e. Saki Akai & Mei Suruga defeated Emi Sakura & Cherry when Suruga pinned Sakura with the Shoulder Wheel Propeller Clutch (3:37).
1f. Saki Akai & Mei Suruga defeated Gota Ihashi & Shota (w/ Chinsuke Nakamura) when Akai pinned Ihashi with the Rookie Award (1:38).
1g. Yasu Urano & Ken Ohka defeated Saki Akai & Mei Suruga when Urano pinned Suruga with a Cradle (1:12).
1h. Hoshitango & Seiya Morohashi defeated Yasu Urano & Ken Ohka when Morohashi submitted Ohka with the Crippler Crossface (4:00).
2. Super Sasadango Machine defeated DJ Nira with the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock (10:40).
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Poison Sawada JULIE) when Sasaki pinned Takagi with a School Boy (10:18).
4. Kagetora & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno when Kagetora pinned Ueno with the Gurumakakari (12:50).
5. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Takatonic (17:45).
There were a lot of reunions and old faces appearing today to celebrate Masahiro Takanashi’s 16 years as a pro wrestler. In the main event Takanashi fought Danshoku Dieno with Muscle Sakai and Yusuke Inokuma in Dieno’s corner. Takanashi used some of Dieno’s own moves against him including a Lip Lock on the top turnbuckle. It was to set up an Avalanche Takatonic but Dieno countered it into an Avalanche Implant. But there was still life left in Takanashi. He avoided the Danshoku Driver and stunned Dieno with Thrust Kicks until he could win with the Takatonic.
After the match Takanashi was reunited with KUDO and Yukio Sakaguchi. KUDO said it felt good to be inside a wrestling ring again. It’s not a place to talk but a place to fight. He assured everyone that he will come back to wrestling in the near future. Takanashi said that today felt like everybody was coming home. Everyone here is different but they all protect DDT with their own way of fighting. He will continue to do the same because there must be a ring for everyone to come home to, no matter where they are. Last year Takanashi lost his 15th anniversary match in this venue. He walked out without saying a word. This year things went better for him and he wants to stand in front of the fans, thanking them for coming today to see him. Later backstage Takanashi announced that he is will not be entering the upcoming D-Ou Grand Prix tournament. He cited his poor performances in the previous two tournaments as his reason. DDT was going to offer him a spot again but Takanashi turned it down so he can go on a different path he wants to take.
HARASHIMA and Kagetora shook hands after their tag match.
DAMNATION thought they were going to have a 4 on 1 advantage against Sanshiro Takagi. However Takagi gathered together an all star team of DDT legends to even the odds. Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO & Tanomusaku Toba fought with Takagi while Poison Sawada JULIE watched from their corner. But in a twist JULIE betrayed Takagi by spraying Green Mist into his face while Takagi tried to give Daisuke Sasaki the Sit Down Himawari Bomb. Sasaki slipped out and pinned Takagi with a School Boy. JULIE told Takagi that they are enemies for life. Takashi Sasaki and Daisuke Sasaki teased a Sasaki Contra Sasaki Showdown. Daisuke Sasaki then told JULIE that if he ever comes back, he will quit DAMNATION so the two of them can run the Snake World together.
Before Match #2 began Takanashi reminded everyone that the Consumption Tax in Japan will increase to 10% this October. There are many things Takanashi wants to do before this change happens, like sending a message to two important people in his life in order to settle a lifelong rivalry between them. Hence the match between Super Sasadango Machine and DJ Nira. Sasadango came out as Muscle Sakai dressed in casual clothes. Sakai refused to wrestle Nira because he is retired. He got tricked into doing some moves and had his clothes removed to reveal his wrestling gear underneath. He still refused to wrestle. Hisaya Imabayashi got in the ring and put the Sasadango mask over Sakai’s head, granting him his approval to wrestle the match. Sasadango took control of the match and hit an F5. He then went for a Vertical Drop Brainbuster but the room went dark. A voiceover said that the Brainbuster went wrong and this was how Sasadango created his famous Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock finishing move! This entire match turned out to be Sasadango’s origin story called “Super Sasadango Machine Episode Zero”!
The Gauntlet Tag match was a visit through DDT’s past as well as Takanashi’s wrestling relationships outside the company. Antonio Honda & Riho first eliminated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Riho blocked Hirata’s knockout chop and rolled him up. The next team was supposed to be Yusuke Inokuma & MAO but they were injured before the show and a expected to be out of action for the next 30 years. Replacing them was the menacing return of Gaijin A & Gaijin A! They attacked Honda, Riho and Yukinori Matsui with sellotape, even hanging Riho over the ring ropes with it! Honda fought back and used the tape to hang both of the Gaijin A’s before knocking them to the floor for the elimination. Riho recovered in time for Konosuke Takeshita & Gorgeous Matsuno’s entry into the match. The unexpectedly sharp teamwork between Takeshita & Matsuno led to Takeshita submitting Honda with the Walls Of Takeshita after Matsuno his the Gorgeous Star Elbow. When Emi Sakura & Cherry came out, Takeshita attempted the Gorgeous Star Elbow but got caught in the ropes. Sakura was easily able to pin Matsuno without anyone there to stop her. A collision between Sakura & Cherry allowed Mei Suruga to pin Sakura with the Shoulder Propeller Clutch. Next up were Gota Ihashi, Shota & Chinsuke Nakamura all dressed up like Shuten-dōji wrestlers. Ihashi was Yukio Sakaguchi, Shota was Masahiro Takanashi and Chinsuke was KUDO. Suruga stopped Chinsuke from doing the Diving Double Knee Drop while Saki Akai pinned Ihashi with the Rookie Award. The joshi team’s run came to an end when Yasu Urano & Ken Ohka eliminated them. Urano countered the Propeller Clutch into a Cradle for the pin. The last team to come out was Hoshitango & Seiya Morohashi. They won the match when Morohashi made Ohka give up to the Crippler Crossface. However Morohashi and Ohka continued to fight after the match prompting Hoshitango and Urano to break them up.
In the boxing match Miyako Haru whistled Chupacabra down to the ring. It knocked Pokotan’s head off with an uppercut, revealing a rubber Danshoku Dieno mask underneath. Pokoton then knocked out Chupacabra with a Straight Right. Afterwards Sayako Obihiro pulled the rubber mask off to reveal Pokotan was Daichi Kakimoto!
Tomomitsu Matsunaga decided to wrestle in a sumo mawashi.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION MEMORIES 2019”, 25/08/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,195 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. 4 Way Tag Match: Akito & Shunma Katsumata defeated Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani, Masahiro Takanashi & Yukio Naya and Mizuki Watase & Naomi Yoshimura when Katsumata pinned Shimatani with the ¡Hasta la vista! (8:31).
2. Calbee & Frito Lay Collaboration Match ~Love And Potato Snacks Save The Earth~: King Potato Chips & Dragon Potato Mask (w/ Noriyuki Ishibashi) defeated Kazuki Hirata & Hiroshi Yamato when Dragon submitted Hirata with the Dragon Potato Sleeper (8:57).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Summer Jumbo Special Two Big Singles Match: Puma King defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with the Avalanche Power Bomb (13:43). *Puma King becomes the 1,408th champion.
4. Asuka & Makoto defeated Saki & Su Yung by Disqualification when Yung attacked the referee (8:38).
5. Summer Jumbo Special Two Big Singles Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Makoto Oishi with a European Clutch (8:30).
6. HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo when HARASHIMA pinned Endo with a Modified Jackknife Pin (13:17).
7. Konosuke Takeshita’s Summer Measures Against Shinya Aoki!: Konosuke Takeshita, Yukio Sakaguchi, Sanshiro Takagi & Antonio Honda defeated Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, MAO & Santino Marella when Takeshita pinned Sasadango with a Cradle (12:25).
8. DDT Extreme Title – Ladder Match: Jiro Kuroshio (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki when Kuroshio grabbed the title belt (21:43). *V1 for Jiro Kuroshio.
In the days leading up to the show, all Jiro Kuroshio said for his DDT Extreme Title defence against Daisuke Sasaki was it would be a Ladder Match. When the belt was handed over to be hung above the ring, the match began and it didn’t take long for more than one ladder to be brought in. One ladder was lodged into the other horizontally with the other end placed on the middle rope. Kuroshio ended up Power Bombing Sasaki onto that ladder. But Sasaki got some big help when he put Kuroshio in La Mistica Crossface Lock. When Kuroshio reached over and grabbed the rope, Nobuhiro Shimatani used wrist tape to stick Kuroshio’s hand to it. Help for Kuroshio came when his “brother” Kazusada Higuchi cut him free from the tape so he could stop Sasaki from grabbing the belt. Kuroshio grabbed Sasaki and put him through a table with an Avalanche Death Valley Driver! Another table was placed on top of both ladders beneath the belt. Sasaki tried to give Kuroshio the Pedigree onto it but Kuroshio countered it with the Implant. He must of had faith that the table wouldn’t break because it was still in one piece and stable enough for Kuroshio to pull down the belt and win the match.
Kuroshio celebrated his first title defence and told everyone today is his first main event in Korakuen Hall as a freelancer. He was told his next defence is scheduled for 29th September. Both Tetsuya Endo and HARASHIMA stepped into the ring both asking for a title shot. Endo said he beat Kuroshio in the first D-Ou Grand Prix while HARASHIMA is interested in becoming the Extreme Champion again. Hisaya Imabayashi offered to make a No. 1 Contender match but instead Kuroshio asked for a 3 Way Match!
If the semi-main event was supposed to prepare Konosuke Takeshita for next week’s KO-D Openweight Title defence, you wouldn’t have noticed. Danshoku Dieno claimed that everyone in the match was picked to hone Takeshita’s skills, especially Santino Marella with his judo background. But when the match went ahead nobody would tag in Takeshita. MAO fought with Sanshiro Takagi but all the attention moved to Marella facing off against Antonio Honda. To be more clear, the attention was on The Cobra against Gongitsune! The Cobra struck first but Gongitsune got Marella in the eyes. Takeshita finally tagged in when he made his own Gongitsune hand sign to get Honda’s attention. Dieno positioned himself in the corner to open up Hell’s Gate and the Cobra was thrown into it. The result was Marella’s Cobra going out of control until Super Sasadango Machine threw his mask over it and encouraged everyone else to pull down their tights and throw them on top too. Even Yukio Sakaguchi agreed to help out that way. But the Cobra burst out and struck Sasadango. Takeshita took advantage and pinned Sasadango to win.
After the match Honda told Marella that his fox wants to eat the cobra. Marella called him crazy if he thinks the fox can beat the cobra. A match between Honda and Marella will now take place on 30th August. Next up Pokotan suddenly appeared on the ring apron gesturing for Takeshita’s attention. It was a distraction and Shinya Aoki ambushed Takeshita from the other side with a Sleeper Hold. Aoki choked out Takeshita and took a picture of his unconscious body with his phone.
The hatred between HARASHIMA and Endo grew larger when HARASHIMA pinned Endo in their tag match. It looked like it was going to be a DAMNATION victory when Endo put HARASHIMA in the Modified Yurikamome Hold. Soma Takao had Higuchi held back but couldn’t do anything when HARASHIMA suddenly countered Endo’s submission hold into a Jackknife Pin for the surprise three count. Endo attacked HARASHIMA after the match and got some stomps in.
Aoki had a respectful match with Makoto Oishi. He went hold for hold with him in a match that was mostly kept on the mat. Oishi even surprised Aoki with some escapes. The end came with Aoki catching Oishi with a European Clutch, a move that Oishi himself has used to win matches. Oishi was disappointed with the loss but will leave it up to Takeshita to beat Aoki on 1st September.
Nothing could prepare Asuka & Makoto for the horrors they were about to face. From the moment the demonic pair of Saki & Su Yung entered the ring, things got scary. They cared more for trying to bite and eat their opponents than wrestle them. Yung blinded Asuka with Poison Mist then Daisuke Kiso tried to break things up. Saki & Yung responded by biting Kiso’s arms, causing a disqualification. Saki & Yung then turned their attention on the trainees and attendants at ringside, assaulting them with bites and Poison Mist.
“The Coolest Cat” is now the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion! When Puma King made his entrance, he climbed the entrance gate and stayed there waiting for Yuki Ueno to come out. He then jumped onto Ueno during his entrance. In the ring Puma King blocked Ueno on the top rope and hit an Avalanche Power Bomb for the victory. Puma King said his title win today means he is the best. His next goal is to win the KO-D Title because he is the best! Ueno said backstage that he will try to win the title back when Puma King falls asleep. The only problem is he doesn’t know what hotel Puma King is staying at.
The masked snack wrestlers King Potato Chips & Dragon Potato Mask returned for their second match in DDT. This time they were joined by Noriyuki Ishibashi, the Frito Lay employee who created the gimmicks. He also went to university with Antonio Honda who was definitely not part of this match. Kazuki Hirata decided to take Ishibashi hostage during the match but Dragon Potato Mask calmed down the situation by telling a story. Time slowed down as Hirata and Ishibashi leaned towards each other for a kiss but Hiroshi Yamato broke them up. The snack wrestlers hit Double Bionic Elbows and Dragon Potato Mask made Hirata submit to the Dragon Potato Sleeper. The winning team was awarded with a year’s worth of Calbee and Frito Lay snacks.
A chaotic 4 Way Tag opener was won by Akito & Shunma Katsumata. Akito used the Gourdbuster/Moai Of Easter on Shimatani and Katsumata finished him off with the ¡Hasta la vista!
Some big announcements were made for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” at Sumo Hall on 3rd November. A grand total of 81 wrestlers representing all forms of DDT were revealed to be on the show. The biggest surprise is the return of Kenny Omega! He & Riho will take on Miyu Yamashita & Antonio Honda in a match that Omega himself requested. He calls Honda one of his biggest rivals, refers to Riho as his first tag partner (“Even before him”) and is excited to see Yamashita for himself.
Antonio Honda announced that his mystery partner for 1st September is Cody Hall! He explained that Hall loves his Gongitsune hand sign. Imabayashi had to explain to Honda that Gongitsune resembles the “Too Sweet” hand gesture that Cody’s father Scott Hall is famous for. Hall agreed and said he went with Honda because he saw the Wolfpac sign.
MAO announced he will be going on an overseas excursion to England at the end of October. He does not have an exact date for his return but he expects to be gone for the rest of the year. He promised not to immediately quit DDT when he comes back.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~DANSHOKU DIENO & SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~”, 31/07/2019 Shinjuku FACE 600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Special Under Match “Star Of Shining Friendship! Eternal Wrestling Boys Legend”: Tetsuya Koda defeated Hisaya Imabayashi with a Modified Torso Sleeper Hold (12:43).
0. Exhibition Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Keigo Nakamura when Nakamura gave up (3:46).
1. “Summer Feature” Laripro: Yuna Manase, Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda defeated Keisuke Ishii, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yukio Naya by Disqualification when Ishii attacked the referee (14:12).
2. DJ Nira defeated Kazusada Higuchi by Disqualification when Higuchi attacked the referee (5:57).
3. Hana No Sandman Match: Ken Ohka defeated Danshoku Dieno, DJ Nira, Masahiro Takanashi, Muscle Sakai, Antonio Honda, Mike Bailey and Makoto Oishi when Ohka pinned Dieno with the Fire Spear (13:52).
Today’s Beer Garden show was put together by Danshoku Dieno and Super Sasadango Machine. It was headlined by the annual tribute to The Sandman. Several wrestlers came out carrying beer and Singapore canes then met in the ring to share a toast. The bell rang and “Enter Sandman” played while everybody brawled all over the venue. Wrestlers who weren’t part of the match got caught in the mayhem and did what they could to survive while the ring filled up with empty beer cans. Dieno & Sasadango took on all comers but were eventually overwhelmed. DJ Nira hit them with the Rocket Punch, Masahiro Takanashi struck them with a Thrust Kick and Ken Ohka pinned Dieno with the Fire Spear.
With the match over and the music finished, Ohka said he thought he could never survive because he did not have the status or power to go through with it. But today he is in the ring with his most important friends! Even when you are old you can enjoy the time spent with friends. Dieno gathered everyone together and called them his important friends. Sasadango then promoted next year’s show because he believes now is the earliest they can begin to sell tickets for it.
Kazusada Higuchi Vs DJ Nira was an unadvertised match. Higuchi tried to end it quickly but Nira tricked him into having a sumo contest with Daisuke Kiso. Higuchi won easily. Nira then attacked Higuchi from behind. He fled to the corner where Higuchi went for a Splash attack. Kiso took the blow instead of Nira. Kiso was then lifted by Nira into an Argentine Backbreaker position to prevent him from falling and Higuchi was disqualified. The lights went out and everyone heard the words “How strong are you, this is my dream.”
Sasadango’s PowerPoint presentation was a dark project called “Recommended Ghost Spots In Kanagawa”. Sasadango put together a photo diary of supernatural spots that were recommended by paranormal researcher Toshitaro Yamaguchi. Sasadango wanted to visit these spots during the day but it got dark by the time he met up with Konosuke Takeshita and Hisaya Imabayashi to embark on the trip. Some of the spots were blocked off, others turned out to just be empty spaces. While this was going on Takeshita’s right elbow was hurting but he carried on. Sasadango’s conclusion of this story is Takeshita’s an inspiration.
The Lariat Pro Wrestling match begun with the stipulation’s national anthem, “Power Hall”. Everybody played Riki Choshu until the music switched to “Sunrise”. Antonio Honda started acting like Stan Hansen until Yukio Naya put him in a Wristlock, stopping the music. Keisuke Ishii told Naya he was supposed to do Lariats but Naya didn’t understand. Ishii explained how great Lariat Pro matches are but Naya said he didn’t want to do that kind of match. Ishii told Naya to leave and have a drink while the rest continued the match. “J” and the wrestlers acted like Jumbo Tsuruta. Things went a different direction when Makoto Oishi hurt his knee. The music changed to “HOLD OUT” and the Keiji Muto impersonations began. Then it turned into Bruiser Brody spots for “Immigrant Song”. Then Giant Baba for “Soul Of A Champion”. Ishii brought out the Shinya Hashimoto Middle Kicks when “Bakusho Sengen” played. Then came the Mitsuharu Misawa spots for “Spartan X”. Things went out of control when “One Of These Days” played and Honda transformed into Abdullah The Butcher! He took out the referee but a hero was on his way when suddenly “Ikari No Jushin” played. Out came Naya with a beer wearing a Jushin Liger mask! Yuna Manase took the mask off of Naya, wore it herself and hit everyone with Shotei palm strikes. The Lariats returned for “GRAND SWORD” but things went haywire against when Ishii attempted to give Daisuke Kiso a Kenta Kobashi style Burning Hammer! Kiso disqualified Ishii before he could hit the move. Ishii complained that he didn’t break any rules but Tomomitsu Matsunaga and the venue staff disagreed. The staff entered the ring and hit Ishii with Lariats. They then told everyone that the Beer Garden week is happening during Shinjuku FACE’s 14th anniversary. They raised a toast and everyone cheered “FACE”.
Yuki Ueno wanted to begin the show with an exhibition for the trainee Keigo Nakamura. He has been a trainee for over a year and four months but has yet to be in the ring with a certain DDT wrestler. That wrestler is Danshoku Dieno! The exhibition began and Nakamura tried to fight off Dieno. But he couldn’t. He gave up while Dieno was all over him then began to cry. Ueno comforted Nakamura and explained he wanted to see how he would react to Dieno. He asked if Nakamura wants to get stronger? Nakamura does. Ueno said he saw something good in Nakamura today and he encouraged the fans to cheer for him.
Before the show even began the audience were treated to the rematch one year in the making! Last year the two authority figures Hisaya Imabayashi and Tetsuya Koda faced off in the ring. Koda won that battle and left Imabayashi humiliated to the point where he lost the respect of his children. Today his children was here to see their father get revenge! Unfortunately Imabayashi couldn’t hit the Rainmaker, Koda hit him with the Kamigoye and made him submit to a Sleeper Hold. Koda spoke to Imabayashi’s kids and told them what they saw was reality. He wasn’t insulting them however. What he meant was the kids got to see just how strong their father really is! The kids embraced Imabayashi. He may have lost but he did his best to the very end and that won him back his family’s respect.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 3,798 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
2. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Shinya Aoki
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
5. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2019”, 21/07/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,192 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Kota Umeda Great Match: Kota Umeda, Shunma Katsumata, Mike Bailey & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Mizuki Watase, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Daiki Shimomura when Umeda pinned Watase with the Umeda Driver (10:01).
2. Calbee & Frito Lay Collaboration Match ~Potato Snacks Agency War No. 1 Final Battle~: King Potato Chips, Masahiro Takanashi & Gota & Asuka Ihashi defeated Dragon Potato Mask, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai when Chips pinned Mask with La Magistral Cradle (7:00).
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie and Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya when Sakaguchi submitted Oishi with the Cobra Clutch (7:08).
4. No DQ Match: Jiro Kuroshio defeated MAO with a Chair Assisted Pin (12:18).
5. After Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 Special 6-Man Tag Match ~What Is Personal Information?~: Hideki Suzuki, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka (w/ Yumehito Imanari) defeated HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi & Shinya Aoki when Ohka pinned Takagi with the Fire Spear (9:57).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) defeated Joey Ryan & Hiroshi Yamato when Sasaki submitted Yamato with the Crossover Face Lock (17:34). *V5 for DAMNATION.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Chris Brookes with the Cross-Arm German Suplex (29:30). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The main event was a battle for the spirit of DDT. On the one side there was Konosuke Takeshita, the defending KO-D Openweight Champion and current generation ace of the company. Facing him was Chris Brookes, a British wrestler who in short time embraced the company and was given the same affection in return. Brookes implemented some out of the ring tactics to break down the champion. They fought up towards one of the Korakuen Hall entry ways and it ended with Brookes giving Takeshita a flying RKO onto a table below them. When they returned to the ring Takeshita missed a Big Boot and struck Yukinori Matsui by accident. Brookes used this as an opportunity to take out a ladder and crush Takeshita through some plastic cases with a Diving Senton. Another ref bumped saved Brookes because he tapped out to the Walls Of Takeshita but no one was there to end the match. When Takeshita revived Matsui, Brookes hit the Praying Mantis Bomb but a slow count from a struggling ref allowed Takeshita to kick out. Takeshita hit a Lariat and a German Suplex for a nearfall. He then hit the Fable but Brookes had enough energy left to give him the middle finger. Takeshita finished him off with the Cross-Arm German Suplex for a successful first defence.
Takeshita sent Brookes off and was told by Hisaya Imabayashi that his next title defence will be in Osaka on 1st September. Takeshita called out to the locker room asking if there was anyone who wanted to fight him. Takeshita said it would be “first come, first served” and Shinya Aoki came out! He wanted to accept a serious challenge. Takeshita told him they would have a match worthy of the KO-D Title’s history.
The dangerous combination of seaweed and lollipops were not enough for Joey Ryan & Hiroshi Yamato to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Ryan brought out a supersized plastic lolly with seaweed on it and shoved it into Soma Takao’s mouth to take him out. He and Yamato then gave Daisuke Sasaki a Spider German Superplex combo for a nearfall. When Ryan and Takao were wiped out after a Suicide Dive, Sasaki caught Yamato in the Crossover Facelock and got a quick tap out from it. Takao doesn’t want a rematch because he is currently haunted by the image of seaweed and he might not survive it.
A PowerPoint presentation titled “The Power Harassment Problem in Wrestling Groups And Purpose Of Today’s Six-Man Tag Match” explained the situation surrounding Sanshiro Takagi’s part of the show. Takagi was going to reveal Super Sasadango Machine’s phone number during their Weapon Rumble at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” last week. However Yumehito Imanari decided to expose Takagi’s number instead because he felt Takagi’s plan was employee harassment. Sasadango explained that there are three ways to make an apology: retire, cancel your contract or wrestle a 6-Man Tag Match. Clearly everyone went with Option C. Imanari couldn’t wrestle because of a concussion so Ken Ohka took his place. As serious as the situation is, folks like Shinya Aoki and Hideki Suzuki couldn’t help but get silly. Aoki grappled with Sasadango’s belt and Suzuki broke up a pin by pulling down the back of Aoki’s tights. It seems like the only time Suzuki took the match seriously was when he fought HARASHIMA. Ohka got the pin on Takagi with the Fire Spear, sparing Sasadango & Imanari from further work harassment.
After the match Ohka told Takagi what happened in the past doesn’t matter because we’re all living in the now! Ohka is ambitious and also 42 years old which means he qualifies for a shot at the O-40 Title. Takagi accepted the challenge and said a match between himself and Ohka needs to be at a big show. Imabayashi decided to book the match for “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2019” on 1st September.
That Jiro Kuroshio fella looks like he doesn’t have a nasty bone in his body. But when he was put into a No DQ match with MAO he had to come up with some weapons. What did he make and bring to the match? A giant duck thing. MAO chased Kuroshio out of the ring, the two then climbed some pipes up to the balcony and then tried to throw each other out to the audience below! Kuroshio later lost the audience support when he made a kid cry and found out it was KUDO’s daughter. Back at ringside MAO dropped Kuroshio onto the apron with a Michinoku Driver. He then placed Kuroshio on a castle of chairs and hit a 450 Splash onto them. Kuroshio fought back in the ring by giving MAO the Hybrid Blaster onto the duck. He missed a Moonsault with a trash can which gave MAO an opening. But Kuroshio rolled him into a Cradle and used a chair to tangle up his legs for the three count.
After the match Kuroshio invited Akito into the ring and they talked about some things that happened between them in the past. Like the time Akito first met Kuroshio he was drunk and completely naked. It’s a long story, you should have been there. Then there was that other time when Akito got into a fight with NOSAWA Rongai. Anyway, Akito told Kuroshio they will have a match for the DDT Extreme Title at the 3rd August Beer Garden show. Akito promised the rules he will use is the one that Kuroshio likes the best.
Yukio Sakaguchi was targeted for having the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title during the 3 Way Tag. Makoto Oishi in particular wanted the belt and convinced Tetsuya Endo to help him a little. Yukio Naya helped too which he was supposed to because he was his tag partner. Kazusada Higuchi kept Mad Paulie at bay and Sakaguchi was able to catch Oishi in the Cobra Clutch for the victory.
A sponsorship deal with Calbee & Frito Lay brought along the debuts of King Potato Chips and Dragon Potato Mask. Sadly Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda couldn’t be here to take part in the match. They ate snacks to power up themselves and their partners. Dragon Potato Mask told a story about “Dragon, The Little Fox” and summoned everyone to join together for a super attack. It misfired and hit Kazuki Hirata. King Potato Chip pinned Dragon with La Magistral Cradle to get the win. Hirata attacked Dragon out of frustration after the mask but King came to the rescue. He booted Hirata out of the ring then promoted the snacks with Dragon.
Kota Umeda took part in and won his final DDT match. His last time in the ring was spent with other wrestlers from DNA, the brand he helped start. He pinned Mizuki Watase with the Umeda Driver and then got everyone together for a group photo.
The show ended with Umeda being invited into the ring one last time. Takeshita told him he wanted to defend the KO-D Title against him one day. He knows this isn’t the end of Umeda’s wrestling career so he will look forward to the day they have their title match. Umeda thanked everyone for his five years in DDT. He asked for everyone to support him again if he ever does come back. Another group photo took place in the ring and everyone threw Umeda in the air to celebrate him.
“ULTIMATE PARTY 2019!” in Sumo Hall on 3rd November will feature a KO-D Openweight Title match, a Union MAX Title match, a Princess Of Princess Title match and a Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title match. So each DDT brand has their main championships being defended on the show.
DDT will be having matches at the Animate Girls Festival in Ikebukuro on 9th and 10th November.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 3,798 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda defeated Keigo Nakamura with a Low Kick (5:07).
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi when Tatsumi pinned Unagi with the Missile Hips (10:35).
1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase defeated Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Iino pinned Shimatani with the Spear (12:11).
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki when Higuchi pinned Umeda with the Goten (13:26).
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Yoshiko defeated Saki Akai with the Diving Senton (8:32).
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) defeated Asuka when Asuka broke the Lighttube (11:48). *V1 for Akito.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Furitsuke Kamen defeated Toru Owashi (c) by Pinfall (3:54 pm). *Furitsuke Kamen becomes the 1,375th champion.
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Furitsuke Kamen (Lucky Ikeda) (c), Toru Owashi, Kurochan, Shiro Koshinaka, Joey Ryan, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata, Mad Paulie, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Hiroshi Yamato, Pokotan and Yuki Kamifuku (20:04).
5a. Gorgeous Matsuno eliminated Furitsuke Kamen (c) with a School Boy (3:37). *Gorgeous Matsuno becomes the 1,376th champion.
5b. Tomomitsu Matsunaga eliminated Gorgeous Matsuno (c) with a School Boy (3:48). *Tomomitsu Matsunaga becomes the 1,377th champion.
5c. Mad Paulie eliminated Tomomitsu Matsunaga (c) with the Reverse Splash (5:40). *Mad Paulie becomes the 1,378th champion.
5d. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Mad Paulie (c) with a School Boy (7:49). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,379th champion.
5e. Joey Ryan eliminated Kurochan by Ring Out (11:30).
5f. Joey Ryan eliminated Yuki Kamifuku by Ring Out (11:43).
5g. Shiro Koshinaka eliminated Pokotan by Ring Out (14:09).
5h. Shiro Koshinaka eliminated Makoto Oishi, Hiroshi Yamato and Joey Ryan by Ring Out (18:34).
5i. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Toru Owashi, Shiro Koshinaka and Antonio Honda by Ring Out (19:08). *V1, V2 & V3 for Kazuki Hirata.
5j. Yukio Sakaguchi eliminated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the God’s Right Knee (20:04). *Yukio Sakaguchi becomes the 1,380th champion.
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki defeated Yukio Naya with the V1 Armlock (7:59).
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Brookes pinned MAO with the Praying Mantis Bomb (11:24).
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Super Sasadango Machine with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb onto a Plastic Case (28:56). *Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 1st O-40 Champion!
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Danshoku Dieno by Knockout with the Sleeper Hold (4R 2:54).
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano when Takao pinned Urano with the Reverse Gory Special Bomb (20:38). *V4 for DAMNATION.
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tetsuya Endo (c) with the Walls Of Takeshita (31:38). *Tetsuya Endo fails in V5. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 72nd KO-D Openweight Champion!
An exposed turnbuckle may be the reason for Tetsuya Endo’s downfall and why we have a new KO-D Openweight Champion. When he and Konosuke Takeshita fought outside the ring early in the main event, Nobuhiro Shimatani removed one of the corner turnbuckles while Yukinori Matsui was focused on the fighting. The exposed corner played its part when both champion and challenger were spent. Endo had Takeshita stunned on the top rope with an Overhead Kick but his attempt at a Superplex was countered into the Chicago Skyline chest first onto the metal bracket! Takeshita went on to hit the Fable but Endo still had some fight left in him, escaping from the Cross-Arm German Suplex to hit a Canadian Destroyer. Endo then hit a Cross-Arm Canadian Destroyer and went for the Shooting Star Press. But in a flash Takeshita blocked it with his knees and put Endo in the Walls Of Takeshita. Endo tried to fight out but when Takeshita dragged him to the middle of the ring and applied more pressure it was all over!
There wasn’t much interaction between Takeshita and Endo after the match. When Endo left the ring, Takeshita was given his sponsorship prize of 2,000,000 yen. Chris Brookes interrupted Takeshita’s victory speech. Brookes said he will win the KO-D Title at Korakuen Hall in 6 days time. Takeshita called himself the eternal champion. Next week he will win and Brookes will lose. It is destiny! He ended the show by congratulating the rest of ALL OUT for their success today. This is the DDT he wants and he is glad to share it with everyone. ALL OUT will continue to do their best and wish everyone to come see DDT again in the future.
Soma Takao can smile again because Smile Squash has been vanquished! HARASHIMA wiped himself out with a Swan Dive Somato out of the ring when Daisuke Sasaki got out of the way. The rest of DISASTER BOX were who HARASHIMA landed on instead. Daisuke Kiso was pushed into Yasu Urano which allowed Sasaki to bring a chair into the ring for him & Takao to use. They gave Urano a Gin And Tonic/Pedigree combination then Takao finished him off with the Reverse Gory Special Bomb.
After the match Takao talked about how he was born in Ota Ward, grew up in Ota Ward and now he’s defended a championship in Ota Ward’s biggest venue. Joey Ryan approached DAMNATION to tell them he and Hiroshi Yamato will be the next KO-D Tag Team Title challengers on 21st July. Sasaki denied the match was happening so Ryan took out packaged seaweed that Hiroshi was selling at the merchandise area. He rubbed the seaweed over his body, wrapped it over a lollipop and shoved it into Sasaki’s mouth! He tried to do the same to Takao but he escaped.
Before Danshoku Dieno Vs Shinya Aoki began the rules for the bout were revealed. The match was limited to 10 rounds lasting 3 minutes each. Every odd numbered round was strict fighting rules with no pinfalls allowed. Every even numbered round was normal pro wrestling rules but “courtship” was also permitted. Also Aoki was allowed to throw strikes from the 3 Point Position because there was a 20kg weight difference between him and Dieno. Mina Shirakawa and Yuki Iino provided the fanservice between the rounds. In Round 1 Dieno tried to bend the rules by targeting Aoki’s groin in a defensive manner but he was given a yellow card over it. Aoki overwhelmed Dieno for the rest of the round but Dieno lasted the entire time. In Round 2 Dieno got to do his moves without penalty. A double down spot led to a moment where the lights dimmed and music from “Beauty & The Beast” played. Dieno got Aoki to dance with him until the music stopped and Dieno went to do some dry humping. Round 3 went back to serious fighing but this time Aoki had a damaged rear end holding him back! The fight was more even this time but Aoki was still able to defend himself. In Round 4 Dieno went for a big attack but missed a Moonsault. Aoki applied a Sleeper Hold but again the lights went dim and this time music from “Aladdin” could be heard. The match slowed down and Dieno got out by grabbing Aoki’s crotch. He slowly gave Aoki a Lip Lock then dropped him with the Danshoku Driver. However Aoki slowly countered the pin into a Double Wristlock. Dieno slowly reached the ropes but was slowly put back into another Sleeper Hold. Dieno slowly reached for the ropes once more but went unconscious. The speed of reality went back to normal and Aoki was declared the winner by KO. When Dieno recovered, Aoki told him the match was good. Dieno warned Aoki that he is the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings. From this point on he better be prepared for how the remaining three will respond!
The first O-40 Champion was determined in a Weapon Rumble between Sanshiro Takagi and Super Sasadango Machine. The first weapon introduced in the match was “The Poison Tongue Commnetator” Kero Tanaka distracting Takagi with insults from the announce table. He called the match “Third Class” mimicking TAJIRI’s tweet that started this whole thing. The next weapon was a collection of tables, ladders and chairs for Takagi to use. Sasadango then brought out a doctor to get a blood donation from Takagi inside the ring. That on its own would make Takagi weaker but Sasadango caused even more damage by doing an Armbreaker to the arm the blood was taken from. Takagi was rescued by Miyako Matsumoto. She did a Diving Foot Stomp to Sasadango then told everyone she has left Ice Ribbon to go freelance. She asked Takagi if she can wrestle in DDT from now on? Takagi agreed but that piece of news was cut off by the appearance of Kurochan. He kept Matsumoto grounded by licking her knee then did the same to Takagi. Tanaka complained about Kurochan’s behavior on commentary and told him to go home. Sasadango grabbed Tanaka and made Kurochan lick his knee until he fainted. Kurochan then chased Matsumoto away from ringside while a pile of plastic cases were brought down for Takagi. A few of them were smashed until Super Sasadango Machine Strong Version appeared. He was unmasked and revealed to be Hideki Suzuki! Takagi’s next weapon was supposed to be Sasadango’s phone number but Yumehito Imanari revealed he was showing everybody Takagi’s phone number instead because he is a brutal boss! Takagi’s phone started ringing over and over so Suzuki was given the task of answering the calls while the match continued. Sasadango then introduced his PowerPoint presentation as his next weapon. In it he talked about how DDT’s management is not always good. If Takagi cannot figure out how to restructure DDT’s cost cutting it is suggested he may have to retire from his role. The PowerPoint then moved on to TAJIRI’s tweet about comedy wrestling. Sasadango defended Takagi by telling everyone he has changed so many lives with DDT from the wrestlers to the staff and even the fans. There was one final weapon to be revealed by Takagi. It was a video announcement that DDT will hold “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” at Saitama Super Arena on 7th June next year! Sasadango was so surprised by the news that he couldn’t defend himself from Takagi and was pinned after a Sunflower Bomb onto a plastic case.
Takagi brought a revived Kero Tanaka into the ring after the match. Tanaka said it is very hard to make him laugh but Takagi was able to do it today. He encouraged to make pack Saitama Super Arena super packed next year. Takagi asked Tanaka if he would do ring announcing for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020”? Tanaka accepted the offer. Takagi thanked Sasadango for putting together such a stupid match and assured him he isn’t going to retire anytime soon. He has so much to do and wants to take on big challenges in the same year when the Olympics are in the country. He told everyone who came here for free and are watching for free to buy tickets for next year’s big show! Oh and Takagi won the O-40 Title. Are we going to see this again or will it be forgotten about like the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles?
Brookes is going into his KO-D Title match in strong form. He did some “Sick Fucking Tag Moves” with Masahiro Takanashi then saved his partner from The Moonlight Express Michinoku Tornado Driver. They got rid of Mike Bailey then set MAO up for the finish. Brookes held MAO up in the Praying Mantis Bomb then Takanashi hit a Thrust Kick at MAO’s face before Brookes dropped him on his head. Takanashi gives Brookes his support and wants wrestling fans around the world to know that Brookes will be the next KO-D Champion! Brookes calls Takanashi the most talented wrestler in DDT even though he doesn’t get the spotlight. Brookes will be heading home to England soon but when he returns, not only will he be the KO-D Champion but the Calamari Drunken Kings will go after the KO-D Tag Titles too! Over at the Express end, MAO is confused over why he felt nervous wrestling today. He also mentions wanting to wrestle in Britain for Fight Club: PRO as part of DDT’s relationship with the UK promotion. He brought up a potential Moonlight Express Vs CCK match if Brookes’s original partner Kid Lykos ever comes back. Their message is loud and clear. “Hey Martin Zaki, book The Moonlight Express!”
Yukio Naya came out all guns blazing but was quickly extinguished by Hideki Suzuki. The rookie’s power kept him in the match and gave him some moments of hope. That ended when Suzuki put him in a Necklock, transitioned to the V1 Armlock and wrenched it in until Naya gave up. Suzuki says the match went exactly how he thought it would. It wasn’t beautiful but it was messy. What’s important is how will Naya respond to this? Naya knows his lack of experience was a big factor in his defeat but Suzuki told him not to give up wrestling.
Moments before the Battle Royal took place, Toru Owashi was seen breaking up an argument between Gorgeous Matsuno and Furitsuke Kamen backstage. The two elderly gentlemen began fighting until Kamen was unmasked. Owashi was shocked to learn that Kamen is Lucky Ikeda in disguise and everyone piled on top of him to get the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. A three count was made and Kamen/Ikeda was declared the champion because he was directly on top of Owashi. In the Battle Royal itself the belt moved around a few times from Kamen to Matsuno to Tomomitsu Matsunaga to Mad Paulie and then to Kazuki Hirata. The pervert Kurochan chased around Yuki Kamifuku trying to lick her until Yukio Sakaguchi came in and kicked him away. Joey Ryan eliminated both Kurochan and Kamifuku with lollipops. He also did a massive Dick Flip in sync to Hiroshi Yamato’s singing. Pokotan lost its head and was revealed to be wearing a Toru Owashi rubber mask underneath. Shiro Koshinaka came in and Hip Attacked everyone. Antonio Honda needed to power up Gongitsune so he invited Makoto Oishi, Hisaya Imabayashi, Inoue Mic, and a bunch of other wrestlers to fuse together while the theme to the “The Avengers” played in the background. Sakaguchi wanted to be involved too but he was ignored. Good thing too because the combined forces were wiped out by another one of Koshinaka’s Hip Attacks. Sakaguchi won the Rumble when he last eliminated Hirata with the God’s Right Knee. Michiaki Nakano from Souken Holdings presented Sakaguchi with the match prize then tried to roll him up to win the Iron Man Title. Sakaguchi easily stopped him with a stomp.
Safety and ring awareness was of the upmost importance in the IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match. Mizuki Watase and trainee Keigo Nakamura demonstrated the rules to everybody using a baseball bat before the match began. The Lighttube even got its own entrance to the tune of “Tomaranai Ha~Ha” by Eikichi Yazawa. The challenger Asuka was left frustrated by Akito shielding himself with the Lighttube. When the action got going both wrestlers did what they could to avoid breaking or landing on it. Things got so overwhelming that Asuka focused so much on a strike exchange she didn’t realise Akito held up the Lighttube to block a Middle Kick. Asuka smashed the Lighttube with her kick, meaning she lost the match! Akito apologised to Asuka for any insults he made about her in the buildup to the match. It’s okay if she hates him as long as she likes DDT more and more. Akito then announced he will be choosing his next challenger for the DDT Extreme Title.
Saki Akai had a few brief chances at beating Yoshiko. She hit the Rookie Award after Yoshiko missed a Diving Senton. She also gave her the Quetzalcoatl but Yoshiko was able to grab a rope to break the pin. Akai kicked out of a 2nd rope Diving Senton but another one from the top put her away. Yoshiko stepped on Akai’s head while flipping everyone off after the match. In her post-match interview she called the Quetzalcoatl a shallow move. Akai disagrees. Her move has a 100% success rate and Yoshiko only avoided defeat because she landed close enough to the ropes. As far as Akai is concerned, her finishing move hasn’t been beaten yet.
Kota Umeda pulled double duty for one of his few remaining DDT appearances left. His tag match was a DNA reunion with Kouki Iwasaki, Kazusada Higuchi and Ryota Nakatsu. Higuchi got the win for his team by cutting off Umeda’s kicks with a Lariat. He used his old Goten finisher to get the three count as well. The four of them reminisced about DNA backstage after the match. Higuchi mentioned the DNA shirt he wore to the ring was something he kept because it was so important. Today was his chance to wear it again.
The proper show opener saw Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase defeat Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani. Katsumata & Iino were pleased to win a match on the big stage. Watase was the odd man out in the match because he is not a part of a unit. However he is still connected to the others through DNA so he was able to channel that energy to mesh with the ALL OUT wrestlers.
There were two pre-show matches. The latter one was presented by Tokyo Joshi Pro. The trio of Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino were victorious over Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi.
The other pre-show match was an exhibition bout between Kota Umeda and trainee Keigo Nakamura. Rather than beat him with a Crab Hold, Umeda just kicked the rookie in the chest instead.
Part of the introduction video involved a comedy skit between Ryota Yamasato and Danshoku Dieno. Yamazato was reminded to behave or else he will get fireworks shoved up his backside as ordered by his new wife.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi
1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
For the first time DDT’s annual supershow is being held inside Ota Ward Gymnasium for an ambitious experiment. This year’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN” will be a free show with tickets being given out through DDT’s website. At the time of writing two of the three sections advertised are sold out, the Arena seats and the A Stand seats. The B Stand seats are still available and whatever is left on the day of the show will be given out one way or another so expect a packed venue. Just ignore that there is a 350 yen processing fee, because of course there’s a processing fee. The goal of this event is to spread the name of DDT and the best way to do that is hold a free show inside a big building to attract fans new and old. DDT’s connections with CyberAgent and AbemaTV helped make this happen.
This show also kickstarts DDT’s goal for 2020, to approach the level of New Japan without sacrificing what makes DDT, well, DDT. During an interview with Yahoo Japan/Weekly Playboy, it was mentioned that DDT’s last peak happened five years ago. Seeds have been planted since then with the new generation of DDT wrestlers. If it takes five years for a new boom period to begin then DDT believes now is the time to strike! If it doesn’t work, then no matter. The show must go on and DDT will do what they can to avoid being repetitive.
So what is happening on the card? There is the return of this generation’s biggest feud over the top championship, a heel aims to destroy his babyface past, an MMA superstar faces the heart of DDT, a new championship for senior wrestlers is created, the next No. 1 Contender is being kept busy, the grandson of a famous sumo wrestler takes on one of the most skillful wrestlers around, a wacky Battle Royal will happen, only one lighttube will get smashed, a joshi rivalry is reignited and a class reunion leads to a farewell.
0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura
Kota Umeda is pulling double duty. His match on the main card is more important but DDT wants to give their newest trainee Keigo Nakamura some ring time so Umeda gets to wrestle twice. Also DDT has sponsored pre-show matches that need to be filled. Nakamura has had two previous exhibition matches and played minor roles in a few street wrestling matches this year so he is quickly getting the DDT experience.
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi
The Tokyo Joshi Pro midcard get the Ota Ward spotlight this time around. Seems fair since the main eventers have now reached the level where they are getting bookings in America and Europe. While they are out flying the flag abroad, they are plenty of others around to represent TJPW at DDT’s biggest show. Rika Tatsumi is still finding her footing since coming back from an arm injury back in February. Her efforts to get into the title scene had been disrupted by drama over her former friend Hyper Misao joining the dark side. She also has her hands full wrestling the HiSPC class girls that came after her. The Bakuretsu Sisters may be going into Ota Ward as the new Tokyo Princess Tag Team Champions if things work out for them. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino have a title shot two days before “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. Natsumi Maki’s time in Tokyo Joshi has been free of the controversy that followed her when she debuted for the company in January. She formed the Pandemic Boo-Boo tag team with Hikari Noa and rarely takes the fall in losses. Yuna Manase is fresh out of reaching the Tokyo Princess Cup final. Her performance in that tournament seems to have breathed new life into her career so now the world is her oyster. Himawari Unagi won a fan vote to get into the Princess Cup and has gathered a following online over her love of bubble tea. She also teams with Manase a fair bit whenever she isn’t put with the rest of her classmates.
The redundant DNA brand has its fingerprints all over the first two matches on the main card. Shunma Katsumata returned from his cheek bone fracture and with Yuki Iino got deep into the feud between ALL OUT and the Sendai Girls. Both of them are heading into this match as two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Joining them is Mizuki Watase who is still struggling to find a higher place on cards without Shigehiro Irie being there to prop him up. There is talent in Watase but a lot is still missing for him to step up. I don’t know if a move to BASARA or Ganbare☆Wrestling is needed to solve this problem but he looks like a man without a country right now. The other team is an unholy mix of DISASTER BOX and DAMNATION. The pair of Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura have to team with Nobuhiro Shimatani after they failed to become tag champions. Other than that things have been working out swimmingly for the two ever since Yoshimura joined DISASTER BOX. Shimatani has the most important job out of all the DAMNATION wrestlers on this show and that is to carry around the DAMNATION signboard.
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
The other DNA match involves multiple brands and is the last time Kota Umeda will wrestle in a big venue before he leaves the profession. Umeda is quitting DDT on 21st July to work for his family’s business in Kumamoto. Family has always been important to Umeda and he was going to go as far as retire from pro wrestling for them despite only being 24 years old. However DDT convinced him just to quit the company so if he ever wants to come back, he won’t be breaking any retirement vows. Umeda’s partner for his second last match is Kouki Iwasaki. He hasn’t looked back since joining Ganpro and spreading out to other promotions. Their opponents are probably the two top graduates from DNA. Kazusada Higuchi has now firmly found his balance between heavyweight wrestling and wacky comedy behavior. Ryota Nakatsu is coming off of a strong Union MAX Title run in BASARA. He won’t have his Sparky stablemates with him but he never really needed to rely on them either.
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko
Throughout Saki Akai’s wrestling career there has been one figure who she thinks has played an important role as a rival. That’s Yoshiko. She was one of Akai’s debut opponents and Akai was her first challenger when she was the World Of Stardom Champion. In another world the two could have been childhood friends like Sakisama and Yoshiko-sama are. But whenever Akai gets the opportunity to make her own match, Yoshiko’s name usually pops up as an opponent. This is what’s happening here. Akai wanted a singles joshi match on DDT’s biggest show of the year and decided now is the chance for her to surpass Yoshiko. Maybe it’s possible because the match is happening a few days after Yoshiko was in a big Beyond The Sea Tag Team Titles defence in SEAdLINNNG. Her entire focus was on that match and she admits she didn’t have much time to think about Akai. But what she can promise is she will show everyone in Ota Ward how harsh and pitiful Akai really is. Akai on the other hand has had time to plan and think about this match. She will use her feelings as a pro wrestler to power her way to victory!
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
Akito is the DDT Extreme Champion but he is also fighting to answer a simple question that’s been bothering him lately. Is he boring? He has the skills for sure but his challenger Asuka thinks he is dull as dirt (it could be worse, he could be as boring as the current WWE or ROH main event scenes). Asuka thinks the Extreme Title would be a much better fit for her than Akito. She wanted a death match with hundreds of lighttubes involved to prove it but Akito turned it around by making her fight in an IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match instead. There is only one lighttube and whoever breaks it is the loser. Akito explains that the fear of only breaking one lighttube rather than smashing through hundreds of them is what makes this match type more thrilling. Plus with no pinfalls needed to win, Akito can feel more relaxed in the ring and not worry about getting rolled up. See, he put a lot of thought into this. Would a boring man act that way? Asuka is at a disadvantage because she is struggling to understand the point of the match even after watching videos of the previous times the rule was used.
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title has had a little bit of a quiet 2019 so far. Don’t get me wrong there was some eventful title changes that happened. The belt swapped hands a bunch of times in New York, the Governor Of Ehime became champion and a chair held the title. But other than that it’s been the usual stories about the championship. Maybe there’s not much to do because it’s been overshadowed by the new WWE 24/7 Title. But like I said at the start, the show must go on. Toru Owashi is the champion as this is being written and DDT is selling a rubber mask of his face at the show. Kurochan is the comedian from the Muscle show at Sumo Hall back in February. Shiro Koshinaka celebrated his 40th anniversary in wrestling at the start of the year. Other than an office pro wrestling cameo this is his first proper match in DDT since November 2017. Furitsuke Kamen is the pro wrestling alter ego of celebrity choreographer Lucky Ikeda. He showed up in DDT for a dance match back in March. Joey Ryan is back in DDT and is in a new stage of his career where he has no contracts to worry about. His matches still gives Jim Cornette material for his podcast. Yukio Sakaguchi went through a roaring rampage of revenge against DAMNATION in the early summer but wound up empty handed. Makoto Oishi had a little time in the spotlight in April when he was chosen for a title match. He was supposed to be an easy defence but proved to be anything but. Antonio Honda won the Extreme Title in a Panty☆Hunt Tiger Cub Rope Death Match but lost the belt to Akito in his first defence. Kazuki Hirata continues to dance and feud with an 11 year old. Mad Paulie has been trusted by the rest of DAMNATION to win the Iron Man Title so the unit will sweep all of their title matches on the show. Tomomitsu Matsunaga’s highlight of the year has been… I don’t know, losing to Bull James or something? Gorgeous Matsuno has taken a step back from his gatekeeping duties and only appeared in DDT for special occasions. Hiroshi Yamato has begun to proudly talk about the amount of different promotions he wrestles in. If you don’t see him wrestling, you’ll see him singing or shilling his erotic fiction instead. The DDT mascot Pokotan hasn’t been perfect since its debut. It often loses its head during matches which makes it violently malfunction. Last but not least there is Yuki Kamifuku. She was added to the match when Kurochan asked for a woman to be included. Kamifuku agreed to take part but got cold feet when she figured out Kurochan only wanted a woman included so he could act the pervert. He wants to hit three birds with one stone: win the Iron Man Title, kiss Kamifuku and then go get married together.
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya
Yukio Naya made his DDT debut at “JUDGEMENT 2019” in Sumo Hall. He liked the experience so much that he signed with the company three months later! The grandson of sumo yokozuna Taiho Koki didn’t waste any time picking his targets. He wants to be the best heavyweight in DDT so he immediately set his sights on the big boys like Higuchi and Mad Paulie. A lack of experience lets him down but Naya has been picking up wins against smaller competition. His next big match is against Hideki Suzuki, a frustratingly talented veteran. He hasn’t watched any of Naya’s matches, only saw pictures of his bout with Higuchi and has no special thoughts about his opponent. He does have some criticism though. Naya has said in interviews that he does not expect to beat Suzuki but wants to do his best to at least make the match enjoyable. Suzuki thinks if Naya is not wrestling to win then he shouldn’t be wrestling at all. Otherwise this match is just a waste of time. If Suzuki has to teach him that lesson in the ring then so be it.
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
At first this match seemed a little throwaway and was positioned further down the card. But when Chris Brookes instantly became DDT’s new favourite adopted son things changed. The English wrestler has only been in DDT for a month but he has taken the company by storm in ways I have not seen since El Generico’s run in the company seven years ago. He took to the street wrestling matches like a duck to water (partly because one of those matches was in a pool )and in his spare time lived a dream puroresu holiday that would leave even the most hardcore wrestling fan green with envy (shhh, don’t tell Will Ospreay that). The crowning achievement of this tour may not have happened yet. On 21st July Brookes will be challenging for the company’s main championship so he will definitely keep a close eye on the main event. Masahiro Takanashi’s profile has dropped a little bit ever since Shuten-dōji split up in April but he hasn’t been keeping quiet. There’s been times this year when Takanashi brought in his friends Shota, Yumehito Imanari and Baliyan Akki to disguise themselves as him and distract opponents. It’s been a winning tactic for the most part but not used as often as its success rate would suggest. Brookes & Takanashi have tagged together only once so far but they already have a team name: Calamari Drunken Kings! Facing them is The Moonlight Express, one of DDT’s top tag teams in recent years. MAO & Mike Bailey were at their strongest in the springtime when they held the KO-D Tag Team Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles at the same time. MAO continues to do fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world, which crosses the big boss sometimes. Speedball has been the nice boy he always is but he’s starting to get lost in the crowd with no clear direction for now. Maybe his shot at putting together a Beer Garden show with MAO next month can spark some inspiration.
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
Things were looking rough for Sanshiro Takagi on the road to “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. His failure to convert a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet into a championship victory left him absent from the card and frozen out of the show. So imagine how random his luck is when of all things a tweet from TAJIRI not only leads to Takagi getting a match but a rather significant one too. When TAJIRI tweeted about how pro wrestling as an art is split into different tiers with comedy wrestling being in Tier 3, Super Sasadango Machine took offence to that opinion. Particularly, he took offence on behalf of Takagi thinking the tweet was directly aimed at the Big Boss. Takagi doesn’t believe for a second that TAJIRI was talking about him but if Sasadango is demanding to wrestle Takagi in a Weapon Rumble to prove TAJIRI wrong then he may as well go along with it.
It doesn’t end there. Sasadango also asked for a new championship to be on the line for the match. He noticed that there are now many pro wrestlers competing into their forties and that can be inspiring for the DDT fanbase in the same age group. So he has created the O-40 Title (O-40 meaning “Over Forty” of course) with the hopes it will be defended across the wrestling industry. Takagi accepted the proposal and thinks it is a nice parallel to the main event being between two wrestlers in their twenties. Both men have their weapons prepared to be at their most devastating, both physically and mentally. But what of TAJIRI? Will he be there? Sasadango had been expecting to get an apology from him but has heard nothing since the match was announced. He knows TAJIRI is touring Europe at the moment so maybe he got lost somewhere in Malta.
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno
What can Danshoku Dieno do to prepare for Shinya Aoki? Putting himself through a gauntlet of different martial arts gave him some experience of what to expect. Although when some of the representation included swimming and kabbadi then maybe the results are a little suspect. It doesn’t help that Dieno isn’t entirely sure what kind of match he is having with Aoki. It can’t be MMA because everyone knows he’ll get slaughtered. Maybe there’s a chance if it is just a regular pro wrestling match but who the hell would expect DDT to go that direction? Dieno’s tactic should be to bring out the most ridiculous shenanigans he can think of. Aoki can only go along so much with it before he starts losing his mind. But it would be unfair to assume Aoki’s tolerance for wackiness is limited. He had no problem disguising himself as Pokotan to sneak attack Dieno a few weeks ago. Who knows what silly ideas of his own will be brought to life here.
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
What was once happy memories for Soma Takao are now nothing more than horrible nightmares. There was a time when he was in a unit called Smile Squash with HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano. The group fell apart when Urano left DDT to go freelance and Takao stabbed HARASHIMA in the back to join DAMNATION. But if you take Takao’s word for it, his time in Smile Squash was terrible to the point where even saying the unit name out loud makes him cry. It was Takao’s dream to have a championship match in his hometown but Smile Squash just had to come back and ruin the moment for him. But luckily for Takao he has Daisuke Sasaki looking out for him with a solution. When they successfully defend the KO-D Tag Team Champions, Sasaki & Takao will become the newborn Smile Squash! Of course, DAMNATION’s comments should be taken with a lot of salt. HARASHIMA & Urano are the same good nurtured wrestlers they always are. Urano is extremely happy to compete for a DDT championship again which is something he did not expect when he left the company two years ago. Sasaki made fun of Urano at the contract signing for looking like he hadn’t changed a bit since he left. Urano thinks he doesn’t need to change because he’s always been himself. If he does change anything, it will be him winning the tag titles with HARASHIMA!
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Two years ago this match main evented Sumo Hall with Konosuke Takeshita defending the KO-D Openweight Title against Tetsuya Endo. This time around the positions are reversed and what a road it took to get here. When DDT went to New York in April, Takeshita lost the KO-D Title to Daisuke Sasaki. That by itself would be one of the biggest DDT stories of the year but another title change happened minutes later when Endo fell to temptation and cashed in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet to become the champion at his leader’s expense. Endo came back to Japan as a newly reborn New Yorker and has defended the title four times. His reign has brought stability to the championship after a crazy eight months of title changes. Meanwhile Takeshita earned his spot by winning the King Of DDT tournament and closing out an inter-promotional feud with the Sendai Girls.
This isn’t a rivalry because according to Takeshita rivals are meant to motivate each other to do their best against each other. What he has with Endo is more of a grudge or in Endo’s case outright hatred. The two have not been in each other’s good books ever since Endo joined DAMNATION back in the summer of 2016. In their singles matches Takeshita has usually gotten the better of Endo but they have only had two singles bouts since “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017” and Takeshita won neither of them. Endo has also gotten over on Takeshita with some mind games during the build up. An ankle injury prevented Endo from competing in a 3 Way with Takeshita and Endo at the last Korakuen Hall show. But when the match was over Endo attacked Takeshita and showed his injury wasn’t as bad as it seemed. He’s also gotten into the habit of throwing Takeshita out of the ring from a Torture Rack to the floor. Whoever wins they won’t have much time to recover. In a week’s time the KO-D Champion will be defending against Chris Brookes and he doesn’t care who he faces. Whatever happens after that is anyone’s guess!
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 