DDT “JUDGEMENT 2017 ~ DDT 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE” Preview

March 17, 2017

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2017 ~ DDT 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 20/03/2017
Saitama Super Arena

0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight & King Of Dark Titles – DDT Pro Wrestling 20th Anniversary Memorial Celebration Dramatic Rumble: Kotatsu (I/c) Vs Gota Ihashi (D/c) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Mad Paulie Vs Guanchulo Vs Hoshitango Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Ken Ohka Vs MIKAMI Vs Poison Sawada JULIE Vs GENTARO Vs Tomohiko Hashimoto Vs Rion Mizuki Vs Bambi Vs Yoshihiko
0. DNA Offer Match: Rekka, Daiki Shimomura & Yuki Ueno Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani, Naomi Yoshimura & Dai Suzuki
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuu, Mil Clown & Itoh Maki Vs Reika Saiki, Rika Tatsumi & Azusa Takigawa
1. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2017: Saki Akai, Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima Vs Aja Kong, Cherry & Miyu Yamashita
2. Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) (w/ Matsu-hime (Kimika Tokuta)) Vs Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi) (w/ Oichi (Mai Iriya))
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Lady Beard Vs Jaguar Yokota, Keisuke Ishii, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuni
4. Shungo Oyama Pro Wrestling Challenge Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo Vs KUDO & Shungo Oyama
5. Shigehiro Irie Triennial Special Single Match: Shigehiro Irie Vs Mike Bailey
6. PRO WRESTLING TEES Presents “DDT Is DDT” 20 Years Entertainment Culmination! The Best In The World Bad Guy Decisive Battle: Danshoku Dino Vs Joey Ryan
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Soma Takao, Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
8. DDT Extreme Title – Sekichu Presents Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The show airs live on DDT UNIVERSE om Monday 2:00pm JST, 5:00am GMT, 1:00am ET and Sunday 10:00pm PT.

I was also a guest on the Japanese Audio Wrestling podcast last week to preview the show. The episode can be heard here.

Twenty years. Who would have thought DDT would last twenty years? Sanshiro Takagi’s brainchild was created in 1997 when he, MIKAMI and NOSAWA Rongai quit a promotion called Pro Wrestling Crusaders to form their own wrestling league. From there Dramatic Dream Team was born and it created a bizarre path for itself as time went by. From parodying WWE to experimenting with the elements of pro wrestling that have existed for so long that they were taken for granted, DDT became home to some of the most bizarre gimmicks and ideas in the business. But it had something else going for it. Among the island of misfit toys were some gems that have since gone on to be major players on the scene. The parodies and knock offs eventually transformed into more creative endeavours that can now stand on their own. The buildings being booked became bigger. The roster developed into something that the next generation of wrestlers now choose to be there rather than use it as a backup plan.

And it all leads to here. “JUDGEMENT 2017” the 20th Anniversary celebration for DDT is taking place in Saitama Super Arena. This is a plan years in the making. Originally DDT wanted to run the building in 2011 but there was no room on the Arena’s schedule to make it happen. In 2015 DDT booked the Community Hub section of the building for “SAITAMA SUPER DDT 2015”. Finally this year is the year they are running the full building. If that isn’t aiming high, remember that back at the 15th Anniversary show, Takagi announced his intentions to run the Tokyo Dome for the 20th Anniversary! Sadly that never came to pass but hey, Saitama Super Arena isn’t anything to sneeze at.

So let’s get to the card itself. DDT is following the format that a lot of others now use for their biggest show of the year. Cram as much as they can and give everyone a spot somewhere. This is going to be a long show, ladies and gentlemen. The Future attempts to replace the present, an angry warrior looks set to take on DAMNATION, furniture will fly in a charismatic death match, a 3 Way determines who deserves the trios championship, a viral video clip results in a World Wrestling War, two top singles wrestlers battle it out to move up the ranks, an MMA fighter shifts over to pro wrestling, a joshi legend teams up with a child, there’s a match filled with superstar samurai and much more is on the cards. So let’s dig in.


0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight & King Of Dark Titles – DDT Pro Wrestling 20th Anniversary Memorial Celebration Dramatic Rumble: Kotatsu (I/c) Vs Gota Ihashi (D/c) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Mad Paulie Vs Guanchulo Vs Hoshitango Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Ken Ohka Vs MIKAMI Vs Poison Sawada JULIE Vs GENTARO Vs Tomohiko Hashimoto Vs Rion Mizuki Vs Bambi Vs Yoshihiko

We start off with a staple match on these major shows, a Royal Rumble for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. However this time there is an added caveat in the mix. The King Of Dark Title is also on the line, hence why this match is on the pre-show. The current Iron Man Champion is Kotatsu, a literal table. Kotatsu has been unstoppable since becoming the champion. Its defensive capabilities is beyond anything seen from previous champions. As you’d expect from a Japanese table it is tough to break. But it has a soft side too. It has a quilt attached around itself that is so comfortable, anyone who sits next to it falls asleep. The current King Of Dark Champion is Gota Ihashi who recently reclaimed the title for the 6th time. The rest of the field is filled with many names from DDT’s past. MIKAMI had been with DDT for most of its existence and was the Jr. Heavyweight star in the group for many years. Poison Sawada JULIE had many forms but is best remembered as the dark snake magician. GENTARO was a dominant tag wrestler, teaming with Takashi Sasaki as the Akarangers. Tomohiko Hashimoto was one of Koichiro Kimura’s disciples and was part of a unit called B52 Special. Rion Mizuki was an ikemen wrestler who briefly has a Saint Seiya gimmick. Bambi wrestled in DDT under a mask as “Showa”. And then there is the usual lot involved too. It is possible that one of the titles will not change hands depending on the result of the match. It’s a complicated situation that the referees are trying to figure out.


0. DNA Offer Match: Rekka, Daiki Shimomura & Yuki Ueno Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani, Naomi Yoshimura & Dai Suzuki

Earlier this year DDT New Attitude reinvented itself into Fighting Gig DNA. It is still a development brand for DDT’s less experienced wrestlers but the plan is for the group to grow and become its own brand of wrestling. Naomi Yoshimura has quickly become a standout to me. He has the fewest matches out of the six wrestlers but the biggest ego and a powerful body to match. His generation counterpart Yuki Ueno is almost the opposite. Ueno takes a beating every match but he takes it in his stride. Daiki Shimomura and Nobuhiro Shimatani are friends/rivals who recently formed a team together called Gran Millimeters. Dai Suzuki just began a 7 match series where he must win or tie one match or else he must retire. He’s 0-1 so far. Rekka is the most experienced of the bunch by far, joining DNA from New Taiwan Wrestling. Everybody involved in this match are hungry and unsatisfied at just being in the pre-show. They are determined to have an exciting match because of this.


0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuu, Mil Clown & Itoh Maki Vs Reika Saiki, Rika Tatsumi & Azusa Takigawa

The last of the pre-show matches involved Tokyo Joshi Pro. DDT’s spin-off women’s brand has been around for four years now and has a colourful cast of idol wrestlers. Yuu is the current queen of the ring, holding the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title. Her judo talent quickly pushed her heads and shoulders ahead of the rest of the roster. Mil Clown is a trickster from the Magical Country. She came to Tokyo Joshi to take the place of twin sister Yuka Sakazaki when she took a break to find herself. Itoh Maki is a former singer from LinQ and is convinced she is the cutest wrestler ever. Reika Saiki is the powerful Muscle Idol and a member of the Cheer♡1 cheerleader squad. Rika Tatsumi is becoming known for her Dragon Sleeper. It is no coincidence that her ring name was inspired by Tatsumi Fujinami. Finally Azusa Takigawa is the wrestler who is determined to get married. Her use of Zexy Magazine as a weapon in matches got some attention online this year including a request from the magazine’s publisher to stop doing it.


1. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2017: Saki Akai, Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima Vs Aja Kong, Cherry & Miyu Yamashita

Tokyo Joshi’s influence continues into the main show. The two most established wrestlers from the brand are being put in with DDT’s two mainstay women as well as two joshi legends. Miyu Yamashita has been with Tokyo Joshi since its very first show back in January 2013 with Shoko Nakajima coming in a few months later. Yamashita was the first ever Princess Champion while Nakajima is a Tokyo Princess Cup winner and has been in the final for all three tournaments. Saki Akai and Cherry have a not so friendly relationship in DDT. Cherry was the token women’s wrestler for the DDT family until Akai the celebrity came in. Cherry has been jealous of her success and popularity ever since. Then there is the famed rivalry between Meiko Satomura and Aja Kong. I got to see their Sendai Girls match live last April and it was amazing to watch. Maybe Yamashita and Nakajima can impress the right people in this match and get an opportunity to spread their wings.


2. Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) (w/ Matsu-hime (Kimika Tokuta)) Vs Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi) (w/ Oichi (Mai Iriya))

It’s surprising to see a match of this magnitude apparantly take place so early on the show but this is going to be a highlight for sure. To celebrate game director Kou Shibusawa’s 35th year in the business, DDT is teaming up with Koei Tecmo to put on a star studded match promoting the Nobunaga’s Ambition phone game. If you don’t know about that series then maybe you are more familiar with Dynasty Warriors or Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. Chances are if the Yellow Turban Rebellion is mentioned somewhere then this match relates to it. To get the most out of this match I suggest you grab a Playstation controller and mash Square over and over. It’s how I played through Dynasty Warriors 8.

To the teams themselves. On one side you have the Big President Sanshiro Takagi, the BASARA samurai Isami Kodaka and the Pro Wrestling Master Keiji Muto. On the other side there is the hard bodied Daisuke Sekimoto, the wise man Jun Akiyama and the nutjob who thinks showering in fireworks during a trip to London is a good idea Kota Ibushi. So far so good but to make things more interesting each wrestler is playing a different character from the historical video game series. There are also actresses involved, Mai Iriya is playing Sekimoto’s character’s wife and Kimika Tokuta is playing Muto’s character’s daughter. Ibushi turned down WWE for this and I couldn’t be happier. Twitter videos also show he has a blunderbuss as part of his costume because you know, giving Ibushi a gun is such a good idea.


3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Lady Beard Vs Jaguar Yokota, Keisuke Ishii, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuni

Another mish-mash multi-person tag match. The focus here is on two people with around a 45 year a age difference between them. Jaguar Yokota wrestled for DDT once before back in June 2003. Teaming with her is the 3rd grade elementary student Yuni. The kid convinced DDT to train him as a wrestler and he’s had a few matches since his debut last December. During his time away from the ring he’s been bouncing on his bed trying to learn stylish moves like the Sky Twister Press. Yokota and Yuni have met and trained together in the build up to this match. They get along and Yokota warns she won’t forgive anyone who tries to bully Yuni in the ring. Joining their team are Keisuke Ishii and Masahiro Takanashi. Ishii has had a banner year since winning the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title. Takanashi is firmly suited in his role for Shuten-dōji and can catch anyone with his pinning manoeuvres. Their opponents are Toru Owashi and the three people who annoy him. Kazuki Hirata wants nothing more than to dance on the biggest stage (sadly his music will be blocked on DDT UNIVERSE). Both Antonio Honda and Lady Beard are warming up their vocals and will probably be more interested in telling stories and singing karaoke rather than wrestling.


4. Shungo Oyama Pro Wrestling Challenge Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo Vs KUDO & Shungo Oyama

Former MMA fighter Shungo Oyama has fought many big names in PRIDE, K-1 and HERO’S. He’s fought Wanderlai Silva, Peter Aerts, Renzo Gracie (and a few others from that family), Dan Henderson, Cro Cop and Carlos Newton. He even once fought Sean O’Haire in a kickboxing bout! When his MMA career ended DDT sent him an invite to try out pro wrestling. It’s an idea he considered but put off for years because he was coming off of injuries and did not want to disrespect pro wrestling with a lacklustre performance. But he came round on the idea and figured it is better to do it now then never at all. He sent a strong message to Yoshihiro Takayama in February when they met in a DDT ring. Takayama tried attacked Oyama but was quickly put in a Sleeper Hold and choked unconscious. KUDO is encouraged by Oyama’s appearance. His advice to him is if he can see success then he can win. Takayama isn’t going to take it lying down though. He warns that all Oyama did was wake up the fighter inside him and he’s now hungry for blood! Takayama’s tag partner Dick Togo wants to remind everyone that even though Oyama is strong he is still a pro wrestling rookie. Togo is eager to teach him a lesson!


5. Shigehiro Irie Triennial Special Single Match: Shigehiro Irie Vs Mike Bailey

This is an interesting match up. Shigehiro Irie and “Speedball” Mike Bailey have both been recovering from set-backs after losing title matches to HARASHIMA. They are both on the cusp of hitting the main event level again but are taking different paths to reach it. Irie has been relying on excursions to the United States of America. The first trip saw him return to Japan much stronger and more confident than ever before. He was already planning a return to America when he fought HARASHIMA on Christmas Day but he wanted to bring the KO-D Openweight Title with him. That did not happen. Still, Irie loves spending time in America and did not take his latest trip for granted.

Bailey’s climb to the top is coming from his time teaming with Happy Motels and wrestling in DNA. He won the DNA Grand Prix on his own in October and then won the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Konosuke Takeshita in December. But Irie isn’t impressed. He’s given him the thumbs down after their matches together. Expect the winner of this match to start banging on the door for a title shot in the future.


6. PRO WRESTLING TEES Presents “DDT Is DDT” 20 Years Entertainment Culmination! The Best In The World Bad Guy Decisive Battle: Danshoku Dino Vs Joey Ryan

Where do I even begin with this? DDT put together the most DDT match they could think of to promote DDT UNIVERSE to a global audience. On November 2015, Danshoku Dino and Joey Ryan faced off in a 6-Man Tag. Their interactions went viral and the aftermath has been following them ever since. When Dino was given 500,000 yen to find his dream opponent for Saitama Super Arena he went for the obvious choice. Triple H! Unfortunately he’s too busy trying to drain the European wrestling scene of its talent for NXT so Dino went for the next obvious choice. Joey Ryan! And to make the match even more appealing to a global audience, Super Sasadango Machine is creating a special PowerPoint presentation in Japanese, English, Spanish and Chinese for the match.

Everything surrounding the match was well and good until a few days ago when a certain powerful figure in the world of politics got involved. “Donald Trump” stepped in and declared the match a World Wrestling War between Japan and America. This is a serious situation that calls for a dangerous stipulation. Using the SWOT Analysis on Dino, Trump determined that Dino Vs Ryan should be an Anal Explosion Death Match! If such a match goes ahead then any scenes of graphic content will be censored on DDT UNIVERSE with this NSFW image.

Oh and Pro Wrestling Tees is sponsoring the match. Buy DDT shirts here. You picked a hell of a match to sponsor, lads.


7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Soma Takao, Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO

Things will calm down for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Three units clash and each side has its own story to tell. Team DNA are the champions going into the match. Kazusada Higuchi is the top man in DNA and has progressed far enough to fight for the KO-D Title a few times already. Kouki Iwasaki is a solid wrestler who is currently picking fights with Kazushi Sakuraba in DNA. Mizuki Watase has gotten his wrestling career back on track after a whirlwind romance with TV celebrity and former champion LiLiCo last year.

Smile Squash are the stronger of the two challenging teams. With Soma Takao recently joining the unit they’ve been on a strong run in tag matches. Akito is happy to team with him but Yasu Urano is pretty suspect of the situation. Takao himself admits he joined Smile Squash to wrestle with HARASHIMA and learn what it will take to beat him someday. Urano wonders why should a guy like that get to join the unit? Regardless, this team contains three skillful wrestlers with momentum on their side.

Last but not least is NωA. Their success in the ring is difficult to find but out of all the teams in the match they are the most tightly knit unit. They sing together, dance together and wrestle together. They released two CDs which nobody else on the show can boast.


8. DDT Extreme Title – Sekichu Presents Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

Now we’re getting into the big matches. The last three bouts are going to carry the heavy end of the show so I have high hopes for them. The Hardcore Match is being sponsored by Sekichu and the weapons laid out around the ring will all be provided by them. Daisuke Sasaki is mostly over his infatuation with Candice LeRae but the idea that a championship can impress her may still be in his head. But if he has moved on from her he is now focused on getting rid of Jun Kasai. He stole Kasai’s goggles a month ago but Kasai got back at him by stealing his leather jacket. The items were given back to each other but the fighting continued. Sasaki is confident he will win. So much so he is already thinking of using his match winnings to buy a 65 inch TV to replace his 50 inch one. Is Sasaki charismatic enough to overcome Kasai’s violent streak?


9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo

DAMNATION’s presence continues on to the KO-D Tag Team Titles Match. Nobody has gotten Yukio Sakaguchi more riled up than Tetsuya Endo lately. Endo beating Sakaguchi in a singles match last month only made the bad blood between the two worse. Now Endo has his eyes the tag titles and he’s brining along Shuji Ishikawa to help. He’s also winding up Masakatsu Funaki by calling his Hybrid Wrestling style a thing of the past. Sakaguchi threatens that he will fill Saitama Super Arena with Endo’s blood!


10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The backbone of DDT defends his place on top against the future of the company. HARASHIMA is the most successful KO-D Openweight Champion in DDT history with 9 title reigns and around 28 successful title defences over the course of 10 years. Konosuke Takeshita left his mark on history by becoming the youngest ever KO-D Champion, winning the title on his 21st birthday. Takeshita wants nothing more than for HARASHIMA to be at his absolute best when they wrestle. He wants to beat HARASHIMA at his best so he can rewrite the history books and cement his place as the strongest wrestler to ever step foot in DDT. HARASHIMA assures him that he is constantly getting better every time he steps in the ring. He hears Takeshita’s claims that he is the future of DDT but HARASHIMA doesn’t think the generation shift will happen under his watch. HARASHIMA is thrilled to see DDT on the big stage like this after 20 years. He thinks beating Takeshita in the main event is a good way to kickstart the 21st year. The future of DDT is at stake. Is it time for The Future to take over?


Trump Declares Dino Vs Joey A Wrestling War!

March 15, 2017

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2017 ~ DDT 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 20/03/2017
Saitama Super Arena

0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight & King Of Dark Titles – DDT Pro Wrestling 20th Anniversary Memorial Celebration Dramatic Rumble: Kotatsu (I/c) Vs Gota Ihashi (D/c) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Mad Paulie Vs Guanchulo Vs Hoshitango Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Ken Ohka Vs MIKAMI Vs Poison Sawada JULIE Vs GENTARO Vs Tomohiko Hashimoto Vs Rion Mizuki Vs Bambi Vs Yoshihiko
0. DNA Offer Match: Rekka, Daiki Shimomura & Yuki Ueno Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani, Naomi Yoshimura & Dai Suzuki
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuu, Mil Clown & Itoh Maki Vs Reika Saiki, Rika Tatsumi & Azusa Takigawa
1. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2017: Saki Akai, Meiko Satomura & Shoko Nakajima Vs Aja Kong, Cherry & Miyu Yamashita
2. Kou Shibusawa 35th Anniversary “Nobunaga’s Ambition ~Our Warring States~” Sengoku Warlords Match: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sanshiro Takagi), Shingen Takeda (Keiji Muto) & Yukimura Sanada (Isami Kodaka) (w/ Matsu-hime (Kimika Tokuta)) Vs Katsuie Shibata (Daisuke Sekimoto), Kenshin Uesugi (Jun Akiyama) & Nobunaga Oda (Kota Ibushi) (w/ Oichi (Mai Iriya))
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Lady Beard Vs Jaguar Yokota, Keisuke Ishii, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuni
4. Shungo Oyama Pro Wrestling Challenge Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo Vs KUDO & Shungo Oyama
5. Shigehiro Irie Triennial Special Single Match: Shigehiro Irie Vs Mike Bailey
6. PRO WRESTLING TEES Presents “DDT Is DDT” 20 Years Entertainment Culmination! The Best In The World Bad Guy Decisive Battle: Danshoku Dino Vs Joey Ryan
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Soma Takao, Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
8. DDT Extreme Title – Sekichu Presents Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The feud between Danshoku Dino and Joey Ryan now has American politics involved! Dino held a press conference with “Donald Trump” who claimed to be a new owner of DDT. Trump was here to give an international PowerPoint presentation for Dino’s upcoming match with Ryan. Trump said the match will be a war between two geniuses. Because of this it was difficult to determine what match the two wrestlers should have. Trump gave a SWOT analysis on Dino to solve this problem. According to the analysis, Dino’s strength is being the strongest gay wrestler in the world but his weakness is his antics making his parents angry. His opportunity is to make gay marriage legal in Japan but his biggest threat is Japan’s ageing society.

Using this information Trump came up with several ideas for match stipulations like a Gay Tag Royal Rumble, a Mutual Parant Swapping Death Match and a 30 Year Iron Man Match. He also considered moving the match over to the town where Dino’s parents live. But as the conference went on Trump began focusing on the words “SWOT ANALYSIS” on the screen. He looked closer and closer until he singled out the word “ANAL”. That’s when he made his decision. It should be an Anal Explosion Death Match! This match is a World Wrestling War so it should be fought under the most dangerous stipulation! Trump denied being Super Sasadango Machine in disguise. Dino suggested that Sasadango evolved into Trump like a Pokémon. Dino then wondered why is this match now a war? Fighting Joey in an Anal Explosion Death Match isn’t going to solve anything. Trump ended the conference by saying he will never leave Japan.

Oh, and Pro Wrestling Tees is now sponsoring this match. A selection of DDT shirts are now available on the site.

TAVERN WRESTLING “ALCOHOL MANIA 2017”, 23/03/2017
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuu & Miyu Yamashita Vs Akane Miura & Maho Kurone
2. Obi-chan Close Call ~Final Chapter~ 5 Way Match: Sayaka Obihiro Vs Joey Ryan Vs Cherry Vs Yusuke Kubo Vs Tatsuhiko Yoshino
3. Best Stretchman V3 Debut Match: Best Stretchman V3 & Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Kazuhiro Tamura & Hiroshi Kondo
4. Ryuichi Sekine, Ryota Nakatsu & Fuminori Abe Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Trans-Am ★ Shinya & SAGAT
5. DDT Foods Strongest Store Decision Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka & Akito Vs KUDO & Gota Ihashi Vs Soma Takao & Makoto Oishi
6. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi

Isami Kodaka & Akito are representing the Drop Kick Bar, KUDO & Gota Ihashi are representing Ebisuko Tavern and Soma Takao & Makoto Oishi are representing the Swan Dive Bar.

So Daichi Kazato was being literal when he said he was going to turn into Best Stretchman because that’s his new gimmick, the third person to use it apparently. I have no idea who the first two were.

Hiroshi Kondo is from HEAT-UP. His nickname is “Gutsiness”.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AT THIS TIME, GET EXCITED IN YOKOHAMA!”, 25/03/2017
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Yuna Manase Vs Maho Kurone
2. Reika Saiki & Maki Itoh Vs Mil Clown & Nodoka-oneesan
3. Yuu & Shoko Nakajima Vs Azusa Takigawa & Nonoko
4. Red Roses In Paris Vs White Dragon! Special Single Match: Saki-nami (w/ Martha) Vs Rika Tatsumi
5. Akane Miura Graduation Match: Akane Miura Vs Miyu Yamashita

Akane Miura chose Miyu Yamashita to be her final opponent because her favourite matches in Tokyo Joshi Pro were against her.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “I TELL A LIE WITH MY EYES 2017”, 02/04/2017
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. X Vs X
2. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Round 1A: Ken Ohka & X Vs Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Chikara
3. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Round 1B: Yukihiro Abe & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Takafumi Ito
4. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Round 1C: Shinichiro Tominaga & Hi69 Vs Yumehito Imanari & Bambi
5. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Round 1D: Mitomi Masayuki & Shibata Vs Kenso Ohka & KAZMA SAKAMOTO

A mystery non-tournament match was added to the show.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “THIS IS MY WAY TO LIVE 2017”, 02/04/2017
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1A Vs Winners Of Match 1B
2. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1C Vs Winners Of Match 1D
3. Losers Remaining Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Losers Of Match 1A Vs Losers Of Match 1B
4. Losers Remaining Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Losers Of Match 1C Vs Losers Of Match 1D
5. Losers Remaining Tag Tournament – Final: Losers Of Losers Semi Final 1 Vs Losers Of Losers Semi Final 2
6. World’s Strongest Ganbare☆Tag Tournament – Final: Winners Of Semi Final 1 Vs Winners Of Semi Final 2

A losers tag tournmanet is going on in addition to the regular tournament. There hasn’t been any mention yet as to what the winners of the proper tournament and ultimate losers of the other tournament will get at the end.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “AT THIS TIME, GET EXCITED IN NARIMASU”, 08/04/2017
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title Match: Yuu (c) Vs Azusa Takigawa

Azusa Takigawa is finally getting over the idea that it is necessary to get married in order to become a stronger wrestler. She will now work hard towards beating Yuu for the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title to prove this.

DNA “FIGHTING GIG DNA EP.32 ~COME TOGETHER~”, 21/04/2017
Shinjuku FACE

1. Awake Your Eyes, Dai Suzuki! Seven Match Trial 2nd Battle: Dai Suzuki Vs Masato Tanaka
2. Kotaro Suzuki & LEONA Vs Mizuki Watase & MAO
3. Kazushi Sakuraba & Kendo Kashin Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Mike Bailey
4. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shunma Katsumata

The winner of the main event will headline DNA’s debut show in Korakuen Hall on 10th May against Mike Bailey.

DNA “FIGHTING GIG DNA EP.33 ~KILL THE KING~”, 10/05/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. MAIN GIG: Mike Bailey Vs Winner Of 21/4 Main Event

Mike Bailey gets the main event spot for winning the DNA Grand Prix.


DDT “MIC INOUE AND AI SHIMIZU WEDDING PARTY” Results

November 29, 2016

inoue-shimizu-wedding

DDT “INOUE MIC & AI SHIMIZU WEDDING PARTY”, 26/11/2016
Tokyo Ebisu Duodomo
124 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita defeated Maho Kurone with the Attitude Adjustment (12:24).
Order Of Elimination: Nodoka-oneesan, Nonoko, Hyper Misao, Rika Tatsumi, Shoko Nakajima, Akane Miura, Azusa Takigawa, Yuu, Mil Clown and Maho Kurone.
2. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Ryota Nakatsu when Endo pinned Nakatsu with a Swan Dive 450 Splash (7:40).
3. Muscle Offer Match: Danshoku Dino, Yasu Urano & Ken Ohka Vs Antonio Honda, Choun-Shiryu & Pedro Takaishi ended in a Draw after a Groom Explosion (10:29).
4. Mic Inoue & Ai Shimizu Marriage Memorial Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yoshihiro Takayama, Akito & Kazusada Higuchi when HARASHIMA pinned Akito with the Somato (11:43).

DDT ring announcer Inoue Mic and voice actress/joshi wrestler Ai Shimizu got married back in August but this week was their actual wedding. DDT threw them a special party to celebrate it. Attendees weren’t aware of what DDT had planned until they arrived at the venue and saw a wrestling ring set up. Inoue & Shimizu were hosting a special DDT wrestling show!

Everyone in the main event tried to get the bride and groom involved by having them chop the wrestlers as they were held in place. Yoshihiro Takayama was in a good mood and grabbed a spectator’s phone. He then took photos of the wrestlers as they were put in the Cobra Stretch. Akito paused after giving a Dragon Screw to HARASHIMA so he could congratulate the happy couple. The others gave their congratulations after the match.

The Muscle brand reappeared for the special occasion and it included a PowerPoint presentation by Super Sasadango Machine. Sasadango spoke about his recent heart surgery and how lonely he felt while staying in the hospital. He was so lonely that he kept track of all the times his friends either visited him or kept in touch while he was hospitalised. Danshoku Dino visited him twice, Ken Ohka visited once and he put Yasu Urano down with 0.3 visits because Urano tweeted him twice and also sent a LINE message. However Sasadango’s other friends Antonio Honda, Choun-Shiryu and Pedro Takaishi never came to see him. So Sasadango set up a match between his good friends against his bad friends. Both teams were given cocktails to drink before the match began. However Sasadango revealed afterwards that the cocktail given to his bad friends contained laxatives that would kick in after 10 minutes! During the match Yumehito Imanari took Shimizu captive and held her for Ohka to Spear. That was when the laxatives kicked in and Ohka collapsed with stomach cramps. Inoue came to the rescue but he also began suffering cramps. It turned out he drank from the tainted cocktail too! Yukinori Matsui had to call off the match due to wrestlers collapsing as well as the bad smell that was now surrounding the ring.

Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi sang “Love Is Over” for the bride and groom but Daisuke Sasaki cut him off.

Former Tokyo Joshi wrestler KANNA was in attendance. She posed with Shimizu for some of the wedding photographs.


Sasadango Ill, Kawamura Injured, Shin Ganbare Created

October 26, 2016

My best wishes go out to Super Sasadango Machine for a healthy recovery. He was taken off last Sunday’s Korakuen Hall show with poor health as the reason. A few days later DDT announced that a check up in a hospital found out he is suffering from a mild heart disease. His physician said rest is necessary and he will not be able to wrestle again until further notice. Some of the card changes as the result of this can be seen below.

BASARA “VAJRA 21 ~TEN THOUSAND RIICHI SKY~”, 29/10/2016
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Semi Final: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo
2. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Semi Final: Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto
3. Get Lost In Life – Lawyer Or Priest: Gouma Ryu Vs Masamune Vs Fuminori Abe
4. Madoka & Sean Guinness Vs Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Koji Iwamoto
5. Ikuto Hidaka Vs Daichi Kazato
6. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Final: Winners Of Semi Final 1 vs Winners Of Semi Final 2

Tomoya Kawamura suffered a right dislocated shoulder during last weekend’s Tokyo Joshi Pro shows. There is no time set yet for his return. Tatsuhiko Yoshino takes his place on this Saturday’s Yokohama show.

DDT “ROAD TO DAIICHI 2016 IN OSAKA ~DRAMATIC DREAM TSURUBE~”, 30/10/2016
Osaka Higashinari Kumin Hall

1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Shoichi Uchida & Kouki Iwasaki
2. Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii Vs Saki Akai & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
3. Tetsuya Endo & Mad Polly Vs KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. Road To DAIICHI Special Two Major Single Match: Akito Vs Makoto Oishi
5. Road To DAIICHI Special Two Major Single Match: Soma Takao Vs Masahiro Takanashi
6. Road To DAIICHI Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda & Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Kazusada Higuchi & Guanchulo
7. Road To DAIICHI Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano

Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA as the next big programme means the DAMNATION Vs Smile Squash rivalry continues.

DDT “DDT FES 2016”, 06/11/2016
Shin-Kiba Studio Coast

1. Yasu Urano, Keisuke Ishii & Kikutaro Vs KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Yoshihiko
2. BLACK OUT Presents Tag Match: LiLiCo & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Guanchulo & Cherry
3. Yoshihiro Takayama, Kazuki Hirata & Kouki Iwasaki (w/ Up Up Girls) Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
4. Rock ‘N’ Roll Death Match: Antonio Honda Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
5. Kamereo-gun Vs Macho 29-gun: Toru Owashi, Saki Akai & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Seiya Morohashi, Reika Saiki & Lady Beard
6. DISH//Danshoku Trials Pilgrimage: Danshoku Dino & Mizuki Watase Vs Soma Takao & Akito (w/ DISH)
7. Shin-Kiba STUDIO COAST Whole Surface Street Wrestling: Sanshiro Takagi, Kota Ibushi, Kazusada Higuchi & Gota Ihashi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Polly
8. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shigehiro Irie

Gorgeous Matsuno replaces Super Sasadango Machine in the BLACK OUT tag match.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “BEYOND THE NIGHT SKY 2016”, 12/11/2016
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Shin Ganbare☆Wrestling Raising An Army: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs Osamu Namiguchi & X

The folks at Ganbare☆Wrestling had some time to relax after their successful Korakuen Hall debut but now a familiar threat has returned in new clothing. Osamu Namiguchi suddenly announced this week he is creating his own pro wrestling group called Shin Ganbare☆Wrestling (シン・ガンバレ☆プロレス)! The use of Shin (シン) in this name does not mean “new”, it means “thin” as in “Thin Godzilla” from the new kaiju movie. Namiguchi thinks Ganpuro is fake like Hollywood’s Godzilla but Shin Ganpuro will be pure just like “Thin Godzilla”. Shin Ganpuro’s debut will take place on 12th November in Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR at the same time as the normal Ganpuro’s scheduled show. It will only consist of one match and Namiguchi challenged Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari to a tag team match. Namiguchi has a mystery partner for the occasion. Ohka accepted and the match will also technically be the main event of the normal Ganpuro show.

DDT “NITORI TAIWAN PRESENTS DDT ~ DRAMATIC DREAM TAIWAN”, 20/11/2016
Taiwan ATT SHOW BOX

1. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs JOKER
2. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Soma Takao & Akito
3. Mask de Nitori Debut: Mask de Nitori & Rekka Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Senkuma
4. Showtimes Offer Match: KUDO & Yoshihiko Vs Yasu Urano & Lady Beard
5. N-Sleep Use Sleep Prevention Death Match: Antonio Honda Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
6. Yui Offer Match: Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Keisuke Ishii Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai (w/ Takuya)
7. DDT Taiwan’s First Foray Anniversary Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo

Sasadango’s absence has changed a few matches on the Taiwan show. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi takes his place in the Sleep Prevention Death Match. That has the knock on effect of reshuffling other parts of the undercard.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2016”, 23/11/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title: Danshoku Dino (c) Vs Saki Akai

Saki Akai won the annual Rock Paper Scissors tournament to earn her title shot.

DDT “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2016 ~IT’S NANIWABUSHI WRESTLING~”, 04/12/2016
Osaka Edion Arena #1

1. Yuni Debut Match: Yuni Vs X
2. Special Tag Match: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazusada Higuchi
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs HARASHIMA

Other names signed to appear are Kota Ibushi, Aja Kong, LiLiCo, Kuishinbo Kamen and Kikutaro. Also Sanshiro Takagi is trying to get performer Hyota Echizenya to show up.


DDT “DRAMATIC SCAN NIIGATA! 2016” Results

September 4, 2016

takayama-sasadango

DDT “DRAMATIC SCAN NIIGATA! 2016”, 04/09/2016
Niigata City Nishikawa Multi-Purpose Hall
343 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Akito defeated Shunma Katsumata with an Arm Scorpion Lock (10:15).
2. Soma Takao & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kazuki Hirata & Guanchulo when Takao pinned Guanchulo with the Gin And Tonic (10:59).
3. Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii defeated Joey Ryan & Kouki Iwasaki when Dino pinned Iwasaki with the Danshoku Driver (9:07).
*Niigata City is now a Gay Town and a Porn Town.
4. Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda & Mike Bailey defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kota Umeda when Takeshita submitted Umeda with a Texas Clover Hold (14:02).
5. Niigata Specialty Special Bishamonten Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Toru Owashi defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Makoto Oishi when Takayama pinned Machine with the Running Knee Lift (12:17).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano when Endo pinned Urano with the Sky Twister Press (19:50).

DAMNATION were given 10kg of rice divided into three bags as a reward for winning the main event. One of the bags were handed over to Yukinori Matsui and he ran off with it. Daisuke Sasaki said beating HARASHIMA’s team was no big deal because he and Tetsuya Endo were always going to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles at Korakuen Hall. They will now spend their time eating all of their rice until the title match on 25th September.

Super Sasadango Machine said he was destined to give Yoshihiro Takayama the Lehmann Shock. Makoto Oishi told him his chances of winning was 100%. However he backed off whenever Takayama was tagged in. Takayama ended up chasing him around ringside yelling. Sasadango eventually hit the Lehmann Shock but Takayama kicked out at one. Takayama then hit a Running Knee Lift for the win. Aftwards Oishi admitted Sasadango had 0% chance of winning.

Today was Mike Bailey’s last match in Japan for September. He will be back in October for the DNA Grand Prix. He gave Konosuke Takeshita and Antonio Honda plenty of praise, calling Takeshita DDT’s #1 and Honda an important person. He himself wants to win the Grand Prix so he can become DDT’s future.

Danshoku Dino and Joey Ryan argued over the status of Niigata City before their tag match. Dino said Niigata was a Gay Town but Ryan thought the city should be a Porn Town instead. Their match now determined what kind of town it will be. Dino’s team won and he triumphantly declared Niigata is now a Gay Town. However he appreciated Ryan’s desire to fight for what he believes in and declared Niigata can also be a Porn Town too.


DDT “DDT DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2016 ~FIRST ASK SPECIAL~” Results

September 4, 2016

takayama-sakaguchi-brawl

DDT “DDT DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2016 ~FIRST ASK SPECIAL~”, 03/09/2016
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Hoshitango defeated Super Sasadango Machine with the Midnight Buenos Aires (4:32).
1. North America And South America Allies Vs NωA! Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Joey Ryan, Mike Bailey & Guanchulo when Oishi pinned Guanchulo with the Miracle Ecsatsy (7:16).
2. Mad Polly defeated Yasu Urano with the Polly Buster (8:05).
3. T2Hide Vs Pigging 2016 – Not A Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Gota Ihashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki when Shimatani pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (8:28).
-. Emergency Special Assessment Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with a Brainbuster (0:17).
4. Take Grasp Of The World Junior Challenge Rights T2Hide Alumni Showdown!: Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase defeated Soma Takao & Daiki Shimomura when Hirata pinned Shimomura with the Viagra Driver (10:40).
5. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii defeated HARASHIMA & Akito and KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi when Ishii pinned Takanashi with the Kneel Kick (9:04).
-. Emergency Special Assessment Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the Splash Mountain (1:08).
6. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda when Higuchi pinned Umeda with the Doctor Bomb (10:29).
7. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Sky Twister Press (18:59).
-. Emergency KO-D Openwight Title Next Challenger Battle Royal: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Akito with the Goten (9:46).
Order Of Elimination: Daiki Shimomura, Gota Ihashi, Hoshitango, Guanchulo, KUDO, Danshoku Dino, Shunma Katsumata, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Sanshiro Takagi, Mizuki Watase, Toru Owashi, MAO and Kota Umeda, Yasu Urano, Keisuke Ishii, Kouki Iwasaki, Ken Ohka, HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi, Konosuke Takeshita, Makoto Oishi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Akito.

The entire show was watched and studied by Shuji Ishikawa so he could pick the No. 1 contender for his KO-D Openweight Title. He wanted to pick someone who is worthy of a title shot and sat in a special area at ringside to watch the show. Throughout the evening Daisuke Sasaki kept saying Nobuhiro Shimatani was a diamond in the rough and deserves a shot. So he made impromptu Ishikawa Vs Shimatani matches whenever he could just as an excuse for Ishikawa to beat up the little guy. Ishikawa quickly beat Shimatani both times and Amon Tsurumi had to stop them from doing it again. At the end of the show everybody gathered together to hear who Ishikawa will pick. Sasaki decided the best way to choose is to have everybody kill each other and the last one left is determined the strongest. So a 24-Man Battle Royal took place and Kazusada Higuchi was the winner. Higuchi admitted Ishikawa is the strongest in DDT but that means if Higuchi wins then he becomes the strongest. The title match takes place at Korakuen Hall on 25th September.

After the main event Sasaki told Konosuke Takeshita that his KO-D Title loss at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016” was an end of an era. He challenged him to face Tetsuya Endo in a match there and then but Tsurumi instead booked it for Osaka on 18th September.

It didn’t take long for Yoshihiro Takayama to make an enemy. His first match as a DDT regular ended in a pull apart brawl with Yukio Sakaguchi. Tension between the two began before their tag team match even began when they stared each other down from across the ring. Takayama and Higuchi overpowered their opponents and gave Kota Umeda a Double Choke Slam before the finish.

Danshoku Dino is taking his new role of Wrestling Mentalist to heart by wearing a doctor’s coat. His current attempts to help Keisuke Ishii seem to be working after they won the 3 Way Tag Match. Ishii is in denial that he is sick. He then listed all the times he lost to Dino in singles matches in great detail. He currently has a 4-match losing streak against Dino. However he worked out in order to beat Dino the match has to be 17 minutes and 41 seconds long. Why? Because that was the match time of Akira Taue’s only Triple Crown win.

Kazuki Hirata is taking his preparations for Soma Takao seriously. He only danced during his entrance and there were no signs of using the HIRATA GO! glasses during their tag match. He only has one thing on his mind and that’s win the AJPW Jr. Title from Takao!

Makoto Oishi briefly mentioned the split between NωA and their manager happened because of “various circumstances”. Oishi said he wants to show that NωA needs the power of everybody to help them make it to “DDT FES 2016”.

Before the dark match took place Danshoku Dino accompanied Super Sasadango Machine to the ring. Dino is taking in Sasadango as his newest patient because he wants to help solve his problem of careless and inappropriate tweeting. Sasadango apologised for his controversial comments about female DDT fans from earlier this week. He proceed to lose the dark match against Hoshitango. Dino wonders is Sasadango now suffers from “The Curse Of The Coin”.


Super Sasadango Machine In Trouble

September 1, 2016

DDT “DDT DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2016 ~FIRST ASK SPECIAL~”, 03/09/2016
Shinjuku FACE

0. Dark Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Hoshitango
1. Yasu Urano Vs Mad Polly
2. Take Grasp Of The World Junior Challenge Rights T2Hide Alumni Showdown!: Soma Takao & Daiki Shimomura Vs Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase
3. T2Hide Vs Pigging 2016 – Not A Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Gota Ihashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki
4. North America And South America Allies Vs NωA! Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Joey Ryan, Mike Bailey & Guanchulo Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
5. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Akito Vs KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dino & Keisuke Ishii
6. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda
7. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Antonio Honda

Earlier this morning DDT posted an apology on their website over comments Super Sasadango Machine made for an online interview as well as on Twitter. During the interview Sasadango gave controversial opinions about the spending habits of female wrestling fans. Sasadango was critical of “pu-joshi” and claimed they do not spend as much as men. Therefore he believes DDT is better off catering to the 30-40 age group of their male fanbase because that group is filled with longtime wrestling fans. The line that caught the most attention went along the lines of “Women spend with coins, men spend with bills.”

Sasadango’s comments were heavily criticised since DDT has a big female fanbase. Even Danshoku Dino was among the critics. Sanshiro Takagi made the mistake of retweeting links to the interview without knowing what Sasadango said. In response to the controversy Sasadango will be taking a guaranteed 50% pay cut for all of his matches taking place in September. Takagi also takes responsibility for retweeting the article so he will take a 20% cut for the month. Sasadango has since apologised for his comments and has resigned from his role as the manager for NωA. Finally, he has been demoted to the dark match on this Saturday’s Shinjuku FACE show.

My thoughts on this? I’m very surprised by Sasadango’s line of thinking given his business savvy reputation. DDT has a lot female fans and it was stupid of him to disparage them like that. Believe me, without that demographic your Kota Ibushi’s, Kenny Omega’s and HARASHIMA’s would not have gotten as far as they have. Focusing on a middle-aged demographic is also a worrying idea because that trend becomes more and more niche as time goes by. A smaller audience that spends more to make up for the losses might be fine in the short term but that can’t be sustained in the long term. The comments were especially poorly timed because they come during the DDT Dramatic General Election, a month long contest that encourages fans to buy merchandise at DDT shows. I’m happy to see some action was taken on this.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2016 ~DANSHOKU DINO DAY~” Results

August 11, 2016

dino-beergarden

DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2016 ~DANSHOKU DINO DAY~”, 11/08/2016
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Objectively And Scientifically Determine The Group Leader Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Makoto Oishi and MAO when Katsumata pinned MAO with the Firebird Splash (6:02).
*Shunma Katsumata is now the leader of NωA.
2. Lariat Pro Vs Knee Pro: Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Daiki Shimomura when Ishii pinned Shimomura with a School Boy (12:18).
3. Match With Someone Breaking In Every Few Minutes: Mike Bailey defeated Danshoku Dino with a School Boy (28:41).
Order Of Interference: Kazuki Hirata, Norikazu Fujioka, Hanolek Hogaso, Shon Michaels, A.YAZAWA, Antonio Honda, Norikazu Fujioka.
4. Beer Garden Specialty 5 Way Falls Count Anywhere Match: Megane Fujioka defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda, Mike Bailey, Tanomusaku Toba, Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii, Kazuki Hirata, Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata, MAO and Daiki Shimomura when Fujioka pinned Dino with the Glass Of Megane (14:57).

Day 4 of Beer Garden week had two shows on offer. Danshoku Dino was in charge of the afternoon show. He apologised at the beginning for anything that went wrong but it was all done to make the audience laugh. The main event was supposed to be a 5 Way Falls Count Anywhere Match between Dino, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda, Mike Bailey and Tanomusaku Toba. When the bell rang “Enter Sandman” began playing and everyone collected full beer cans to drink and smash together while wrestling. As the match went on more and more wrestlers joined in and it eventually became a 12-Man free for all. Everybody ganged up on Dino when he picked on DDT video crew member “Megane” Norikazu Fujioka. Sasadango stopped Dino from doing the Danshoku Driver and gave him a Manhattan Drop instead. NωA gave Dino a Triple Missile Dropkick then Toba gave him a Buzzsaw Kick and then Bailey hit the Shooting Star Double Knee Drop. Dino still got his hands on Fujioka and tried to Power Bomb him. But Fujioka countered it into a Hurricanrana and won the match. “Enter Sandman” played throughout all 15 minutes of the match. Dino said the entire show was put together with unbearably regrettable love. Sasadango agreed and said he was only doing professional wrestling for this moment. Toba said it was great to be in a great match for DDT again since he’s been gone from the company for so long and he hasn’t found anywhere else to go since then.

Dino and Bailey had a match together earlier in the show with the stipulation that there would be a run-in every few minutes. Every wrestler coming down to interfere was allowed to attack Dino or Bailey because they harboured resentment towards them for no reason. The interference was still illegal but the referee would look away whenever it happened. If he doesn’t see it, it didn’t happen! The first run-in came when both Dino and Bailey were knocked out. It was Kazuki Hirata so all he did was do his dance and then leave. Norikazu Fujioka was next and he came out wearing a bra. Dino knocked him out with a Lip Lock. Hanolek Hogaso Hulked up and gave Bailey the Big Boot to help out Dino. However when Hogaso left, Shon Michaels appeared and gave Dino the Sweet Chin Music to even the playing field. When Michaels left A.YAZAWA danced down to the ring. Bailey twisted YAZAWA’s suspenders around so it would choke him. When YAZAWA was gone a tired looking Antonio Honda showed up in his underwear. Dino got rid of him with the Danshoku Driver. Fujioka came back and got on the mic. He wanted everyone to hear what he had to say so he invited the entire locker room to come out. He announced he was getting married! Dino was so shocked by this he was easily rolled into a School Boy by Bailey and the match was over. Everyone celebrated the announcement by holding a toast while wearing pantyhose over their heads. Dino was still frozen in shock at this point.

The Lariat Pro Vs Knee Pro match was filled with you guessed it, Lariats and Knee Strikes. It happened so much that they started playing entrance songs for wrestlers who are known to use such moves from “J” to “Power Hall” to “Sunrise” to “CROWN OF WINNER” to “Iron Man” to “GRAND SWORD” to “SUBCONSCIOUS”. Daiki Shimomura led everyone to do a big “Yeaoh!” shout after the match.

Super Sasadango Machine’s latest idea as manager of NωA was to elect a leader for the idol group. Makoto Oishi disliked the idea and though they were better off as three equals. Shunma Katsumata & MAO thought otherwise and a 3 Way Match to determine the leader went ahead. MAO thought he had it won when he hit the Screw High Kick and went for the pin. But Katsumata dove onto them with the Firebird Splash. MAO rolled out of the way but Katsumata still landed on and pinned Oishi. Sasadango said Katsumata becoming the leader is an interesting surprise.


DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2016 ~SUMMER~” Results

July 23, 2016

togo-pedigree-sasaki

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2016 ~SUMMER~”, 23/07/2016
Yokohama Radiant Hall
316 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Gota Ihashi with the Akvavit (7:16).
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda defeated Soma Takao & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Sakaguchi submitted Matsunaga with the Cobra Clutch (9:48).
3. Shuji Ishikawa defeated Guanchulo with the Fire Thunder (4:00).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Round 1: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Super Sasadango Machine when Oishi pinned Machine with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (9:59).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase when Endo pinned Watase with the Torture Rack Bomb (14:24).
6. HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano defeated Ken Ohka, KAI & Shota when HARASHIMA pinned Shota with the Somato (18:28).
7. Konosuke Takeshita & Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Honda submitted Hirata with a Manjigatame (14:41).

Kazuki Hirata spoke on Toru Owashi’s behalf before the main event began. Hirata warned Konosuke Takeshita that Owashi will be seriously strong when they fight for the KO-D Openweight Title at Beer Garden Week, so Takeshita better be prepared! The bell rang and Hirata charged at Takeshita. He took a boot to the face and was almost immediately pinned but he just kicked out before three. Takeshita later took out Owashi with a Plancha out of the ring. Antonio Honda then submitted Hirata with a Manjigatame after he avoided the Viagra Driver. Honda said he could see the look of wonder on Owashi’s face as he wrestled with Takeshita. Honda now looks forward to watching the title match. Takeshita told Owashi he is ready even if Owashi fights at 120%.

KAI was really happy to be back home in Yokohama. He went around singing the Yokohama Baystars cheer song during the show’s opening announcements. However his team’s game plan against Smile Squash fell apart when he accidentally Clotheslined both Shota and Ken Ohka. There was some recovery and the KO-D Tag Team Champions were able to hit HARASHIMA with the Double Spear Of Flame. Unfortunately Shota was the legal man and he failed to capitalise. HARASHIMA recovered, hit the Somato and won the match for Smile Squash. KAI sang the Baystars song again backstage to cheer his team up.

Daisuke Sasaki continued to attack Team DNA after DAMNATION defeated them. This prompted Dick Togo to run out and confront Sasaki for what he did to him at Korakuen Hall last week. Mad Paulie stood in his way but Togo said Sasaki’s pet is also his pet, so sit! Paulie did what Togo said and backed off. Tetsuya Endo blindsided Togo with a Dropkick from behind. Togo retaliated with a Lariat and gave Sasaki the Pedigree. He then challenged Sasaki & Endo to a tag team match at “PETER PAN 2016” in Sumo Hall. Amon Tsurumi stepped in and asked if Togo had a partner? Togo admitted he hadn’t thought that far ahead. Tsurumi decided that Mike Bailey will team with Togo to take on DAMNATION!

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title tournament began with NωA performing their single “Never Give Up ☆ I LOVE YOU”. Super Sasadango Machine clapped to the song even though he was on the other team. Danshoku Dino questioned Sasadango’s priorities since he is wrestling for Fantastic Memories while managing NωA. Sasadango assured Dino he wanted to win the 6-Man Tag Titles. That became questionable when Sasadango held back from fighting with Makoto Oishi during the match. His Lehmann Shock attempt was unusual and allowed Oishi to cradle him into the match winning pin. Sasadango praised NωA for the win and said they passed their first test. He then apologised to the rest of Fantastic Memories for being careless and promised they will get another opportunity to go after the titles. In a backstage interview Sasadango said he wants Dick Togo to be the NωA’s fourth member.


DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2016” Results

July 17, 2016

endo-joins-damnation

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2016”, 17/07/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,536 Fans – No Vacancy

1. That’s Breaking The Rut! Saihai Of Super Talented GM Amon Tsurumi! Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & KENSO defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Mizuki Watase when KENSO pinned Watase with an Inside Cradle (6:50).
2. Soma Takao & Akito defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Kota Umeda when Takao pinned Umeda with the Gin And Tonic (6:35).
3. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Gota Ihashi, Guanchulo & Cherry defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Saki Akai when Owashi pinned Machine with La Magistral Cradle (4:47).
4. DAMNATION Vs NωA: Daisuke Sasaki, Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie defeated Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO when Ishikawa pinned Katsumata with the Fire Thunder (8:06).
5. Dick Togo Return Second Leg! Special Tag Match: Dick Togo & Yasu Urano defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki when Togo pinned Iwasaki with the Diving Senton (13:42).
6. Shigehiro Irie Send-off Match: Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated HARASHIMA & Keisuke Ishii when Irie pinned Ishii with the Beast Bomber (13:55).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Tetsuya Endo with the German Suplex (24:08).
*V2 for Konosuke Takeshita. Tetsuya Endo cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

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Konosuke Takeshita is still the KO-D Openweight Champion but it came at the cost of losing his best friend and tag team partner. Tetsuya Endo was the latest Right To Challenge holder to get his title shot and threw everything out there. He hit a No Touch Tope and a Swan Dive Elbow but Takeshita yelled at him to attack more. Endo went for the Torture Rack Bomb but it was countered with a Headlock. The Sky Twister Press missed and the two were soon both on their knees trading Elbow Smashes. Endo hit a Flip Piledriver for a nearfall. He later did an Avalanche Hurricanrana but Takeshita used the momentum to roll Endo into a pin for a two count. Takeshita then countered another Hurricanra into a Power Bomb. It finally took two German Suplexes to put Endo away.

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Takeshita praised the match they just had and said he wants their generation to liven up DDT. He offered a handshake but was suddenly interrupted by DAMNATION. Unit leader Daisuke Sasaki looked at Endo and asked him if he was tired of being a second class wrestler underneath his friend? He held up a DAMNATION T-shirt and asked if Endo wants to join them. Endo shocked everyone by pushing Takeshita away and accepting the shirt! Sasaki introduced everyone to DAMNATION’s 4th member, Tetsuya Endo!

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When DAMNATION left ringside Takeshita was crushed. Ever since Endo won the contract in Hakata, Takeshita wanted nothing more than to have this title match with his friend in Korakuen Hall. If that wasn’t bad enough, “Sandstorm” played over the music system and Toru Owashi came out . The holder of the last active Right To Challenge contract finally decided on the date for his KO-D Title match. Amon Tsurumi stepped in and guessed the date. 23rd July in Yokohama? No, Owashi said that was too soon. How about 13th August in Shinjuku FACE for the last show of Beer Garden week? No, instead Owashi will cash in at the beginning of Beer Garden week on 8th August! Owashi said he waited four months for his title shot because it made him strong and the timing of it means he is guaranteed to go into Sumo Hall as the champion if he wins. And in Sumo Hall he will be so strong it’s scary! Takeshita’s response was that he will beat Owashi with the German Suplex and go on to face Shuji Ishikawa.

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Shigehiro Irie bid farewell to DDT and Japan with his final match before his American excursion. Irie couldn’t hold back the tears as he was showered with green tape from the fans. But he still had a match with Yukio Sakaguchi, HARASHIMA and Keisuke Ishii to go through. He hit the Beast Bomber twice on Ishii to win the match for himself & Sakaguchi. Irie bowed to all four sides of the arena to a thunderous applause.

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Daisuke Sasaki isn’t happy to see his mentor Dick Togo back in action. Togo won his Korakuen return match and offered to shake hands with Kazusada Higuchi afterwards. Sasaki came out and went to hug Togo but instead gave him a Low Blow. Sasaki called Togo a dickhead and said that his disciple has gotten stronger during his four year absence. Togo tackled Sasaki and punched him over and over until wrestlers and referees came out to stop him. Sasaki gave one of the referees the Michinoku Driver II before leaving the ring. Togo was furious at Sasaki’s actions.

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NωA continues to struggle, this time losing to DAMNATION. However help came afterwards in the form of Super Sasadango Machine. Sasadango complimented their musical and dancing talents but noticed a big flaw in their performance. They have no strong business relationships. Their strength in pro wrestling is tied to the strength of their business relationships. Sasadango offered to be their manager and handle all of NωA’s behind the scenes business. He also promised to get them booked on the “DDT FES 2016” show in November.

owashi-rtc-defence

Toru Owashi successfully defended his Right To Challenge Contract once again, this time in a 10-Person Tag Match. Owashi unmasked Super Sasadango Machine and pinned him with La Magistral Cradle. Danshoku Dino told Owashi after the match that today was the last DDT show in Korakuen Hall before “PETER PAN 2016” so maybe he can finally cash in his title shot. Sanshiro Takagi also pushed for Owashi to do it. Or maybe he could have the contract instead. Owashi slapped Takagi and said he already decided when he will get his title match. Owashi then had to flee from ringside when he was chased by wrestlers begging for the contract.

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Masa Takanashi is now wrestling under his real name Masahiro Takanashi plus he got a new entrance song to boot. But his moment in the spotlight was stolen by Soma Takao when Takao pinned Kota Umeda to continue his string of victories. His victory was interrupted by the return of Hikaru Sato! The Hard Hit fighter and former DDT wrestler is now currently the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion and he was recently challenged by Takao to a title match. Sato’s appearance was to announce the date and location of the match. All Japan has allowed the match to take place at “PETER PAN 2016”!

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Amon Tsurumi’s bright idea of pairing Sanshiro Takagi & KENSO together as a team caused as much trouble as expected yet still produced results. Before their match began Takagi and KENSO argued over whose entrance song they should use. Daisuke Kiso came up with the solution to use both songs at the same time. During the match Takagi & KENSO collided with missed attacks several times. Takagi decided he had enough to he gave KENSO the Sunflower Bomb onto Mizuki Watase. KENSO stayed on top of Watase so that counted as a pin. After the match KENSO rallied the fans to convince DDT that he should be get a match at “PETER PAN 2016”. The fans booed him and Takagi refused. Tsurumi decided to give KENSO one more opportunity. He’ll fight Takagi at Kasukabe Hall on 6th August and if his performance is good enough he’ll get added to the “PETER PAN 2016” card. Tsurumi then told Takagi to please somehow become a better wrestler!

kudo-returns

KUDO gave an important update at the start of the show about his recovery process. He thanked the fans for waiting because he will return to action at “PETER PAN 2016”! He will team with Masahiro Takanashi to take on Yasu Urano & Akito. KUDO told everyone his goal is to start from zero and climb all the way back up to the KO-D Championship!

A big title match for “PETER PAN 2016” on 28th August was announced. Ken Ohka & KAI will defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto, aka Yankee Smile!

Some new DDT merch is in production. NωA is getting an EVERLAST T-shirt, Saki Akai is getting a GLAM JAM bag and Danshoku Dino is getting a new DVD currently titled “DVD To Change The Friends Of Danshoku Dino To Like Professional Wrestling”.