DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2017 ~DANSHOKU DINO & SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~” Results

August 2, 2017

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2017 ~DANSHOKU DINO & SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~”, 02/08/2017
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Oishi Tradition ~A Match To Motivate Shigeru-chan~: Makoto Oishi defeated Shigehiro Irie by Judge’s Decision (R2 5:00).
2. LPC ~Lariat Pro Classics~: Keisuke Ishii & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Toru Owashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga by DQ when Matsunaga ignored the rope break (1:19).
2a. Rematch – LPC ~Lariat Pro Classics~: Keisuke Ishii & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Toru Owashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga ended in a Time Limit Draw (“30:00”).
3. Only Yesterday: Ken Ohka defeated Super Sasadango Machine with the Fire Spear (11:18).
4. Play Sandman: Chinsuke Nakamura defeated Danshoku Dino after a Zexy Magazine Attack from Sanshiro Takagi (20:30).
Other Competitors: Dave Crist, Rekka, Keisuke Ishii, Muscle Sakai, Kazusada Higuchi and Ken Ohka.

The main event was a free for all brawl with “Enter Sandman” playing throughout until the end. Danshoku Dino filled the ring with empty cans he poured out of rubbish bags for the wrestlers to be slammed on. That encouraged the audience to throw in their empty cans too although that led to Dino being struck by a few of them. Even though they weren’t part of the match, Daiki Shimomura and DT-YUTA began fighting each other in the ring and YUTA came out on top with a Jackhammer. Dino then put Shimomura in the Lip Lock when the music suddenly changed to “The Rising Sun”. Out came Chinsuke Nakamura! He hit the Kinsasha to Shimomura then tried to do the same to Dino. It was blocked and Chinsuke was given the Lip Lock. Sanshiro Takagi ran out and attacked Dino. He hit Dino with a Stunner then whacked him over the head with a copy of Zexy Magazine! Takagi dragged Chinsuke on top of Dino and the referee counted to three.

Super Sasadango Machine Vs Ken Ohka was a match that was originally meant to happen last October but Sasadango’s health problems prevented it from happening until today. Both Sasadango and Ohka have been wrestling for 15 years but they have never truly given out their honest feelings for each other. Their match would not end until both were satisfied that they fought each other to their full abilities. Ohka was already tearful and he admitted he did not know what to do in this situation but Sasadango encouraged him to go all out. Ohka kicked out of the Lehmann Shock and hit the Fire Spear to win the match. Ohka said he was worrying endlessly about this match ever since Dino put it together. But he will never give up to anything and “Sakai” is no exception! Sasadango thanked him for the match then said they will wrestle the remaining 20 years of their wrestling lives together!

The Lariat Pro match was cut short after a minute without a single Lariat finding its target. Tomomitsu Matsunaga pressed Keisuke Ishii against the ropes and didn’t break after a 5 count so his team was disqualified. Ishii said he came to throw Lariats and make the fans all stomp their feet with excitement. Matsunaga agreed so an immediate restart was decided. “Power Hall” played and everybody started Lariating each other. That ended when Toru Owashi did a Flying Cross Chop instead. After the match concept was explained to him and argument broke out and everybody began Chopping each other to “Thunderstorm”. The song changed to “Sunrise” when the Lariats came back. Nobuhiro Shimatani joined in and so did Cherry but her Lariat was countered by Ishii’s. When “J” came on everybody did Jumping Knee Strikes. There was then a sudden announcement that only one minute was left in the match. There was a flurry of classic All Japan offence from Ishii and Kazusada Higuchi that had the crowd stomping their feet after every nearfall but the time expired without a winner determined. Officially the match went 30 minutes but to everyone watching it felt like 5.

Makoto Oishi and Shigehiro Irie were put in a match together specifically to motivate Irie. The match consisted of two 5 minute rounds and the wrestlers would be scored for how cool they were by Azusa Takigawa, Mita Sayoko and a group of female fans. Irie would presumably become more motivated when given a chance to impress women. The plan didn’t work as Oishi won the match by judges decision. The female fans scored the fight 16-18 in Irie’s favour and Sayoko gave it a 19-19 draw. But Takigawa overwhelmingly voted for Oishi 20-0 so the final score was 55-37 for Oishi. Takigawa admitted that even though Irie worked hard, she couldn’t physiologically like him at all.


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 4 ~NEVER COME~” Results

July 16, 2017

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 4 ~NEVER COME~”, 16/07/2017
Osaka Edion Arena #2
829 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Battle Royal – Winner Becomes GM For One Day: Saki Akai defeated Hirata Collection A.T. and Joey Ryan by Ring Out (10:12).
Order Of Elimination: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kengo Takai, Shoichi Uchida, Kouki Iwasaki, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Hirata Collection A.T. and Joey Ryan.
2. Shuten-dōji Vs DNA OSAKA: KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura when KUDO pinned Ueno with the Diving Double Knee Drop (9:13).
3. Yuni’s Enclosing Network: Makoto Oishi, Jun Kasai & Yuni defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Atsushi Maruyama when Yuni pinned Sasadango with the 2nd Rope Sky Twister Press (7:12).
4. Ikemen Master Combination Vs ALL OUT: Keisuke Ishii & Kaz Hayashi defeated Akito & Diego when Ishii pinned Diego with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (8:46).
5. Craftsman – Special Single Match: HUB defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Poisonous Wavecloth Bomber (10:53).
6. I Am Coming From A Distant Place, I Cannot Wait Again – Special 3 Way Match: Antonio Honda defeated Kikutaro and Kuishinbo Kamen when Honda submitted Kikutaro with a Crab Hold (14:50).
7. Wrestling Hunters Vs DAMNATION ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated HARASHIMA, Dick Togo & Mike Bailey when Sasaki submitted Bailey with La Mistica Cross Facelock (17:23).
8. Triple Crown Giant Vs DNA-gun ~ Super Heavy Special Single Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Kazusada Higuchi with the Splash Mountain (13:37).
9. Osaka Wrestling School Vs Kishiwada Gurentai – Challenge to Yukinobu ~ Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Shigehiro Irie defeated “Big Boss” MA-G-MA & Black Buffalo when Takeshita pinned Buffalo with the Cross-Arm German Suplex (25:22).

DDT’s tribute to Osaka wrestling was headlined by their two top wrestlers from the region taking on two legendary figures. When Konosuke Takeshita & Shigehiro Irie got a match against Magnitude Kishiwada and Buffalo they wanted them in their original Osaka Pro forms, “Big Boss” MA-G-MA & Black Buffalo. They got their wish and their opponents made it clear they weren’t going to play nice. MA-G-MA & Buffalo attacked the DDT team the moment the bell rang. MA-G-MA put Takeshita through a table outside the ring with a Diving Body Press. However the tables turned when MA-G-MA accidentally Clotheslined Buffalo. Irie flattened Buffalo with a Running Cannonball into the corner. MA-G-MA did what he could to save Buffalo but soon ran out of chances. Takeshita then hit the Cross-Arm German Suplex to seal the victory.

Before the Osaka team left, MA-G-MA appealed to Takeshita for a singles match some day down the line. Takeshita and Irie showed admiration for their opponents and said it is now their own era of pro wrestling. When Takeshita was finished, Naomi Yoshimura came down to the ring to grab his attention. He said Takeshita forgot about someone. Yoshimura then went back to the entrance and brought out Takeshita’s mother, Keiko Takeshita! Yoshimura said he was stealing Keiko so her son won’t be able to eat any meals when he comes home. Keiko didn’t seem to mind because she was busy waving to the audience as they were chanting her name. Takeshita was annoyed but he can still protect his KO-D Openweight Title so please continue to support him. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi closed out the show by singing “A Woman Born Is Osaka”.

Big men doing big moves was the theme of the other main event. Kazusada Higuchi stepped up to Shuji Ishikawa and wasn’t intimidated by the Triple Crown Champion. Back Drops, Lariats and even the Doctor Bomb could not win the match for Higuchi. Instead Ishikawa cut him off with a Knee Lift, a Sliding D, the Fire Thunder and then the Splash Mountain to finish it.

Dick Togo and Mad Paulie continued to fight each other at the end of the Wrestling Hunters Vs DAMNATION match. The rest of DAMNATION had to pull Paulie away from Togo. Save that energy for the Paulie Joshi, buddy.

Antonio Honda had the opportunity to join in with Kikutaro and Kuishinbo Kamen’s famous wrestling exchanges but was struck with anxiety. He was up all of last night thinking of “Gon, The Little Fox” as usual. This annoyed his opponents so they decided to fight Honda two on one with some nonsense along the way. Kikutaro tired himself out and Honda easily submitted him with a Crab Hold to win. Honda thanked both of his opponents for the match. Kikutaro said he would like to do it again whenever the cost of his flights from and to Nevada are cheap.

In a moment of true villainy, Super Sasadango Machine rummaged through Yuni’s carry case before their trios match. Inside he found the kid’s fidget spinner and he stole it! Sasadango taunted Yuni by playing with the spinner in the ring then challenged him to take it back with his strength. To make it worse, Sasadango then stuffed the spinner down the front of Danshoku Dino’s tights. Yuni got help from Makoto Oishi and Jun Kasai to beat Dino, Sasadango & Atsushi Maruyama. Oishi gave Sasadango a Stunner, Kasai then hit the Pearl Harbour Splash and Yuni got the pin with the Sky Twister Press from the 2nd turnbuckle. After the match Kasai reached into Dino’s tights, pulled out the spinner and gave it back to Yuni.

There was a problem about the Battle Royal that needed to be solved. The original plan was for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship to be defended in the match but the current champion Maho Kurone was nowhere to be found. Yukinori Matsui told Amon Tsurumi that there needed to be a prize to motivate the contestants. Tsurumi thought about it and came up with an idea. He took off his afro and handed it over to Matsui. You see, the afro represents the power held by the DDT General Manager. Tsurumi announced that the winner will become the GM for one day. This will allow the winner to make any match or personal request that they desire. Saki Akai won the Battle Royal without eliminating anybody. She was tied up into a ball by Hirata Collection A.T. and left alone afterwards. Hirata and Joey Ryan were the last wrestlers left fighting and they eliminated each other so Akai was declared the winner. After Tsurumi freed her, he gave her the afro and asked her not to throw it away because she will have to wear it on the day she becomes the GM.

Shunma Katsumata & MAO recorded a message for the DDT fans while they were away competing in the NOAH Jr. Tag League. Unfortunately the audio was indecipherable because there was a strong wind while they were recording outdoors.


DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2017 FINAL ROUND” Results

June 25, 2017

DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2017 FINAL ROUND”, 25/06/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,333 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Danny Duggan & Daiki Shimomura when Iwasaki pinned Shimomura with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (7:10).
1. Rocky’s Departure! Special 6-Man Tag Match “Friendship Of The Fire”: Rocky Kawamura, Saki Akai & Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi, Hirata Collection A.T. & Soma Takao when Kawamura pinned Hirata with an Uppercut (7:00).
2. King Of DDT 2017 – Semi Final: HARASHIMA defeated Shigehiro Irie with a Crucifix Pin (2:47).
3. King Of DDT 2017 – Semi Final: Tetsuya Endo defeated Akito with a Roll Up (11:30).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO (c) when Takanashi pinned Oishi with the Takatonic (7:12).
*NωA fails in V4. Shuten-dōji becomes the 30th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
5. Pro Wrestling Version Of “Honnō-ji Incident” 1 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka when Takagi pinned Machine with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (7:50).
6. Kaz Hayashi & Keisuke Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie when Ishii pinned Paulie with the Kneel Kick (11:10).
*Keisuke Ishii wins Mad Paulie’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
7. Mike Bailey & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Diego when Bailey pinned Diego after the Ultima Weapon and Canadian Backbreaker Combo (12:02).
8. King Of DDT 2017 – Final: Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA with the Shooting Star Press (22:08).

Tetsuya Endo is the 2017 King Of DDT winner! His knees are probably killing him after today’s show but it was worth it. Endo defeated HARASHIMA in the final, overcoming the odds against a fresher and more experienced opponent after the semi-finals. Endo’s knees were not in 100% condition when the main event began so they were the target of HARASHIMA’s offence. Despite the disadvantage, Endo still pulled out his big moves. He prevented HARASHIMA from hitting the Firebird Splash so he could do Tetsuya In The Sky With Diamonds instead. He later put all his might into the Torture Rack Bomb. That placed HARASHIMA in the perfect position for the match winning Shooting Star Press.

Endo was rewarded with a 1,000,000 yen prize as well as the main event spot for “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017” in August. Daisuke Sasaki puts his faith in Endo to win the KO-D Openweight Title at that show. Sasaki said he lives his life thinking he could die at anytime but he swears he won’t die until Endo wins the title at Sumo Hall! The crowd chanted Endo’s name and he tried to shrug them off. He claims he is not interested in main eventing Sumo Hall and winning the KO-D Title there. But he then reconsidered his opinion. He’s been through a lot this year so he realises that he can’t complain about the opportunity. He’ll main event Sumo Hall after all!

The reason Endo went into the final with bad knees is all because of Akito. They fought in the semi-final where Akito used his arsenal of submissions to wear down Endo’s legs. Things looked bad for Endo when he missed a Swan Dive Kneel Kick and fell into an Anklelock. Akito then turned it into a Figure 4 Leg Lock with the intent of turning it into his Perfect version of the move. Endo fought his way on top of Akito and suddenly pinned him for the surprise three count. Akito said in his post match interview that he never expected the match to end that way. He realises that only focusing on Akito’s legs could have been a mistake. On the other hand, Akito also wonders that maybe Endo is just the better wrestler and is good enough to become the ace of DDT.

The other semi-final was a highly anticipated match between HARASHIMA and Shigehiro Irie. The two are no strangers to each other, having had five singles matches previously. HARASHIMA had won every single bout so Irie went in determined to finally beat his rival. Shockingly, HARASHIMA pinned Irie in under three minutes with a Crucifix Pin! In a flashback to their match from Christmas Day last year, Irie tried to Power Bomb HARASHIMA onto the apron. HARASHIMA avoided that and brought the match back into the ring where they rushed into a wild series of missed Enzuigiris and Beast Bombers. After that HARASHIMA hooked Irie into the Crucifix Pin and to the surprise of everyone that was enough. Irie knew what had happened and immediately left the ring in anger.

Mike Bailey is becoming ever more smug in his attempts to show sportsmanship to Konosuke Takeshita. He enthusiastically applauded Takeshita during their tag match. Then after he knocked out Diego, Bailey taunted Takeshita by dragging Diego over and pretending he was trying to tag out. Takeshita was left fighting a 2-on-1 disadvantage until Diego recovered. Unfortunately Diego was put away with a painful combination of the Canadian Backbreaker from Kazusada Higuchi followed by the Ultima Weapon by Bailey while Diego was still held in the air.

A happy Bailey told Takeshita after the match that he wants to fight him every week, even if he was the eternal challenger and Takeshita was the eternal champion. But Bailey then said he will win their KO-D Title match in Shinjuku so maybe that means he will be the eternal champion and Takeshita the eternal challenger instead. Takeshita saw the funny side and joked with Bailey until Keisuke Ishii stepped into the ring with his newly won Right To Challenge Contract. Ishii said he will cash in his title shot on 23rd July, a show that takes place weeks after Takeshita Vs Bailey. Ishii stared at Takeshita until Bailey stepped right up to his face. Takeshita got both of their attention by saying today’s main event will determine one half of the Sumo Hall main event. He will be standing on the other side of the ring as the champion and neither Bailey, Ishii or Naomi Yoshimura will stop him!

Keisuke Ishii is back on track and he has Kaz Hayashi to thank for that. The two defeated DAMNATION with Ishii pinning Mad Paulie. As a bonus, Ishii now has a Right To Challenge contract and as mentioned above, he was quick to decide when to use it. Hayashi noticed that Ishii used the Final Cut during the match. He’s alright with Ishii borrowing the move but he should practice it with him first so it can be done better.

The trio of Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine and Ken Ohka sent a threatening video to Sanshiro Takagi before their 3 Vs 1 match. Dino warned Takagi that Ohka isn’t the only person in the company who holds a grudge against him, there are more who will betray him tonight! Ohka wants to tell Takagi what he thinks of him but instead he will let the hat on his head say it. He then showed off a baseball cap on his head with the word “FUCK” written on it. When the match began Takagi had little trouble fighting off his three opponents. But when he ran to the ropes the first betrayal happened. Hirata Collection A.T. tripped Takagi, gave him the middle fingers then began stomping on him. Ohka missed a Spear which allowed Takagi to fight back and give Hirata the Stunner. Takagi pinned Sasadango after the Spicolli Driver but Yukinori Matsui stopped counting after two. Matsui was the next betrayer! Takagi gave him a Stunner then tried to pin Dino. Daisuke Kiso ran down and counted but he also stopped at two. He is also betraying Takagi! So Takagi gave him a Stunner too. Amon Tsurumi ran down to the ring and put on a referee shirt after Takagi gave Sasadango an Avalanche Brainbuster. But he too betrayed Takagi! He survived a Stunner when his afro slipped off but Takagi then gave him a Death Valley Bomb onto Sasadango. More trouble came when Toru Owashi ran in wearing a referee shirt that was too small for him. He briefly paused the pin count but it turned out he was on Takagi’s side and he counted to three.

Takagi won the match to put an end to Ohka’s attempted coup d’etat but he has a coup d’etat of his own to do. He wants a singles match with Dino and he wants it in Korakuen Hall next month. Dino objected. This year is DDT’s 20th year in existence. If a coup of this size is going to happen it should happen on the big stage. Dino Vs Takagi should happen at Sumo Hall! Takagi hesitated to accept the challenge. He said he tries to avoid putting himself in the major singles matches at DDT’s big events. Dino said that he’s been preparing for this match for a long time. Takagi said he’s been prepared for the last 20 years. He accepts the match. Takagi Vs Dino at Sumo Hall to celebrate 20 years of DDT!

The CD release of NωA’s new single is coming out at a bad time because they just lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles to Shuten-dōji. KUDO knocked down Makoto Oishi with a Backspin Kick, Yukio Sakaguchi hit an Apron PK to the other NωA members and Masahiro Takanashi gave Oishi the Takatonic to win the belts. NωA are trying to stay positive and hope success at the NOAH Jr. Tag League will see an increase in autographs and CD sales. Meanwhile Shuten-dōji already found out what their plans for Sumo Hall is. They will defend the titles against Dick Togo, Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda!

The opening match was The Rockies Vs The Italians, except Soma Takao wanted nothing to do with Hirata Collection A.T.’s shenanigans. Toru Owashi however came out wearing Collection gear and carrying a toy pig on a leash. He looked just as surprised as everyone else. The Rockies all came out wearing boxing gloves and humming along to the Rocky song. Antonio Honda said he spent all night drinking raw eggs then tried to eye poke his opponents. It didn’t work because of the gloves. Honda later intercepted Hirata’s glasses. The Rocky theme played proper when he put them on. The music boost was powerful enough for The Rockies to win the match. Rocky Kawamura yelled “Adrian!” to celebrate.

Both Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Danny Duggan had the back of their wrestling tights pulled down during the dark match. Both of them continued to wrestle with their backsides exposed.

Takaeshita was supposed to start off the show’s opening call but he was interrupted by Naomi Yoshimura. Of course he ran down all of his life problems which he blames Takeshita for then began the next chapter of his story. After his grandmother was arrested and his favourite restaurant had closed down, Yoshimura was alone in the world with absolutely nothing in his possession. Life was so bad he had to resort to thievery everyday. This continued until one day Yoshimura walked past a muscular man carrying a bag of money. He grabbed the bag off of him and ran as fast as he could. He thought he would escape until he saw someone standing ahead of him at the intersection. It was Konosuke Takeshita! Yoshimura was so surprised and enraged at the sight of Takeshita that he stopped in his tracks. The police chasing after him then caught him. Yoshimura thought his life was over until a voice from behind told the police to let him go if he gave back the bag. Yoshimura looked over and saw that the muscular man showing him mercy was Zeus! From that day onwards, Yoshimura trained hard at KING GYM so he could follow Zeus’s path and become a pro wrestler. Zeus, this god-like being, gave Yoshimura’s life meaning while all Takeshita had done was take everything away from him. Not only will he use his Right To Challenge contract to take the KO-D Title away from Takeshita, he will also take everything Takeshita values one by one. First up, the show opening call! Yoshimura smugly yelled “DDT Korakuen Tournament Start!” into the microphone. Takeshita tried asking Yoshimura when he was going to cash in his title shot but his microphone cut off so the intro video could be played.

Two new DNA trainees were introduced. Masato Kamino is 23 years old and from the Nara Prefecture. He is 175cm high, weighs 82kg and trained as a swimmer for 15 years. He will debut in Shinjuku on 5th August. He originally began training at the same time as MAO but an injury held him back. Kamino had considered transitioning into a ring announcing job instead but was determined to debut as a wrestler. Yuki Ino is 22 years old and from Tokyo. He is 178cm high, weighs 120kg and played rugby in Kokushikan University. He had several offers from other sports teams but DDT became interested when they heard he could bench press 205kg, dead lift 300kg and leg press 560kg. Ino said when he played rugby he blew past every opponent that was in front of his eyes. He would like to do the same to all of the best wrestlers. His goal is to win the KO-D Title. He will debut at Sumo Hall.

The show began with a 10 bell tribute to Mr. Pogo who passed away on 23rd June. Pogo once appeared at a DDT Street Wrestling show held in an iron factory back in 2014. He had also made appearances for Union Pro in 2006.

LiLiCo will return to DDT at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”.

DDT will return to the Delicious Sacas Festival in July for a week long series of free shows. This year’s festival takes place from 24th to 30th July

Dave Crist from Rockstar Pro Wrestling in Ohio, USA will be a part of the Beer Garden shows in August. Irie became good friends with Crist during his American excursions. Irie’s “Space Panda” aesthetic is a shoutout to Crist and his other Ohio buddies.

Rekka Vs MAO will be the main event of DDT’s return to Taiwan on 29th July.


Red Vs Blue BOYZ, Ishii Calls For Hayashi’s Help, 3 Vs 1, Cody Hall in DNA

June 13, 2017

BOYZ “DRAMATIC RAIN SPECIAL ~WOMEN FESTIVAL 15~”, 14/06/2017
Shinjuku FACE

1. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao (Red) Vs Mizuki Watase & Rekka (Blue)
2. Lady Beard & Shunma Katsumata (Red) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo (Blue)
3. HARASHIMA (Red) Vs Yuki Ueno (Blue)
4. Konosuke Takeshita & Nobuhiro Shimatani (Red) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hirata Collection A.T. (Blue)
5. KUDO & Makoto Oishi (Red) Vs Akito & Masahiro Takanashi (Blue)

A fan participation challenge will be set up for this show. The wrestlers have been split into Red and Blue teams. Fans can predict the results of the matches. Those who get the most correct will get to meet the BOYZ wrestlers at a VIP session after the show.

DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2017 FINAL ROUND”, 25/06/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Danny Duggan & Daiki Shimomura
1. King Of DDT 2017 – Semi Final: Tetsuya Endo Vs Akito
2. King Of DDT 2017 – Semi Final: HARASHIMA Vs Shigehiro Irie
3. Rocky’s Departure! Special 6-Man Tag Match “Friendship Of The Fire”: Rocky Kawamura, Saki Akai & Antonio Honda Vs Toru Owashi, Hirata Collection A.T. & Soma Takao
4. Pro Wrestling Version Of “Honnō-ji Incident” 1 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka
5. Konosuke Takeshita & Diego Vs Mike Bailey & Kazusada Higuchi
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie Vs Kaz Hayashi & Keisuke Ishii
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO (c) Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
8. King Of DDT 2017 – Final: X Vs X

Keisuke Ishii has been going through a slump ever since he lost the AJPW Jr. Title. He figured out that in order to solve his problem, he should look back to his origin. He should go back to 2007 when he was a trainee in the All Japan dojo. Ishii has asked Kaz Hayashi, who was an attendant of the dojo at the time, to come help him out. Hayashi remembers Ishii from the dojo. So many new recruits sign up and quit over the years that it is easy to lose track but Hayashi said he has an intense memory of the day Ishii quit. Normally when trainees quit the dojo they escape during the middle of the night without telling anybody. But Ishii simply apologised to his trainers, told them he was quitting and left. Ishii remembered an exercise where the trainees had to run behind a Porsche car for 25km. When it was Ishii’s turn to drive the Porsche he was so nervous of causing an accident that he stepped on the brakes a lot. Hayashi doesn’t remember this story but joked that the Porsche does have a scratch on it. He is happy to answer Ishii’s request for help.

Sanshiro Takagi & Ken Ohka Vs Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine was originally supposed to be a part of this show. Ohka feels indebted to Takagi, Dino and Sasadango for his career and hopes to repay them. Dino & Sasadango both found his comments funny and they wondered why Ohka was going to help Takagi beat them. They called him a slave and said Atsushi Onita would cry if he found out what Ohka was doing. They riled up Ohka so much that he demanded to switch sides so all three of them could beat Takagi 3 on 1. Amon Tusurmi obliged for some reason.

Danny Duggan is coming over from Canadian Wrestling’s Elite. He will be wrestling at Ganbare☆Wrestling the day before too.

DNA “FIGHTING GIG DNA EP.34 ~STARTING OVER~”, 04/07/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Mike Bailey & Cody Hall Vs Diego & Rekka
2. Shiro Koshinaka & Kotaro Suzuki Vs Daiki Shimomura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Awake Your Eyes, Dai Suzuki! Seven Match Trial Final Battle: Hideki Suzuki, Jun Kasai, NOSAWA Rongai & Gurukun Mask Vs Dai Suzuki
4. Kazusada Higuchi Graduation Memorial Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Naomi Yoshimura
5. Special Single Match: Koji Kanemoto Vs Mizuki Watase
6. MAIN GIG: Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuki Ueno

Cody Hall makes his DNA debut. There seems to be a relationship developing lately between DDT and NOAH.


DDT “STREET WRESTLING IN TOKYO DOME” Results

June 1, 2017

DDT “STREET WRESTLING IN TOKYO DOME”, 01/06/2017
Tokyo Dome
0 Fans

No Fans Street Wrestling Match Throughout All Of Tokyo Dome: Minoru Suzuki defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Gotch-Style Piledriver on Home Base (33:54).

After 20 years DDT has made it to the biggest stage of all in Japan. The Tokyo Dome. But this wasn’t your normal all day pro wrestling extravaganza, oh God no. The budget wouldn’t allow it. Instead DDT put together a single Falls Count Anywhere match with the entire Dome open up to them and not a single fan in attendance. Only cameramen, reporters, other wrestlers and staff members were allowed to attend the show. A special match under special circumstances was necessary for the event. The grudge settlement between Sanshiro Takagi and Minoru Suzuki was the perfect choice for the occasion.

Takagi entered the baseball field first and posed at each of the bases. Suzuki then appeared with his NEVER Openweight Title and appealed to the empty seats to clap along to his song. Before the match could begin, special guest Aja Kong sung the Japanese national anthem. Both Takagi and Suzuki began to argue during the performance and a frustrated Kong stepped in between them so she could finish singing.

When the match began Takagi yelled that he was going to get revenge on Suzuki for their last match at Budokan Hall five years ago. Suzuki trapped Takagi in an Armbar but had to break it when Takagi reached over and touched first base. Takagi then put Suzuki in a Half Crab but had to let go when Suzuki reached second base. When they both realised the bases would be treated like rope breaks in this match they decided to take the fight elsewhere.

Takagi and Suzuki fought up to the stands to the 2nd floor concourse. Super Sasadango Machine was there with his Macbook ready to give a PowerPoint presentation. He wanted to transmit the presentation to the big screens but couldn’t do so. Suzuki lifted Sasadango’s mask to see who it was underneath. He was shocked to see it was Muscle Sakai because he thought Sakai was retired. While this was going on, Takagi grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at Suzuki.

Suzuki chased Takagi up the stairs toward Gate 33 and caught up with him. Their Chop battle was interrupted by Gota Ihashi who slapped Suzuki from behind. When Suzuki finally acknowledged the weak chops on his back he turned around and kicked Ihashi down the stairs.

When the fight moved up to the 4th floor concourse, Suzuki attempted to throw Takagi over the balcony. He stopped when Saki Akai walked into view working as a beer girl. Suzuki asked for a beer but had no money on him. Suzuki became angry so Akai kicked him away with a Big Boot. Akai then kicked Takagi with a Big Boot too.

Ihashi tried to attack Suzuki again but was kicked down the stairs. Again.

Takagi was getting tired from going up and down stairways constantly. He was even more out of breath when Suzuki grabbed a photographer’s bib and used it to choke Takagi. They walked past Lady Beard who was on his own singing to whoever would listen. Takagi joined in for a duet of “Valentine Kiss”.

Suzuki grabbed Takagi and put him in a Cobra Twist. Nearby Ken Ohka was seen begging at staff to let him book a Ganbare☆Wrestling show at the Tokyo Dome for 50,000 yen. Suzuki grabbed the money off of Ohka and walked down to the 1st floor concourse.

Ohka chased after Suzuki and bumped into a janitor. The janitor turned out to be Jun Kasai! He grabbed Ohka, threw him onto a table, climbed a ladder and hit the Pearl Harbour Splash on Ohka through the table.

A sad, lonely, defeated Ihashi was sitting on a nearby staircase when Suzuki appeared and kicked him down the stairs one more time. Suzuki then stepped on him while walking through a hallway. Suzuki tried to give Takagi the Gotch-Style Piledriver but Takagi escaped. The two then encountered a Muay Thai fighter warming up in the hallway. Takagi tried to make Suzuki fight him because Suzuki once fought Maurice Smith in the Tokyo Dome. Suzuki instead convinced Takagi to spar with the fighter then ran off when Takagi got pummelled.

 

Suzuki’s escape was cut off when Danshoku Dino and his friends approached him wanting to shake his hand. They left Suzuki alone when they saw Rocky Kawamura nearby and surrounded him with unwanted affection instead.

Some unexpected star power showed up when Takagi and Suzuki came across Hiroshi Tanabota and Chinsuke Nakamura wrestling each other. The Wrestle Kingdom main event stopped when Tanabota and Chinsuke focused their attention to Takagi and Suzuki but they swept them aside with ease.

Next stop on the tour was the bullpen where Keisuke Ishii and Ryota Nakatsu were busy practicing their pitches. To the surprise of everyone they were being coached by Genichiro Tenryu! When practice was over Tenryu gave Ishii, Nakatsu and Suzuki fist bumps but then gave Takagi a Rock Punch. Suzuki then pitched baseballs at Takagi until he ran away.

Takagi ran back to the baseball field and was stopped by wonderful sight in the distance. Meiko Satomura was standing on the pitcher’s mound in her full costume ready to play ball! The DDT roster were sitting in the team bench cheering Takagi on as he approached the plate with a bat. Satomura’s pitches were terrible but Takagi still swung and got strikes.

Tenryu had enough and ordered Suzuki to take Takagi’s place at bat. Satomura stood closer to Suzuki and almost struck him with a pitch. That resulted in the locker room emptying out to the field for a brawl! Tenryu got on the microphone and shouted “Stop it, you bastards! Fighting outside is not allowed!” But he couldn’t be heard over the chaos.

The brawling finally calmed down and the match was back to Takagi Vs Suzuki. They’ve been fighting for over 30 minutes and were back on the home base. Suzuki countered the Spicolli Driver into a Sleeper Hold but Takagi escaped with a Jawbreaker. Takagi then sprinted down past third base towards the wall at the end of the field. He charged up and ran towards Suzuki ready to deliver a devastating Lariat. But Suzuki ducked it and put Takagi back in the Sleeper Hold. He then hit the Gotch-Style Piledriver right next to the home base. The referee counted the pin, paused after two to make sure Takagi’s hand wasn’t touching home base, then counted three to declare Takagi out and Suzuki the winner.

Suzuki celebrated and was ready to leave when Takagi got on the microphone and called for his attention. Suzuki beat Takagi in the Budokan five years ago and today he beat him in the Tokyo Dome. He is no longer Takagi’s enemy. In fact there is nothing left for Takagi to do but retire. He thanked Suzuki for being his last opponent and the two stood together for the 10 bell salute. On the 7th bell Takagi called Suzuki a sucker and gave him a Stone Cold Stunner. He isn’t retiring, not when he still has the chance to beat Suzuki!

In fact, Takagi announced his next crazy idea for Street Wrestling. DDT is going to have a Falls Count Anywhere match on an uninhabited island! Suzuki accepted the challenge. Takagi tried to close out the show with his catchphrase but Suzuki stopped him with a Lariat. That led to another bench clearing brawl on the field with Takagi screaming “Immortal!” over and over as the broadcast came to an end.


DDT “AUDIENCE 2017” Results

May 29, 2017

DDT “AUDIENCE 2017”, 28/05/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,384 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Mad Paulie defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga with the Reverse Splash (5:03).
1. Italian Rules: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Toru Owashi, Hirata Collection A.T. & Hiranito Collection A.T. when KUDO pinned Hiranito with the Backspin Kick (5:57).
2. Saki Akai & Heidi Katrina defeated Antonio Honda & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Katrina pinned Shimatani with the Leg Drop (3:36).
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO (c) defeated Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Royce Isaacs when Oishi pinned Isaacs with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (5:26).
*V3 for NωA. Makoto Oishi wins Royce Isaacs’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
4. Smile Squash Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA & Soma Takao defeated Akito & Diego when Takao pinned Diego with the Sorarina (9:21).
5. Super Sasadango Machine Return: Minoru Suzuki & Rocky Kawamura defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Super Sasadango Machine when Suzuki pinned Machine with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (10:44).
6. Daisuke Sasaki, Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo defeated Shigehiro Irie, Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki when Ishikawa pinned Iwasaki with the Splash Mountain (8:55).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Yasu Urano with the Surprise Rose (28:31).
*V3 for Konosuke Takeshita. Yasu Urano cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

In his final match under his DDT contract, Yasu Urano cashed in his Right To Challenge contract for a KO-D Openweight Title match. With the rest of Smile Squash cheering him on, Urano tried to use all of his tricks and experience to beat Konosuke Takeshita. But that couldn’t happen. Even Urano taking off his bandana and shirt to fire himself up ultimately couldn’t lead him to the gold. Takeshita put him away with his new Surprise Rose finisher. After the match Takeshita told everyone a story from when he went to a Beer Garden show at 16 years old. He met Urano and was told he could train him. Takeshita said he learned more from training one on one with Urano but there is one thing he is inferior to him. Takeshita thinks no wrestler is more loved by all the DDT fans than Urano. Urano told Takeshita he does not know what destiny is or if he was ever supposed to face him for the title in his final match. He thanked Takeshita for coming to DDT. Urano called him a treasure of DDT and also his own treasure. He then cried and the two hugged.

A loud cheer followed Shuji Ishikawa when he was announced as the Triple Crown Champion during the ring introductions. Following another DAMNATION victory, Ishikawa said he was back home. He won the Champion Carnival then he won the Triple Crown. Now he is back in DDT to do his best for DAMNATION. For once Daisuke Sasaki did not kick and interrupt Ishikawa’s speech. He didn’t do it because he said it is rude to do that to the Triple Crown champion.

Super Sasadango Machine wasted no time in presenting his latest PowerPoint project for his return to wrestling. The presentation was titled “The Importance Of New Killer Techniques In Return Warfare” and it was focused on Sasadango developing a new killer move to use on Minoru Suzuki. He could not come up with any ideas of his own so after using the SWOT Analysis, Sasadango decided to subcontract the Ibushi Wrestling Institute to help him. Through extensive research Sasadango and the Institute discovered a new version of the Lehman Shock that doubles the damage inflicted compared to the normal version. Sasadango calls this move the Ibushi-Style Lehmann Shock. The research costs of this move was 35,000 yen which is 35% of Sasadango’s budget.

For his return match itself, Sasadango took a beating but it wasn’t done out of spite. Suzuki congratulated him on his recovery while he Chopped his chest raw. Sasadango returned some Chops while thanking Suzuki for being a part of this match. They continued thanking and complimenting each other between Chops until they tagged in Sanshiro Takagi and Rocky Kawamura to take over. Kawamura kept yelling “Adrian!” before doing his moves. Sasadango attempted the Ibushi-Style Lehmann Shock on Suzuki but it was easily countered into a Sleeper Hold. Suzuki twisted Sasadango’s mask around so it blinded him, then hit the Gotch-Style Piledriver to win the match. Takagi had some tough words for Suzuki in regards to their upcoming Tokyo Dome Street Wrestling match. Takagi is out for revenge! Suzuki wasn’t sure what Takagi is getting revenge for but he’ll be ready for him. Kawamura also had something to say… “Adrian!” Suzuki struck Kawamura and took the microphone off him.

Akito said he reached out to his overseas connections to bring in ALL OUT’s newest member. “Diego, come out!” It was Guanchulo returning from Chile but now wrestling under his real name. However Diego’s new chapter began on the wrong foot when he fell to Soma Takao’s Sorarina. Takao thinks the win for Smile Squash was good preparation for a future KO-D Tag Team Titles shot.

NωA had a mighty task ahead of them when they defended the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against the International Gay Factory. The biggest threat was Royce Isaacs and his Miracle Ass. The IGF used his ass to break Gota Ihashi’s arm before the match then tried to do the same to Shunma Katsumata. MAO rescued him and tried to stop Isaacs with a Kancho but that only resulted in him breaking his own fingers. The champions escaped with the win when Oishi countered Isaacs’s Pedigree with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch. This means Oishi also won Isaacs’s Right To Challenge Contract. NωA were told afterwards that their next defence will be against Shuten-dōji.

Saki Akai & Heidi Katrina’s first match as a team worked well for them. Katrina knocked Nobuhiro Shimatani silly with a Lariat while Akai got rid of Honda. Katrina then pinned Shimatani with the Leg Drop.

Tempers flared from the Collection A.T. wrestlers when Yukio Sakaguchi stepped on their invisible dogs. Their Model Walk later on was interrupted by KUDO who kicked his way to a Shuten-dōji victory.

Mad Paulie beat Tomomitsu Matsunaga in the dark match. Matsunaga tried to avoide the Reverse Splash but the move got him in the end.

 

The first round draw for this year’s King Of DDT tournament took place at the end of the show. The matches are Daisuke Sasaki Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi Vs Hirata Collection A.T., KUDO Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo Vs Mike Bailey, Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Kazusada Higuchi Vs HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dino Vs Keisuke Ishii and Shigehiro Irie Vs Mad Paulie. These matches will take place on 1st June in Shinjuku, the Quarter Finals take place on 4th June and the remaining rounds will happen in Korakuen Hall on 25th June. The winner gets a 1,000,000 yen prize as well as the KO-D Title shot in Sumo Hall on 20th August.

Yuu and Yuka Sakazaki from Tokyo Joshi Pro greeted the audience at the start of the show. They were here to promote the 4th June Tokyo Joshi in Shinjuku FACE where the two will be in the main event with the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title on the line. Sakazaki said she has not tested the results of her training yet but it will be a memorable day when she beats up the undefeated champion.

DDT will return to Taiwan on 29th July.


Isaacs English Lesson, Urano’s KO-D Destiny, Sasadango Develops Suzuki Deathblow

May 26, 2017

DDT “AUDIENCE 2017”, 28/05/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
1. Saki Akai & Heidi Katrina Vs Antonio Honda & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Toru Owashi, Hirata Collection A.T. & Hiranito Collection A.T. Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo Vs Shigehiro Irie, Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
4. Smile Squash Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA & Soma Takao Vs Akito & X
5. Super Sasadango Machine Return: Sanshiro Takagi & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Minoru Suzuki & Rocky Kawamura
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Royce Isaacs
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Yasu Urano
*Yasu Urano will cash in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

Royce Isaacs offered to teach Saki Akai some English phrases to help her communicate with Heidi Katrina in their upcoming tag match. Shigehiro Irie took up the offer too. As nice of a gesture it was, Isaacs added in some NSFW phrases to the lesson. Enough of it to make me wonder if he just wanted an excuse to brag about his Miracle Ass.

The main event is confirmed to be Yasu Urano cashing in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract against Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Title. The situation is made even more dramatic because Urano’s contract with DDT will be done at the end of the month and he is moving on to be a freelance wrestler. Urano said it is his destiny to challenge for the title this way. He is not confident that he can beat Takeshita or if their match can reach the high standards of previous KO-D Title bouts but he does think it is the most exciting thing to ever happen to him. In regards to his future relationship with DDT, Urano said his next booking with the company is on 20th August for “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. If he becomes the champion then he might just stay away from DDT until then so he won’t have to worry about any Right To Challenge cash ins. What is also important to realise is Takeshita himself has a Right To Challenge Contract. Losing to Urano will mean Urano gets both the KO-D Title and another RTC contract so there is a lot to keep track of going into this match.

Super Sasadango Machine is ready to complete his impossible comeback to the ring after his health scare last year. He decided to train away from the DDT Dojo because their strict coaches prevented him from rehabilitating the way he wanted to. So he went to the Ibushi Wrestling Institute to train without any restrictions. During this process, Sasadango created a brand new “Deathblow” finisher to combat Minoru Suzuki’s Gotch-Style Piledriver. He promises to outscource the move to Sanshiro Takagi for the Takagi Vs Suzuki No People Street Wrestling Match at the Tokyo Dome next week. Sasadango will pay the Institute 35% of the match earnings if Takagi beats Suzuki. However if Takagi loses then he will pay the Suzuki Pro Wrestling Laboratory the 35% instead.


DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2017 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAREKATSUDON~” Results

April 9, 2017

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2017 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAREKATSUDON~”, 09/04/2017
Niigata City Nishikawa Multi-Purpose Hall
288 Fans

1. Keisuke Ishii & Makoto Oishi defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Miracle Ecstasy (8:12).
2. Shuten-dōji Vs Massive Sumo Wrestling Combination ~ Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi & Kazusada Higuchi defeated KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi when Higuchi submitted KUDO with the Canadian Backbreaker (9:44).
3. Daisuke Sasaki defeated Guanchulo with the Diving Elbow Drop (10:54).
4. Niigata Specialty Match! Tochio Fried Single Match: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated MAO with the Sakaguchi Cobra Clutch (8:28).
5. HARASHIMA & Soma Takao defeated Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki when HARASHIMA pinned Iwasaki with the Somato (10:11).
6. Tag Match Where Muscle Friends Encourage Super Sasadango Machine For Medical Treatment: Yoshihiro Takayama & Danshoku Dino defeated Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda (w/ Super Sasadango Machine) when Takayama pinned Honda with the Running Kneelift (9:51).
7. Takeshita & Akito Vs DAMNATION: Konosuke Takeshita & Akito defeated Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie when Akito submitted Paulie with the Perfect Figure Four Leg Lock (17:12).

The card was shuffled about because of Konosuke Takeshita & Akito’s new alliance. The new team was quickly put to the test against Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie in the main event. They ended up passing with flying colours. Takeshita caught Endo from a handspring and turned it into a German Suplex. With Endo out of the ring, Akito locked Paulie in the Perfect Figure Four and made him submit. Takeshita & Akito were given a 30kb bag of rice as a prize for winning the match. Akito apologised to the fans for causing most of the card to change but he got to show that he and Takeshita are on the same wavelength as a team.

Super Sasadango Machine was eager to appear on the show since it was being held in his hometown. However he is still recovering from illness and was unable to wrestle so Danshoku Dino tried to keep him away from the ring. Sasadango became upset because he wanted to do something on the show. He was born a pro wrestler and he will die a pro wrestler. He even sold 40 tickets for the show despite not having a match on the card. Tired of Dino trying to protect him, Sasadango broke up with him so he could go be in Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda’s corner instead. He gave them advice during the match on how to fight Yoshihiro Takayama. For the last 6 months he has studied Takayama and even hired a detective to explore his private life. But all he found out was how much of a good father Takayama is to his son. So Sasadango used his contacts to delve even further and eventually got in touch with a store owner who once sold a model railroad to Takayama’s son. Somehow this person found out from the son that Takayama’s big weakness is he hates being tickled. Urano asked if Sasadango was feeling okay but Sasadango assured him he was being serious. He was right. Honda, Urano and Sasadango himself all tickled Takayama to keep him at bay. The plan only worked for a little while and soon Takayama fought all of them off and pinned Honda with the Running Kneelift. Danshoku Dino scolded Sasadango afterwards for getting physically involved in the match. Sasadango informed Dino that his doctor gave him the okay to start doing intense exercises and he can go back to wrestling pretty soon. He still needs to take expensive medicine to lower his cholesterol but he should be fit and ready to wrestle again on the 28th May Korakuen Hall show.


Iron Man Title In Orlando, Right To Challenge Changes, Double Sweet Death Match

April 3, 2017

This past week in Orlando, the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title went through a series of title changes all around the city. There were many pro wrestling shows held throughout Orlando and the Iron Man Title was seen in several of them. The first title change happened on 30th March when Joey Ryan lost the title to Brandi Rhodes on a WrestlePro show. The show promoter Pat Buck then won the title backstage later in the night. Buck was later pinned by Ryan. So far, so good.

The next day Ryan defended the title in an Over The Top Rope Battle Royal at the WrestleCon Super Show. Ryan was pinned by The Underground Luchador who afterwards revealed himself to be Matt Striker. Ryan, who wasn’t eliminated because it was Over The Top Rope rules only, threw Striker out of the ring to eliminate him and win back the belt. The match ended with Swoggle eliminating Ryan to become champion. Ryan quickly won the belt back but his celebration was then interrupted by The Sandman! One Singapore Cane beating later and The Sandman is champ. Later backstage Swoggle snuck up on a sleeping Sandman and pinned him, then Joey did the same to Swoggle. So at the end of the night, Joey had the belt. Got it? Because it’s going to get a bit more hectic.

Many more changes happened on April Fool’s Day. First, a match between Joey and The Primate at What Culture Pro Wrestling was interrupted by Jack The Jobber pinning Joey to win the title. Joey won the belt back but then lost it to Joe Hendry. However, Hendry declared that he hates comedy wrestling so he threw the belt into a trash bin. An official decision was made to declare the Trash Bin as the new champion! Jack The Jobber pinned the Bin, Joey pinned Jack and then ran off to the WrestleCon Women’s Super Show. While there, Shayna Baszler submitted Joey with an Armbar. Eddie Kingston stole the belt backstage. He was declared the champion when Baszler gave up searching for the belt. Kingston then traded the belt to Joey for some cigarettes.

Sunday was a quiet day in comparison. With all the attention on WrestleMania, there weren’t as many shows being held elsewhere in the city. But in the early hours of the morning Beyond Wrestling was running a midnight show. Joey Ryan was pinned by Joey Janela in a Mixed Tag Match. When the show was over Janela was ambushed by The Invisible Man! So right now at the time of writing, The Invisible Man is your Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion!

DDT “FIRST TIME ADVANCE! 2017”, 08/04/2017
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 5 Minute Fight: Antonio Honda Vs Royce Isaacs
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 5 Minute Fight: Akito Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 5 Minute Fight: Keisuke Ishii Vs Yoshihiko
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 5 Minute Fight: Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Kazusada Higuchi
5. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 5 Minute Fight: KUDO Vs Shigehiro Irie
6. Best Final Of A Song! No, I’m Dancing! Final Conclusion For A Second Time!!: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
7. 4 Way Match: Soma Takao Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
8. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo
9. You Will Kill Or Get Hurt! You Will Get Caught Or Killed! Special Single Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Danshoku Dino
10. Spring Big Bang Battle: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Mad Paulie

This year’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts will be put on the line in five separate single matches. Each match has a five minute time limit and if the time expires the winner will be determined by the audience.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2017 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAREKATSUDON~”, 09/04/2017
Niigata City Nishikawa Multi-Purpose Hall

1. No. 1 Idol Wrestler In DDT Decision: Toru Owashi Vs Makoto Oishi
2. T2Hide Vs Shuten-dōji: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi
3. 4 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Akito Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Kazusada Higuchi
4. Konosuke Takeshita & Guanchulo Vs Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie
5. Niigata Specialty Match! Tochio Fried Single Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs MAO
6. Tag Match Where Muscle Friends Encourage Super Sasadango Machine For Medical Treatment: Yoshihiro Takayama & Danshoku Dino (w/ Super Sasadango Machine) Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
7. HARASHIMA & Soma Takao Vs Shigehiro Irie & Kouki Iwasaki

Super Sasadango Machine is still a ways away from being healthy enough to wrestle again. His friends Danshoku Dino, Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda are banding together to help him out. Yoshihiro Takayama is coming along too.

BASARA “VAJRA 34 ~LION DASH~”, 29/04/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial: X Vs X
2. Nakano Practice Student Debut Match: Nakano Vs X
3. Union MAX Title: Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi (c) Vs Ryota Nakatsu

No details yet on the new BASARA trainee.

Also appearing on the card are Minoru Tanaka, Atsushi Maruyama, Hagane, Gunso, YO-HEY, Kenshin Chikano and Tatsuhiko Yoshino.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “TOKYO 2017”, 30/04/2017
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Enjo-gun, Osaka’s First Visit!: Mitomi Masayuki & Shibata Vs Daina Mido & Hiroto Okubo
2. Ganbare Wrestling In OSAKA Special Single Match: Yukinori Abe Vs Hiro Tonai
3. No Protein 15,000 Calorie Intake Bombardment Double Sweet Death Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Bambi
4. I Return To Chiba’s Grace In Osaka: Minoru Fujita & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Yasu Urano & MIYAWAKI
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ken Ohka (c) Vs Atsushi Maruyama

Yumehito Imanari is blaming Bambi for the failure of their tag team. Imanari likes big women and he thinks Bambi’s recent weight loss is a bad thing. So he devised an extremely dangerous version of the Sweet Death Match. This time there will be FIVE times the amount of candy used in the match!


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?