DDT “NEW YEAR SPECIAL GIFT! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2020”, 03/01/2020 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kagami Mochi defeated Toru Owashi (c) by Pinfall (6:37 pm). *Kagami Mochi becomes the 1,458th champion.
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Saki Akai defeated Kagami Mochi (c), Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Iino, Antonio Honda, Gorgeous Matsuno, Mizuki Watase and Keigo Nakamura (11:06).
1a. Mizuki Watase eliminated Kagami Mochi (c) by Pinfall (2:41). *Mizuki Watase becomes the 1,459th champion.
1b. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Mizuki Watase (c) by Pinfall (4:22). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,460th champion.
1c. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Yuki Iino by Ring Out (4:57). *V1 for Kazuki Hirata.
1d. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Gorgeous Matsuno by Ring Out (5:00). *V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
1e. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Toru Owashi by Ring Out (10:25). *V3 for Kazuki Hirata.
1f. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Antonio Honda by Ring Out (10:28). *V4 for Kazuki Hirata.
1g. Saki Akai eliminated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a School Boy (10:46). *Saki Akai becomes the 1,461st champion.
1h. Saki Akai (c) eliminated Keigo Nakamura with the Rookie Award (11:06). *V1 for Saki Akai.
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato when Higuchi pinned Paulie with the Doctor Bomb (10:46).
3. No Passcode Scramble Bunkhouse Account Takeover 3 Way Death Match: Super Sadadango Machine defeated Sanshiro Takagi and Danshoku Dieno when Sasadango pinned Dieno with the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock (7:41).
4. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi when HARASHIMA pinned Oishi with the Somato (8:06).
5. MAO Triumph Match: MAO defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II (8:08).
6. New Year! Special Worldwide Match: Masato Tanaka defeated Chris Brookes with the Sliding D (9:38).
7. Tetsuya Endo & T-Hawk defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Akito when T-Hawk pinned Akito with the Night Ride (11:44).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) when Ueno pinned Sasaki with the BME (27:28). *DAMNATION fails in V10. Nautilus becomes the 67th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
The decade kicks off with new KO-D Tag Team Champions! For DAMNATION today ends their dominant title reign. Daisuke Sasaki’s dream of taking pro wrestling to outer space after achieving 10 title defences will not become a reality. For Naomi Yoshimura, his new year has been as far away from his calamitous injury twelve months ago as it could be. At first it looked to be over when Nautilus hit the Osaka Strad on Sasaki but Soma Takao broke the count. When Yoshimura got rid of him, Yuki Ueno hit the Best Moonsault Ever on Sasaki for the three count.
After the match Ueno told everyone that two young people from the Osaka countryside have become the Tag Champions! He thanked the fans for cheering them because it really helped them a lot. With DISASTER BOX becoming stronger today (more on that later), Nautilus looks forward to growing even bigger in DDT! Ueno & Yoshimura then asked the fans to cheer “Yes or Nautilus!” from now on.
So who was the mystery partner Tetsuya Endo chose for his match against ALL OUT? He came out alone carrying the DAMNATION signboard. Konosuke Takeshita poked fun at him, saying Endo couldn’t find a tag partner. But Endo assured him he found a great partner. It was T-Hawk! Takeshita had beaten T-Hawk at an OWE show in Korakuen Hall on 30th December so this was T-Hawk’s chance for revenge. The member of #STRONGHEARTS came out with El Lindaman by his side. He had to settle with pinning Akito with the Night Ride. After the match Lindaman got on the microphone. He said he and T-Hawk weren’t booked to wrestle today until Endo invited them to come over here. They found out DDT have a show in Itabashi Green Hall on 5th January. They want to have a match whether DDT wants them there or not! Endo said that DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS are now in a business relationship. Backstage Takeshita admitted he thought Endo was going to bring in Nobuhiro Shimatani to be his tag partner while Akito thought X was going to be Shiori Asahi.
Chris Brookes didn’t waste any time attacking Masato Tanaka before the bell. When Tanaka was introduced in the ring, Brookes blindsided him with a Swand Dive Dropkick. Brookes then hit a Topé Suicida while Tanaka tried to recover outside the ring. Back in the ring Brookes wore down Tanaka with the Octopus Hold. Tanaka took control with his Elbow Strikes, avoided the Praying Mantis Bomb and hit the Sliding D to win.
HARASHIMA approached Tanaka in the ring when his match was over. He told him he is looking forward to their match on 26th January. Tanaka promised he will train hard enough to win the KO-D Openweight Title from him. Then suddenly Pokotan came down to the ring. He was pointing at HARASHIMA but Tanaka noticed something. Instead of pointing at the DDT Extreme Title, Pokotan was instead pointing at the KO-D Title. Tanaka grabbed Pokotan and pulled its head off, revealing it to be MAO! He Dropkicked HARASHIMA and gave Tanaka a Frankensteiner. He then told HARASHIMA in English “I wanna challenge KO-D Openweight Championship. Just bring it!” He then ran off.
Speaking of MAO, his return match was a victory against Shunma Katsumata. He entered to a new entrance song and used what he learned from his excursion. Katsumata brought out his death match side by pouring out a box of Lego in the middle of the ring. That idea backfired when MAO slammed Katsumata onto the Lego with an Avalanche Michinoku Driver. After the match MAO apologised to the fans for Mike Bailey’s absence. Until his visa situation gets sorted, MAO will have to climb to the top of DDT on his own. Katsumata backstage said he will be getting an operation to remove metal plates from his cheekbone in February. He will be absent from DDT for a while after that but when he returns he will be DDT’s death match fighter!
The team of Makoto Oishi & Masahiro Takanashi pulled some foul play to weaken Shinya Aoki. But Aoki got into the swing of things after HARASHIMA helped him clear the ring. When HARASHIMA did a Swan Dive Body Press on Oishi, Aoki summoned up the courage to attempt the same move. Oishi still had some fight left in him when he dodged the Somato and went for the Jikiden Tornado Clutch. But HARASHIMA eventually did hit the Somato to give his team the win.
The rules for the Special 3 Way Match were revealed before the match began. It was Scramble Bunkhouse rules which meant the wrestlers had to stand at opposite ends of the room. Three phones were placed in the middle of the ring, each containing the Twitter accounts of the wrestlers, all logged in with no protection. When the match began whoever got to the phones would be able to tweet whatever he wanted on the other wrestlers’ accounts! The bell rang and everyone charged into the ring. While Danshoku Dieno and Sanshiro Takagi were grappling, Super Sasadango Machine grabbed Takagi’s phone and tweeted out a poll about a certain event happening at the Tokyo Dome this weekend. The tweet appeared on Takagi’s account and was shown on the arena screen, causing great harm to Takagi. Dieno took the phone and used Takagi’s account to promise a 100,000 yen new year giveaway to Takagi’s followers. Takagi got on Sasadango’s phone to complain about Kazuyoshi Sakai doing commentary for said event at the Tokyo Dome. He then used Dieno’s account to retweet Riki Choshu a lot. Dieno used Takagi’s account to invite girls looking for a sugar daddy to contact him. Takagi then used both Dieno and Sasadango’s account to threaten run-ins at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow (Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani later responded that they will only get in if they have a ticket)! Sasadango used Takagi’s account to ask The Rock if he wants to wrestle at DDT’s Saitama Super Arena show this summer. Dieno ordered Sasadango to reveal personal information on Takagi’s account. Instead Sasadango posted a link to Dieno’s LINE account! Dieno was so distracted by this, Sasadango easily pinned him with the Lehmann Shock. Sasadango scorned Dieno for wanting to expose Takagi’s personal info. That kind of stuff crosses the line for a pro wrestler. They all agreed to do something as an apology. Dieno will leave his LINE account public for the month, Sasadango will send flowers to the Tokyo Dome tomorrow and Takagi will split 100,000 yen among 10 of the accounts that retweeted him. Now he just has to figure out how to choose them from the 5,000+ retweets.
The new team of Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi showed that they are not ones to mess around. After beating Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato, they said that there is another person in DDT who shares their ambition. It is Saki Akai! She said she had always been watching from backstage but now she wants to do something big. Doesn’t matter if it is against men or women. So starting on 26th January Higuchi, Sakaguchi & Akai will be forming a new team together! They ordered Hisaya Imabayashi to set up a match for them on that date. Imabayashi tried to tell her the matches were already booked but Sakaguchi intimidated him into taking Akai’s request. This new trio want to show everyone a new landscape and shake things up in DDT!
While Kazuki Hirata was making his entrance, an odd situation happened backstage. A Kagami Mochi dish somehow fell on top of Toru Owashi, pinning him to become the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. It was brought down to the ring by Yukinori Matsui and forced to enter the Battle Royal where Mizuki Watase eliminated it to win the title. Watase was incapacitated by Yuki Iino. But when Iino ran the ropes to do the Haka Elbow, Hirata pinned Watase to become the champion. Hirata went on to eliminate most of the field until it came down to him, Saki Akai and Keigo Nakamura. The rookie thought he could get a kiss from Akai but she shove Hirara into his lips instead. Akai pinned Hirata with the School Boy then pinned Nakamura with the Rookie Award to win the Battle Royal as the Iron Man Champ.
There were a couple of big announcements throughout the show. After intermission DISASTER BOX entered the ring. HARASHIMA was excited to show everyone the unit’s newest member. It’s Naomichi Marufuji!!! The NOAH wrestler was asked by HARASHIMA to join them for 2020. He didn’t know anything about DISASTER BOX before but a Google search got him up to speed. Marufuji’s first match as part of the group will be on 26th January.
Chris Brookes had a final message to give everyone at the end of the show. He said today was his last match in Korakuen Hall for this tour. He likes his time here in DDT and feels it has made him a better wrestler. So the next time he tours to Japan he will stay in the country for an entire year!
Last and certainly least, Kurochan will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” on 7th June.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2019 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,232 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita & Hideyoshi Kamitani defeated Daichi Hashimoto & Akito when Kamitani pinned Akito with the Loyly Diving Elbow Drop (9:36).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yuki Iino defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hashimoto when Nakanoue pinned Hashimoto with a Lariat (6:27).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA & Yuya Aoki defeated El Lindaman & Yukio Naya when Aoki pinned Lindaman with a Tiger Suplex (9:08).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes defeated Yuji Okabayashi & Antonio Honda when Brookes submitted Honda with the Octopus Stretch (8:48).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk Vs Soma Takao & Kota Sekifuda ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
5a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rules: Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk defeated Soma Takao & Kota Sekifuda when T-Hawk pinned Sekifuda with the Cerberus (1:02).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Brahman Kei & Naomi Yoshimura when Endo pinned Kei with the Puma Toke de Espaldas (7:07).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Ueno & Takuho Kato when Sasaki submitted Ueno with the Cross Facelock (7:07).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1 – Lighttube Death Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Kankuro Hoshino defeated Toshiyuki Sakuda & Shunma Katsumata when Tsukamoto pinned Katsumata with the Suffocation Zudon (7:45).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yuki Iino defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Hideyoshi Kamitani when Iino pinned Kamitani with the Spear (8:31).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes defeated HARASHIMA & Yuya Aoki when Sekimoto pinned Aoki with a Lariat (9:03).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk when Nomura pinned Kawakami with a Cross Legged Cradle (7:44).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuko Miyamoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Kankuro Hoshino when Sasaki submitted Hoshino with the Cross Facelock (6:33).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yuki Iino when Endo pinned Iino with the Shooting Star Press (8:01).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes defeated Yuko Miyamoto & Daisuke Sasaki when Sekimoto pinned Sasaki with the German Suplex (6:45).
15. New Year’s Eve! Defeat Hunger! Very Funny! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Abdullah Kobayashi, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino, Drew Parker & Mizuki Watase when Kobayashi pinned Watase with the Bakachinga Elbow Drop (8:50).
16. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Chris Brookes when Nomura pinned Sekimoto with the Dragon Suplex (17:19).
A flu pandemic didn’t stop Big Japan from joining up with DDT for the annual New Year’s Eve Wrestling party. In the runup to the show six wrestlers fell ill and had to pull out of the show. While it was a shame that they couldn’t be here it did open up slots for some different faces to take their place.
Round 1
The opening match turned out to be an unusual tribute to Shinjiro Otani. The pairing of Daichi Hashimoto & Akito named themselves Team Shinjiro Otani due to his influence over them. Their opponents Konosuke Takeshita & Hideyoshi Kamitani responded by paying tribute to Masato Tanaka. They both did Tanaka’s pose together while Hashimoto & Akito did Otani’s Fire Sword pose. The Otani team both did the Facewash spot and all looked to be over when Akito punt Takeshita in a Figure 4 Leglock. That was until Kamitani climbed the top rope and hit a Diving Elbow Drop on Akito to get the pin. The losers decided they could no longer call themselves Team Shinjiro Otani so they renamed themselves The Shinjiro Otani Victims Association. They hope Otani will be a member some day.
The next match was all about brute strength against kicking power. Yuki Iino was about to do the Haka Elbow on Yukio Sakaguchi when Kazuki Hashimoto kicked him away. The kickers gave Yasufumi Nakanoue a PK Sandwich but Iino hit both of them with a Double Spear afterwards. Nakanoue & Iino then used their combined strength to Choke Slam Hashimoto. A Lariat from Nakanoue ended the match.
At first it looked like El Lindaman & Yukio Naya were going to get along great. Then they figured out the harsh truth that they are not the same size. They tried doing double team moves together but the 40cm height difference between them made it difficult. Meanwhile HARASHIMA & Yuya Aoki had no such trouble working together. The Lindaman & Naya team fell apart when Naya accidentally hit Lindaman with a Diving Shoulder Block. Lindaman snapped and said some unpleasant things to his partner. An angry Naya Choke Slammed Lindaman and left him to get pinned by Aoki’s Tiger Suplex.
The next match had wrestlers wearing matching gear in their teams. Yuji Okabayashi came out dressed like Antonio Honda while Chris Brookes wore Daisuke Sekimoto’s entrance robe. Honda unleashed Gongitsune after a hot tag. He got Sekimoto in the eyes but Brookes then grabbed both Gon hands and made Honda pinch Okabayashi’s nipples. Brookes locked Honda in an Octopus Stretch for the win. Honda hopes everyone will at least remember Okabayashi’s strawberry costume.
The only match on the show to last the full time limit was Ryuichi Kawakami & T-Hawk Vs Soma Takao & Kota Sekifuda. A lot of the match featured a cuddly toy cobra that Takao brought down to the ring. Unfortunately the cobra ripped in half when Takao & Sekifuda used it to Clothesline on T-Hawk. The time ran out while Sekifuda and T-Hawk had a tug of war over the cobra. Overtime began and Soma swung the cobra at T-Hawk. He ducked and Sekifuda took the hit as the cobra’s remans exploded. T-Hawk gave Sekifuda the Nightride and then the Cerberus knee strike for the one count victory.
We got a rare sighting of a single Brahman Brother wrestling. Brahman Shu was out sing so Brahman Kei was by himself. Good thing Naomi Yoshimura got in the Brahman spirit of things and joined in with Shu’s antics. So did Tetsuya Endo & Takuya Nomura. They stole the buckets of water and threw them at their opponents. Shu placed a suitcase against Endo & Nomura for Yoshimura to throw a bowling ball at. Kei threw the briefcase but Endo ducked and Yoshimura got hit. Nomura blinded Kei with the black India Ink and Endo pinned him with the Puma Toke de Espaldas. Kei blamed the loss on the flu.
The team bonding continued with Daisuke Sasaki wearing similar yankee gear as Yuko Miyamoto. The team of Yuki Ueno & Takuho Kato gelled well together too. Kato held Ueno up on seated on his shoulders and threw him on top of Sasaki for a nearfall. Miyamoto hit Yeno with a Handspring Kneel Kick and then dropped him with the Fire Thunder. The match ended when Sasaki submitted Ueno with the Cross Facelock.
The 1st Round ended with a Lighttube Death Match. Shunma Katsumata has been wanting to do more violent matches so this was his chance. He brought along his own lighttube with Lego attached to it. Takumi Tsukamoto & Kankuro Hoshino gave Katsumata a death match baptism by smashing lighttubes over him. They had control early until Katsumata did some violent spots of his own with the help of Toshiyuki Sakuda. He broke a bundle of lighttubes taped together and revealed there were even more Lego blocks hidden inside it! He gave Hoshino the ¡Hasta la vista! onto the pile but Tsukamoto broke it up. Tsukamoto placed a plastic bag over Katsumata to suffocate him then hit the Zudon for the win. They shook hands after the match and Katsumata smashed the last remaining lighttube over his own head.
Round 2
Round 2 began with a bit of an upset. Nakanoue & Iino defeated Takeshita & Kamitani, ending Takeshita’s streak of reaching the final! The Double Choke Slam was the difference maker again, this time with Iino hitting the Spear on Kamitani to in the match.
As the tournament progressed, the team bonds were getting stronger. Aoki came out wearing matching HARASHIMA gear. Meanwhile Sekimoto joined Brookes in given Aoki a wet willy while he was in a Camel Clutch. HARASHIMA went for the Somato but Brookes dodged it and caught him in the Octopus Stretch. With HARASHIMA held in place, nobody could stop Sekimoto from pinning Aoki with a Lariat.
There was no nonsense in the Endo & Nomura versus Kawakami & T-Hawk match. Nomura was double teamed on while Endo was cut off from rescuing him. But Nomura escaped from the Nightraide and put Kawakami in a Cross Armbreaker. Kawakami tried to roll out but Nomura clasped his legs into a Cradle to pin him for the flash three count.
The last match in the 2n Round turned weird. Miyamoto came out dressed like Shinobu Kandori. Then Hoshino came out looking like Kenshiro from Fist Of The North Star. He used many of Kenshiro’s attacks but when he told Sasaki “You are already dead” Miyamoto hit him in the back with a chair. Sasaki then made Hoshino quickly tap to the Cross Facelock.
Semi Finals
The tournament was now down to four teams. Nakanoue & Iino threw Endo off the top rope then set Nomura up for the Haka Elbow. Iino went for the Spear but Nomura blocked it with a High Kick. Endo came in to hit a Handspring Overhead Kick before pinning Iino with the Shooting Star Press.
Miyamoto decided to return the favour to Sasaki by wearing a leather jacket and carrying around the DAMNATION signboard. Their run came to an end here when Brookes caught Sasaki by surprise with a Cutter and Sekimoto capitalised with the German Suplex.
Special 6-Man Tag Match
Before the final took place there was a non-tournament 6-Man Tag to get through. At this point in the show it was almost midnight. The countdown appeared on the screen while Danshoku Dieno was up to his usual behavior in the ring. As the final seconds counted down, the locker room emptied out and everybody celebrated the new year. When they left we discovered that the wrestlers in the match were all trampled during the celebration. They recovered and slowly wrestled the rest of the match while the song “SEVEN DAYS WAR” by TM Network played over the speakers.
Final
The first complete pro wrestling match of the new decade saw Endo & Nomura defeated Sekimoto & Brookes. Sekimoto tried to German Suplex Nomura but Endo cut him off with the Springboard Overhead Kick. Nomura then tried to German Suplex Sekimoto but Brookes cut him off with a Diving Foot Stomp. Endo had to wipe out Brookes with the Sasuke Special so Nomura could hit the Dragon Suplex on Sekimoto to win the tournment!
Best Bout
1. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Michael Elgin (Big Japan, 24th August)
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs HARASHIMA (DDT, 3rd November)
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Yuko Miyamoto (Big Japan, 4th November)
4. Daisuke Sekimoto & Walter Vs Yuji Okabayashi & Yuji Hino (Big Japan, 4th November)
5. Jun Kasai Vs Toru Sugiura (FREEDOMS, 1st October)
Best Unit
1. #STRONGHEARTS
2. Kobayashi-gun
3. DAMNATION
4. Yuji Okabayashi & Shigehiro Irie
5. Sento Minzoku
Best Box Office
Tied 1. DDT at Sumo Hall, 3rd November & Big Japan at Sumo Hall, 4th November
3. Muscle at Sumo Hall, 16th February
4. Shin Nemuro Pro Wrestling at Shin-Kiba 1st RING, 13th October
5. Michinoku Pro at Shinjuku FACE, 27th November
Best Newcomer
1. Keigo Nakamura
2. Toshiyuki Sakuda
3. Maku Donaruto
4. Chris Brookes
5. Asuka
BASARA “BASARA 90 ~FEAST~”, 26/02/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Ryuichi Sekine Vs Masato Kamino
2. FUMA, SAGAT & Trans-Am ★ Ryuji Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano
3. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. Aiseki Tag Vs Stretchmen!: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka Vs Best Stretchman V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon
5. Yusuke Kubo Vs Jun Masaoka
6. Sparky Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ryota Nakatsu, Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizara Vs Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
This is the last BASARA show currently on schedule before their Korakuen Hall return on 21st March.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SPRING TOUR ’19 ~ READY SET, GO!”, 02/03/2019 Osaka Okinawa Hall
1. Rika Tatsumi Vs Himawari Unagi
2. Maki Itoh & Raku Vs Marika Kobashi & Mina Shirakawa
3. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Yuna Manase & Yuki Kamifuku
4. Shoko Nakajima, Haruna Neko & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Natsumi Maki, Pinano Pipipipi & Pom Harajuku
5. Mizuki Vs YUMI
6. Miyu Yamashita & Hikari Noa Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Miu Watanabe
No sign of Sakisama or the former Hyper Misao anywhere since Masao’s unexpected actions over the weekend. She has abandoned her entire persona to join Sakisama’s side and become stronger.
DDT “OSAKA 24 DISTRICT TOUR ~TAISHO WARD~”, 02/03/2019 Osaka Okinawa Hall
1. Bull James Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
2. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Okuda, Kota Umeda & Shunma Katsumata
4. Gongitsune Vs Yellow Devil In Tokushima!: Antonio Honda Vs Maku Donaruto
5. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs MAO, Asuka & Mizuki Watase
6. Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
7. As Always I Like It! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: Mike Bailey Vs Daisuke Sasaki
Former NXT wrestler Bull James will be touring with DDT throughout March. He’s been busy wrestling in the New York indy scene over the last few years.
DDT “THREE DREAMS 2019”, 03/03/2019 Hiroshima Aster Plaza Multipurpose Hall
1. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Rey Paloma Vs Asuka, Kenshin Chikano & Lowther
2. HARASHIMA & Takeshi Okada Vs Keisuke Okuda & Makoto Oishi
3. Raw Oysters, Grilled Oysters, Steamed Oysters 3 Way Match: Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Soma Takao Vs Akito
5. Hiroshima Specialty! Jingi Naki Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Bull James
The three Right To Challenge Gauntlets are now in effect. Tetsuya Endo, Makoto Oishi and Yuki Iino currently possess them.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2019”, 21/03/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Yeno Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako & Chihiro Hashimoto
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao
4. DDT Extreme Title – #ExtremeRuleThoughts: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Muscle Sakai
The DDT fans have been asked to tweet ideas for rules and match stipulations for the DDT Extreme Title bout between HARASHIMA and Muscle Sakai under the hashtag #エクストリームのルール考えました. HARASHIMA will pick his favourite idea on 11th March. Sakai apologises for the current state of the pro wrestling world because a man like him can qualify for a championship match without having any skills or previous achievements. But when he watched HARASHIMA wrestle Shinya Aoki in Sumo Hall he was inspired by what he saw and became determined to challenge the winner no matter what.
Daisuke Sasaki is falling down the well and falling hard since he lost the KO-D Openweight Title. He just lost a match clean to Makoto Oishi for cripes’ sake! He is now so down in the dumps that he believes his wrestling career is coming to an end and he will have no choice but to leave Japan in shame. But before he goes he wants to make some final happy memories to keep him company so he and Soma Takao are challenging The Moonlight Express for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.
The Sendai Girls are coming back for a shot at redemption and also the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. They failed to beat ALL OUT for the belts last July and the result has been festering inside Meiko Satomura all this time. She wants to take out her frustration on Konosuke Takeshita most of all. DASH Chisako is along for the ride again but this time the third member of the team is Chihiro Hashimoto! She too is holding a grudge with Takeshita because an enemy of Satomura is an enemy of hers too!
Speaking of redemption, finally Gota Ihashi will face Riki Choshu again inside the ring! For over a year Ihashi has worked tirelessly on his fitness and his pro wrestling to make up for an embarrassing performance he had while teaming with the legendary Choshu. All his hard work is leading up to this match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GIRLS SHINING, I WILL FLY TO HAKATA”, 31/03/2019 Hakata Star Lanes
1. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
Yuka Sakazaki has been chosen by Miyu Yamashita to be her next challenger for the TOKYO Princess Title. Yamashita’s goal is to get at least 10 title defences in her current reign. She is currently on 8. She also wants this match to happen before Sakazaki travels to America for her AEW debut.
Aja Kong, Mika Iwata and Rina Shingaki will all be on the show.
DDT “GOODBYE HAKATA STAR LANES”, 31/03/2019 Hakata Star Lanes
1. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio
It’s about bloody time they’re doing this match! In January 2018, Jiro Kuroshio defeated Takeshita in a non-title match as part of the first D-Ou Grand Prix tournament. Normal wrestling etiquette suggests that a rematch with the KO-D Title on the line would come out of it. That never happened. Well a year has passed, Takeshita is the champion again and now the match is happening as part of Takeshita’s plan to defend the KO-D Title against a wider variety of wrestlers. But there is something that could happen to make the match even more interesting. Kuroshio is challenging T-Hawk for the WRESTLE-1 Title on 21st March. If Kuroshio wins and becomes champion then the match with Takeshita may become a double title match!
Isami Kodaka and Takumi Tsukamoto will be on the show so BASARA can be a part of DDT’s final event in Hakata Star Lanes.
DDT “DDT IS COMING TO AMERICA”, 04/04/2019 La Boom, Queens, New York
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
2. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Joey Ryan & Royce Isaacs
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Saki Akai (c) Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko Vs Kikutaro Vs Colt Cabana Vs X
4. Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
5. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Akito & Ethan Page Vs Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid
6. Weapon Rumble In U.S.A.: MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi
7. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita
That’s an authentic looking DDT card for sure. The “JUDGEMENT 2019” main event rematch, the Weapon Rumble rematch, Tokyo Joshi Pro representation, a Rumble for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and Danshoku Dieno crosses paths with Joey Ryan again. There’s even a RENEGADES reunion with Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid. The North American talent announced so far have all been established in DDT too.
DDT “SHUTEN-DOJI 5TH ANNIVERSARY ~DRINKING TURNS YOUR LIFE AROUND~”, 17/04/2019 Shinjuku FACE
1. KUDO & HARASHIMA Vs MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba
2. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The Shuten-dōji unit will be taking a break from each other after this show. KUDO is taking an indefinite leave of absence from pro wrestling so he can recover from a list of different injuries he’s been living with. He has nerve paralysis in his left eye, a lumbar hernia and suffers from dizziness from time to time. His doctor told him the best treatment is to take rest. KUDO promises he will return to the ring eventually and even apologises if this only turns out to be a short break and he quickly returns.
With KUDO out of action, the rest of Shuten-dōji agreed to call it a day as a group. Yukio Sakaguchi and Masahiro Takanashi will be going their separate ways as wrestlers. They will face each other one on one to celebrate the end of Shuten-dōji for now. KUDO meanwhile will team with his old partner HARASHIMA to take on the reunited Suicide Boyz for this special occasion. This will be MIKAMI’s first match for DDT in over three and a half years.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 4,177 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Sekine submitted Nakano with the Let’s Combine (6:14).
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe when Tenma pinned Noa with the Killswitch (11:49).
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey defeated Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura when Ueno pinned Yoshimura with a Frankensteiner (12:55).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Saki Akai defeated Asuka (c), Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi, Keisuke Okuda, Kazuki Hirata, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Hoshitango, Gota Ihashi, Yuni, Yasu Urano, El Lindaman, Scorpio X2, Yuka Sakazaki, Mina Shirakawa, Chinsuke Nakamura and Maku Donaruto (20:23).
2a. Makoto Oishi eliminated Yuri with a Hurricanrana Cutback (2:14).
2b. Hoshitango eliminated Gota Ihashi and Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a Body Press (3:28).
2c. Makoto Oishi eliminated Super Sasadango Machine by Ring Out (4:25).
2d. El Lindaman eliminated Hoshitango by Ring Out (5:18).
2e. Everyone eliminated Scorpio X2 by Ring Out (5:25).
2f. Makoto Oishi eliminated Keisuke Okuda by Ring Out (6:40).
2g. Maku Donaruto eliminated Makoto Oishi with the McShake Bomb (10:17).
2h. Yasu Urano eliminated Maku Donaruto and Gorgeous Matsuno by Ring Out (12:00).
2i. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Mina Shirakawa with the Koromogawa (12:52).
2j. Chinsuke Nakamura eliminated El Lindaman by Ring Out (14:51).
2k. Asuka (c) eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (15:39). *V? for Asuka.
2l. Asuka (c) eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura with a School Boy (18:82). *V? for Asuka.
2m. Saki Akai eliminated Yuka Sakazaki by Ring Out (19:03).
2n. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Asuka (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (19:30). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,349th champion.
2o. Saki Akai eliminated Kazki Hirata (c) with the Quetzalcoatl (20:23). *Saki Akai becomes the 1,350th champion.
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino when Higuchi pinned Iino with the Doctor Bomb (13:09).
4. Special Single Match: T-Hawk defeated Akito with the Night Ride (13:50).
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO when Ishii pinned Pokotan with the igh Angle Double Arm DDT (11:28).
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito when Takao pinned Takagi with the Diving Foot Stomp from the Ladder (19:54).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi and CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka when MAO pinned Takanashi with the Cannonball 450 (13:06). *V3 for The Moonlight Express.
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: HARASHIMA defeated Shinya Aoki (c) with the Somato (12:11). *Shinya Aoki fails in V2. HARASHIMA becomes the 43rd DDT Extreme Champion!
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion (18:08).
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) with the Cross-Arm German Suplex (32:08). *Daisuke Sasaki fails in V2. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 69th KO-D Openweight Champion!
Konosuke Takeshita has completed his comeback to the top of DDT! He survived the Super Elbow Drop, a Spear through a table, a Canadian Destroyer and several attempts at chair attacks to beat Daisuke Sasaki and become the new KO-D Openweight Champion. Victory was in Takeshita’s sight when he prevented Sasaki from doing an Avalanche Pedigree. Instead it was turned into the Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! But the top turnbuckle was removed earlier in the match so instead of landing on that, Sasaki instead fell even further and took the impact on the ring canvas! Takeshita followed it up with the Fable but Sasaki still tried to get back up. Sasaki was finished off with the Cross-Arm German Suplex, ending his title reign.
When DAMNATION took Sasaki back to the locker room, Takeshita rubbed it in by pointing out how fast Sasaki was leaving after being defeated. It was a year ago when Takeshita last headlined Sumo Hall. Since then he’s suffered injuries and had what he considers some of the most disappointing moments in his career. But with the support of ALL OUT he was confident he would become the KO-D Champion again. He received 2,000,000 yen in prize money today and will use some of that to pay off the bill DAMNATION left at his mother’s restaurant. As champion Takeshita now wants to have more defences take place outside Tokyo so the fans who cannot go to Korakuen Hall will get to see such matches in their own towns. He also wants to defend the title against wrestlers from all over the wrestling scene. That is how he will make the KO-D Title become more valuable.
Tetsuya Endo and Naomichi Marufuji took part in a battle of wills and Thrust Kicks. Marufuji was able to get one step ahead when Endo missed a Shooting Star Press. Endo landed on his feet but Marufuji’s dodge put him in perfect position to hit the Ko-oh knee kick. Endo thought he stunned Marufuji with a Thrust Kick but Marufuji responded with his around the back Thrust Kick then hit another Ko-oh this time to the back of Endo’s head. From there Marufuji hit the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion to win the match. Marufuji applauded Endo after the match. In the backstage interview, Marufuji joked that the results means Endo has to go to NOAH. But seriously, Marufuji doesn’t understand why Endo isn’t a championship contender right now. Endo was a lot harder on himself and he called himself a loser. His entire career from his debut to teaming with Takeshita to joining DAMNATION was all leading up to this match and he lost.
Pride and the DDT Extreme Title were both on the line when Shinya Aoki and HARASHIMA had a rematch of their October meeting. HARASHIMA was in trouble early thanks to Aoki’s ground game. When a rope break was called for Aoki reaching over while in HARASHIMA’s Cross Armbreaker that was when everyone realised the match was held under normal wrestling moves. Aoki never explained it to anyone beforehand. That was when HARASHIMA got into his groove despite being on defence against Aoki’s submission holds. He countered a Front Neck Lock into a Falcon Arrow only for Aoki to apply a Cross Armbreaker. But when Aoki went for a Back Drop, HARASHIMA countered it into a Piledriver and then hit the Somato to win the title! Aoki was in good spirits after the match despite losing. He gave the new champion a fist bump with a smile.
Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring and congratulated HARASHIMA. He asked for a title match but Hisaya Imabayashi refused to grant it. Sasadango’s PowerPoint presentations are usually longer than his matches so he does not deserve a shot. After hearing this, Sasadango took off his mask and said that Muscle Sakai was now asking for a title match! Sakai successfully promoted a Muscle show in Sumo Hall yesterday and he thinks that is more than enough to earn a championship match. Tetsuya Koda pushed Imabayashi away and granted Sakai’s request. HARASHIMA Vs Sakai for the Extreme Title will take place on 21st March at Korakuen.
The 3 Way Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles saw The Moonlight Express go against teams representing Shuten-dōji and #STRONGHEARTS. A Michinoku Tornado Driver from the champions got rid of CIMA but Shuten-dōji were there to stop the pin. Yukio Sakaguchi took out Seiki Yoshioka with the God’s Right Knee but he too was put to the side. MAO used a Screw Kick to cut off Masahiro Takanashi’s Takatonic to Mike Bailey. From there the Express kept Takanashi down with the Ultima Weapon and then the Cannonball 450. With a third defence completed, the Express now want to defend the KO-D Tag Titles against foreign teams in countries like Germany and England.
DAMNATION’s only high point on the show came from the Hardcore 6-Man Tag. Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha spoiled the reunion of Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito in the craziest looking match of the night. Yes even crazier than the Battle Royal. This one had Takagi’s entire body painted to look like a Gundam for instance. Plastic boxes were smashed to pieces, Ito brought out a barbed wire baseball bat, Iroha used a Marvelous flag to defend herself, Nagayo’s team applied a trio of Scorpion Deathlocks, Paulie was put through a table and the Dream Go fell to its demise once again. Takao won the match for DAMNATION when he placed chairs on top of Takagi and hit a Double Foot Stomp from the top of a ladder. Takao isn’t satisfied with the win though.
Nagayo told Takao he should be persistent like she is. She also praised Iroha for how painful her kicks felt. Her wish after today is to see Takao carry DDT and Iroha carry Marvelous. Nagayo then held hands with Mad Paulie which sparked Takao to swear he will take over DDT so he can take Paulie back from Nagayo!
There were concerns that the Pokotan costume would not be finished before the show took place. I don’t know how he did it but Danshoku Dieno’s creation was completed and ready to go on the day. Pokotan has hidden feature where it pulls up part of its costume to reveal Danshoku underwear! That means it is able to do the Danshoku Nightmare. It did pretty well in the ring, doing a Flying Cross Body and a Shining Wizard. But it all went to Hell when Keisuke Ishii knocked Pokotan’s head off with the Kneel Kick, revealing it was Makoto Oishi wearing the costume. Ishii then hit the High Angle Double Arm DDT to win for his team.
Hisaya Imabayashi was beside himself after the match. He wanted to see Pokotan, not some forty year old man beneath the costume! Dieno promised there will be a change and somebody more suitable will be used to make Pokotan come to life. Oishi put Pokotan’s head back on and Pokotan told everyone (through Dieno’s voice) he will try his best next time so please support him.
#STRONGHEARTS finally have their win over Akito and it is all thanks to T-Hawk. His Chops were an effective way to break out of Akito’s Figure 4 Leg Lock. When T-Hawk gained control of the match he had Akito beaten with the BT Bomb followed by the Night Ride. Akito offered a handshake after the match but T-Hawk rejected him.
Yukio Naya’s first match in Sumo Hall was a successful one. He was on the winning side with Go Shiozaki & Kazusada Higuchi against Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino in a bout that was filled with big lads Chopping and Lariating each other. Iino took the brunt of the offence at the end. Naya gave him a Choke Slam and Higuchi followed with a Diving Body Press but Iino kicked out. Higuchi then put him away with the Doctor Bomb.
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title looked like it was staying with Asuka during the Battle Royal. She eliminated Yasu Urano and Chinsuke Nakamura from the match then made it to the final three with Kazuki Hirata and Saki Akai. Asuka’s momentum was cut short when Hirata pinned her with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the title. Asuka got revenge by Choke Slamming Hirata afterwards. Hirata almost escaped with the win when he used the Miracle One Shot Cradle on Saki Akai. But Akai kicked out and gave Hirata her new finisher the Quetzalcoatl to become Iron Man Champion for the 9th time. Other things of note were Yuka Sakazaki hoping to win so she could bring the belt with her to America, Hirata having not one but two group dance spots, Maku Donaruto being… well, Maku Donaruto and Sasadango Machine using his PowerPoint Presentation to reflect on yesterday’s “MUSCLE MANIA” show. Apparently he did a lot of things without getting permission.
The main show kicked off with the return of Shunma Katsumata. He has a new wild looking appearance that includes facepaint surrounding the part of his orbital area that was injured. He gelled well with his new ALL OUT teammate Space Monkey. He never wrestled with a monkey before. Together they did a Buzzsaw Kick/Tail Whip combo. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid fought back with Bionic Elbows while Naomi Yoshimura took care of Yuki Ueno. He couldn’t hit the Throwaway Power Bomb then got rolled up in a Frankensteiner by Ueno for the surprise three count.
Ueno got Yoshimura’s attention again after the match. He wondered why was Yoshimura ignoring his request to team with him? Ueno asked him one more time. Yoshimura smiled and shook Ueno’s hand. He’s in! He might also be joining DISASTER BOX too because of this. Ueno wants to change his costume to something as bright as Yoshimura’s orange hair.
In the Tokyo Joshi Pro pre-show match, Nodoka Tenma continues to build up momentum for her TOKYO Princess Title Match next week. She won the match for her team by pinning Hikari Noa with the Killswitch.
Sento Minzoku were victorious in the BASARA pre-show match. Ryuichi Sekine made Takato Nakano tap out while Daiki Shimomura wiped out Masato Kamino with a Plancha.
A special 6-Man Tag Match was announced for the 21st March show. Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi is the match. It will be the first time Choshu and Ihashi will be in the same ring since their infamous trios match from January 2018 when Choshu straight up said Ihashi should not be a pro wrestler.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
The first pre-show match will begin at around 12:10pm JST/3:10am GMT. The main show begins at 1:00pm JST/4:00am GMT. For America that means the show begins at 11:00pm EST/8:00pm PST on Saturday.
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Hey there. Back again to see what DDT is up to at Sumo Hall this time? Cool. The time between Ryogoku visits has been short for this one. Usually DDT books the venue every six or seven months. “JUDGEMENT 2019” is taking place only four months after “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” so it kind of feels like this weekend has snuck up on me. As I’ve written in a previous blog post I see this period of the entire wrestling scene as the final chapter of this current era. You can thank Kenny and his buddies for some of the reasons why. The landscape is changing, DDT is establishing new relationships around the world and there’s bound to be more surprising twists to come in the future.
But let’s not worry any further about that stuff. Ryogoku is set for a double header weekend from the DDT family. On Saturday the Muscle brand is back from the dead. What it has come back to do exactly I have no idea. Then on Sunday DDT is bringing together a packed card of matches that only they can provide.
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
One of the big movements happening in BASARA lately is several wrestlers banding together to form the Sento Minzoku unit. Formed by Isami Kodaka and taking inspiration from Dragon Ball Z, each member has grown a monkey’s tail to represent their power. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura are the two guys from BASARA’s main roster to join Kodaka and Minoru Fujita in the group. Facing them are the two freshest faces on the BASARA roster Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino. Nakano has mostly been improving his skills while staying out of trouble. Kamino joined BASARA in December after DNA closed down. Injuries kept him out of action for almost the entirety of DNA’s run so his jump to BASARA so his career has more or less started all over again.
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe
Some new girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro get to wrestle in Sumo Hall for the first time. Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma and Natsumi Maki have wrestled there before. Manase and Tenma were there for a Battle Royal during “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. Maki wrestled there for All Japan’s 45th Anniversary show only one week later. Yuki Aino, Hikari Noa and Miu Watanabe however are all wrestling their first Ryogoku match.
Manase has quietly been one of the more protected wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, regularly winning her matches with the Neck Screw Hold. Nodoka Tenma is weeks away from challenging for the TOKYO Princess Title and has a recent pinfall win over the champion Miyu Yamashita. Aino is there supporting her sister as always. Over on the other side Noa and Watanabe have shown the most progression out of the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) unit. Their recent name and costume changes have allowed them to express their personalities more. Watanabe has added a Laser Beam baseball swing into her chops while Noa has become more enthusiastic in the ring. She took the most out of the opportunity to train with Shinjiro Otani when the Up Up Girls visited the ZERO1 dojo in December. Noa also happens to be wrestling the day before her 21st birthday. Last but certainly not least there is Maki. Her arrival in Tokyo Joshi was surrounded in controversy thanks to a burned bridge with Yumiko Hotta and Actwres girl’Z. But once she started wrestling it became clear that she has moved on. Maki has yet to be pinned or submitted in Tokyo Joshi and she currently finds herself in a feud with Maki Ito over who is cuter. The match hasn’t happened yet but if Hotta is still pissed off with Maki she might spoil the result of that too.
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
A right orbital and cheek bone fracture has kept Shunma Katsumata out of action for almost three months. When he went under surgery in December his goal was to come back in February and here he is. While he was gone ALL OUT went out of this world to find a new member. They found one with Space Monkey who has been winning everyone in DDT over with his antics, bananas and all. Yuki Ueno has been stepping his game up as a member of DISASTER BOX. He’s also been scouting one of his opponents here in the hopes of forming a new tag team. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid are already teaming together as Gon Gift so that leaves Naomi Yoshimura. When he unexpectedly returned to DDT in December he was aiming straight for the top and gunning after the championship. In a scary moment right near the end of 2018, Yoshimura took a Pedigree wrong and was left needing medical attention inside the ring. He ended up getting a cervical sprain and made a full recovery, returning to the ring two months later. With his chance at the main event now far away from his reach he is beginning the climb all over again. Maybe Ueno’s idea for them to team up will get him back on track. Or how about Power Bombing him instead? Yoshimura usually likes to do that given their history together.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
DDT has spent the last few months searching for fresh blood and obscure talent from across Japan to diversify their roster. Heading the pack is Asuka. No not the one who hasn’t been booked on TV since the Royal Rumble despite being a champion and tapping out the current big star of the company. I mean the one that’s been blazing through the puroresu scene over the last twelve months as “Japan’s First Genderless Wrestler”. When Asuka left WAVE to go freelance, DDT jumped at the chance to bring her back and promote her as a next generation star. Since then Asuka has won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and became so attached to it she now calls it her boyfriend. So far the relationship has worked out better than the last one she had in DDT, even though it’s made her a target for jealous eyes down in Roppongi.
(Sidenote: Most English speaking fans write down ASUKA in all caps to differentiate her from the other Asuka. Out of preference I only do this when the wrestler also spells their name in all caps. Asuka’s name in Japanese is written as 朱崇花 so that’s why I prefer writing it in the lower case).
There is a full field of different faces out to take the title from Asuka. Saki Akai has a new finishing move inspired from her current role in the Fate/Grand Order stage play. The move is called Quetzalcoatl and it is a Twisting Crucifix Bomb similar to Kaji Tomato’s Red Eye finisher. Keisuke Okuda has been settling into DDT by fighting at an outdoor sauna and hate-teaming with Makoto Oishi. Who knows what Super Sasadango Machine will be up to the day after his latest Muscle show takes place. OWE is represented by both El Lindaman and Scorpio X2. Tokyo Joshi are sending in Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa. Sakazaki in particular will have a lot of eyes on her after it was announced she will be appearing at All Elite Wrestling soon. Chinsuke Nakamura will no doubt be all up to date on whatever his inspiration is currently doing. And then there’s the rest of the usual low card DDT roster. That’s it. Nobody else. I’m not missing anybody…
… Sigh… Okay there’s one more. You know who I’m talking about. Behold the Twitch chat come to life, the one creation that makes Arby “The Meathead” McDonald look pure and wholesome, he’s ruined seven Valentine’s Days but saved two, it’s Maku Donaruto! This walking cease and desist waiting to happen was found in UDON Pro Wrestling and made an impression on DDT management. However his lewd wrestling style and obscene personality is making DDT a little unsure how often they want to continue booking him after Sumo Hall. A lot? A little? A seven match series with Kazuki Hirata? Here’s his biggest chance to leave an impression on everyone.
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
Let’s move on to some history, some legacy that is attached to Sumo Hall. Yukio Naya is only around a year into his wrestling career. He is getting attention because his late grandfather was a legendary sumo wrestler named Taiho Koki. Naya’s grandfather was one of the youngest wrestlers to become a yokozuna and he also earned many accomplishments throughout his distinguished career. Naya has said he is proud to wrestle in the same building where his grandfather achieved much of his success. Teaming with him is DDT’s sumo turned pro Kazusada Higuchi as well as D-Ou Grand Prix finalist Go Shiozaki. Facing them are a trio of big beefy boys! Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi and Yuki Iino are the opposition in a match that I bet will have many, many chops. And probably a Haka dance from Iino too.
4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk
The #STRONGHEARTS love to cause some commotion wherever they go but what do they do when somebody successfully stands up to them? During their feud with ALL OUT, they were able to get pinfall wins over every member except one. The one guy they haven’t been able to beat is Akito. In order to right this wrong T-Hawk is set to face Akito one on one. As the current WRESTLE-1 Champion, T-Hawk feels on top of the world. It would be nice to see Akito pull him down. Akito is confident wrestling on his own and is convinced that T-Hawk hasn’t watched any of his singles matches. Akito has a reason of his own to win other than keeping #STRONGHEARTS at bay again. He is looking into the idea of wrestling in other companies on behalf of DDT. A win over the WRESTLE-1 Champion can open some doors for him.
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
You know what’s big these days? Mascots. Put somebody in a big wacky costume, make them do stupid shit, put it online and watch those social media numbers shoot up. Most likely inspired by the popularity of such characters like Chiitan, Nyango Star and you can also include Andreza Giant Panda in that list, Danshoku Dieno now wants a piece of the pie. So he has created his own mascot and went through several names before picking something suitable for everyone. Or at least I assume it’s suitable. It’s probably not but whatever. Anyway the mascot is called Pokotan and it looks like a seal. Dieno himself was planning to be under the costume during the build up to the show. Unfortunately the costume has not been finished as of a week ago. Dieno only has the head ready and he is very upset over it. Will Pokotan be complete in time for his grand reveal?
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
Around 14 years ago Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito teamed up for a 1,000m Barbed Wire And 100 Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match in Differ Ariake. They’re back together again to fight DAMNATION! Nagayo’s involvement in the show was already announced when the story of her saving a woman from an assault made the news in November so yay good publicity! What’s even more interesting is Nagayo’s protege Takumi Iroha is against her on the DAMNATION side. Since she is the Ikemen Joshi she might be there to take up the handsome looking role in the trio. Then again Mad Paulie is still on the team so that’s probably not the reason. Iroha is thrilled to face her mentor but is a little nervous that it’s in a Hardcore Match.
On a more serious note, Soma Takao is going into this match holding a grudge. For weeks leading into the show, Takagi has been poking Takao and questioning the current state of his career. Years ago Takao had the potential to become one of DDT’s best and yet he has never really attempted to take the torch. Maybe he’s gotten too comfortable being the mid-level guy in DAMNATION. Takagi wants to light a fire under Takao and see if he has any real ambition. Takao acts like he is angry at the world and everything around it. Now is his time to prove it.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
#STRONGHEARTS have a reason for sticking around in DDT despite losing their feud to ALL OUT. After they lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, CIMA and his crew admitted defeat and wanted to head home to the OWE headquarters in Shanghai. OWE told them not to come back until they get revenge on DDT. The best way to do that is to win one of the DDT championships again. This time CIMA is setting his sights on the KO-D Tag Team Titles and he is bringing along one of his newer partners Seiki Yoshioka to get them.
They aren’t the only ones who want the belts. Shuten-dōji challenged for the belts before #STRONGHEARTS did. The solution was to give both of them a shot in a 3 Way Match. Yukio Sakaguchi doesn’t care as long as he fights somebody strong (and El Lindaman provoking him with spitting and insults only resulted in Sakaguchi kicking him half to death). Masahiro Takanashi is interested though since he’s been able to cross paths with CIMA again. The two are linked through the Toryumon system but split off into two completely different paths. Takanashi wants to show CIMA that his unpolished way of wrestling is just as effective as CIMA’s state of the art abilities.
The scenario leaves the champions looking like a third wheel. But maybe that gives The Moonlight Express the advantage. MAO & Mike Bailey are currently ruling the tag team divisions in DDT and K-DOJO, holding both the KO-D Tag Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles. MAO is as comfortable as ever in chaotic situations and Bailey always looks happy to go along for the ride, the crazier the better. MAO also feels the need to beat Shuten-dōji because they have beaten him so many times back when he was a part of NωA. He wants to move on from that part of his life but can’t if Shuten-dōji beats him again. The 3 Way stipulation being used is only one fall so a title change can happen without the Express being directly involved.
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
The rematch for the DDT Extreme Title sees HARASHIMA trying to win the belt back from Shinya Aoki. During his brief time in DDT, Aoki has defended the title in a Boxing Glove match and also got challenged into a fight at an outdoor sauna. This is what bad financial decisions can do to some people. But at least Aoki still has his pride. HARASHIMA has pride too so the two of them agreed to let their prides bring the best out of both of them. So that’s it. Nothing complicated, just a battle to see who is the best. Unless DDT decides to pipe in the Pride FC music during the match as a joke there isn’t much else that needs explaining. Well there is that one thing where HARASHIMA isn’t entirely sure what the exact ruleset for the match is. Aoki just keeps talking about pride and he hasn’t been the best at understanding the general pro wrestling rules. Is there even a three count?
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
Here we go! DDT usually has a dream match saved for Sumo Hall and they picked a good one this time round. Naomichi Marufuji returns to DDT and Tetsuya Endo is there waiting for him. You’d think Endo would see this as an opportunity to make a huge statement to the wrestling world but he’s a little distracted by his diet. No matter where he is or what he is doing Endo has been eating his handmade meals and drinking his protein shakes on a very strict timetable. This has interrupted several press conferences that were meant to promote this match. Marufuji doesn’t mind. There’s no bad blood between the two and Marufuji is looking forward to discovering Endo’s current potential. The match is also happening so soon after Marufuji’s return from injury so he gets to figure out what his own condition is like. We should get a nice, clean and competitive match out of this right. I mean it’s Marufuji in a DDT dream match. Nothing has ever gone wrong in a situation like that before. Right, Kenny?
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
After vanquishing Dieno at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” in October, Daisuke Sasaki is headlining Sumo Hall for the second time in a row. This time he is going in as the KO-D Openweight Champion rather than the challenger. That role goes to Konosuke Takeshita for winning the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix. In the build up to the match something strange happened. Sasaki started acting friendly, wrestled clean and prohibited the other DAMNATION wrestlers from cheating. He even shook his opponent’s hand after matches. Takeshita wasn’t convinced by this new attitude at first but Sasaki behaved for long enough that Takeshita eventually bought into it. Of course it was at this point when Sasaki could not resist temptation any longer and went back to his usual dirty tactics.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI X BELLE EPOQUE BEAUTY COLLEGE BOX OFFICE – I WANT TO BECOME BEAUTIFUL, I WANT TO BE POPULAR”, 19/01/2019 Tokyo Belle Epoque Beauty College Event Hall
1. Maki Ito Vs Pom Harajuku
2. 3 Way Match: Nodoka Tenma Vs Pinano Pipipipi Vs Haruna Neko
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Himawari Unagi
4. Shoko Nakajima & Mina Shirakawa Vs Natsumi Maki & Hikari Noa
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Yuki Aino Vs Reika Saiki & Marika Kobashi
6. Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe & Raku Vs Mizuki, Yuna Manase & YUMI
This is the Tokyo Joshi Pro show held in conjunction with a beauty school.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IF…2019”, 26/01/2019 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Shuhei Washida 1st Anniversary, Show It! The Meaning Of Growing Out!: Takashi Okada & Shuhei Washida Vs Hiroshi Yamato & Mitomi Masayuki
2. Iwasaki, Learn From The Master Of The Momota Family: Ken Ohka, Nobuhiro Tsurumaki & Naoshi Sano Vs Mitsuo Momota, Chikara & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Bathe In The End Of Mr. Wrestling! Women’s Obsession!: Moeka Haruhi Vs Minoru Fujita
4. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku In Itabashi ~ Texas Tornado Singapore Cane 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Baliyan Akki Vs Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Shota
Isami Kodaka makes his first appearance in Ganbare☆Wrestling for the Sento Minzoku feud! The Ganpro team were victorious in the previous Singapore Cane match against the invaders so they’re bringing the match back with more wrestlers involved this time.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2019”, 27/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid Vs Akito & Space Monkey
2. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Ueno
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Chinsuke Nakamura (c) Vs Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Iino Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Kikutaro
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – Final Match: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kota Umeda
5. Heisei’s Last Grudge Match Check: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs El Lindaman
6. Special 3 Way Match: MAO Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA
7. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki
Takumi Iroha teams up with DAMNATION to prepare for their Hardcore Match at Sumo Hall next month.
DDT “ORETACHI, DDT! 2019”, 02/02/2019 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie
DAMNATION has a clean trios win over ALL OUT which qualifies them for a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles shot. Daisuke Sasaki made it his goal in 2019 to get everything he wants and that includes more championships. Taking the 6-Man Tag Titles from Konosuke Takeshita will be a big momentum shaker for their Sumo Hall match too.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
0. Under Match: X Vs X
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: X Vs X
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Chinsuke Nakamura (c) Vs Yasu Urano Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Yuni Vs X
3. Danshoku Dieno Produce OsuMAN Dankon Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, OsuMAN Dankon & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
4. Akito Vs T-Hawk
5. Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
9. DDT Extreme Title – ??? Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
More #STRONGHEARTS participation has been added with T-Hawk facing Akito one on one. Akito has been a thorn in #STRONGHEARTS’s side that they haven’t been able to get rid of during their time in DDT.
Maku Donaruto will be on the show but it hasn’t been decided which match he will be in yet. The obvious choice is the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title Battle Royal. The other idea I have is he’s a part of whatever OsuMAN Dankon is supposed to be.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike (8:12).
2. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango when Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee (7:49).
3. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Kuishinbo Kamen with the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow (16:57). Order Of Elimination: Sanshiro Takagi, Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed), Atsushi Maruyama, Makoto Oishi, Hen China and Kuishinbo Kamen.
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto defeated Kota Umeda with the Shining Wizard (11:50).
5. New Year! 3 Way Tag Ladder Match: MAO & Jun Kasai defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda and Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when MAO grabbed the Otoshidama (12:33).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION! ~ Lucha Libre Rules: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King when HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato (15:13).
7. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) defeated Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) by TKO with a Left Hook (R3 1:14). *V1 for Shinya Aoki.
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) when Takeshita pinned CIMA with the Fable (19:18). *#STRONGHEARTS fails in V1. ALL OUT becomes the 37th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
ALL OUT kicks off 2019 by winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from #STRONGHEARTS! The invading force led by CIMA has been a thorn in ALL OUT’s side for over three months. Today ALL OUT got their absolute victory over them. CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan were a handful at first and Akito took the brunt of the champion team’s offence. That was until Yuki Iino used his power to clear the ring, leading to CIMA facing off with Konosuke Takeshita once more. CIMA hit the Thrust Kick only for Takeshita to shake it off and Lariat him. Takeshita avoided the Schwein and stuck CIMA with his knee. Then the finish happened. Takeshita used the very move he was inspired to create after losing to CIMA at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Takeshita hit the Fable and pinned CIMA to win the titles for ALL OUT!
After the match Takeshita said that after he wins the KO-D Openweight Title he can take the challenge to defend it against CIMA, T-Hawk and Yingnan. CIMA mentioned that he’s been wrestling for the same number of years that Takeshita’s been alive. He accepts defeat for the entire unit today, not just in the main event but also from the opening match. #STRONGHEARTS are going to go have a meeting to figure out where to shake things up next in 2019. CIMA said his goodbyes and it seems that for now #STRONGHEARTS’s time with DDT has come to an end.
The show ended with the confirmed matches for “JUDGEMENT 2019” at Sumo Hall on 17th February. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Title is the main event. Also Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito will face Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha in a Hardcore Match! Sasaki and Takeshita faced off in the ring to close out the show.
A round system was added to the DDT Extreme Title match by Tanomusaku Toba’s request. The match could have lasted for 15 rounds of three minutes each but Shinya Aoki only needed three to knock Toba out. Apparently Hayato “Mach” Sakurai knew all of Aoki’s weak points but Toba was unable to hear his instructions during the match. HARASHIMA approached Aoki after the match to ask for a title rematch. Aoki agreed and it was decided it will take place at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. Aoki said he and HARASHIMA will show a strong side of DDT that only those two can do.
Puma King and Toru Owashi both asked for the 10-Man Tag Match between DAMNATION and DISASTER BOX to be held under Lucha Libre rules. All hell broke loose in the ring until HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato. Sasaki wore a Shuji Ishikawa shirt for the match and placed it in the middle of the ring when it was over. He invited Ishikawa down to the ring to give everyone the sad news. Since Ishikawa has now signed a contract with All Japan, Sasaki thinks that means he will also be leaving DAMNATION. Tetsuya Endo was asked to give his favourite memories with Ishikawa but he didn’t have any. Ishikawa walked away from the ring so upset that Mad Paulie followed to console him. Sasaki switched the subject to Puma King having his last match in DDT today. It is now time for DAMNATION to rebuild. Suddenly “Matsuken Samba” played and Paulie came out dancing. Ishikawa came back out wearing a DAMNATION shirt singing about how “Shu-chan” won’t quit DAMNATION! Sasaki hit him over the head with a microphone to make him stop. If Ishikawa isn’t quitting then that means “DAMNATION, Forever!”
The new year tradition of otoshidama (an envelope filled with gift money) hung above Korakuen Hall for the 3 Way Tag Ladder match. MAO gave Jun Kasai some bananas to get on his good side but Kasai rejected them because he is tired of eating them. Kasai put Kazusada Higuchi through a table with a Flying Body Press (doesn’t count as the Pearl Harbour Splash because he wasn’t wearing his goggles). MAO used the bananas to lure Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda into a ladder trap at the corner, incapacitating them. Mizuki Watase was knocked off the ladder onto a plastic box that Kasai placed below him. That allowed MAO to grab the otoshidama and win the match. MAO opened it up to see how much was inside and found only a single 500 yen coin. However, Hisaya Imabayashi then told MAO he could also make one wish. MAO asked for a Round One entertainment centre to be built in Aoyama. He was only joking. Instead MAO wishes to create his own kind of hardcore wrestling in DDT. MAO asked Kasai to help him. Kasai will but only on a bigger stage because DDT is too cheap to give them proper prize money. Kasai then kicked MAO and ran off with the 500 yen.
Kota Umeda continues to be winless in his trial series. Match 6 of 7 was against Daichi Hashimoto in a match dominated by kicks. Hashimoto did the deal with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. The Shining Wizard afterwards ended the match. Hashimoto said he had a lot of fun doing the the kicking duel with Umeda. With one match left in Umeda’s trial he found out who his opponent will be on 27th January. It’s Shuji Ishikawa! Umeda approached him for a handshake but instead slapped Ishikawa across the face. Ishikawa returned a slap of his own and left the ring.
DDT’s search for the next breakout comedy wrestler took place with Sanshiro Takagi and Makoto Oishi holding a Battle Royal. Hen China was the first entrant but he spent most of his time attaching glow sticks to the ring ropes death match style. Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) outwrestled Oishi with his dazzlingly flabby Tiger Mask style. Gorgeous Matsuno’s singing entrance was cut off by Kuishinbo Kamen reading his children’s picture book to the audience. The final entrant Atsushi Maruyama was annoyed that DDT booked him in this match instead of something major. Matsuno used Rocket Punches to eliminate the field until it was down to him and Kamen. The rest of the wrestlers stuck around to do comedy spots. They kept encouraging Matsuno to do the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow to Kamen over and over to make it look cool. It made Matsuno so tired that he had to crawl really slowly to cover Kamen. He still got the three count and everyone piled on top of him to celebrate his win.
Shuten-dōji were victorious over their ragtag collection of opponents in the 8-Man Tag Match. Yukio Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee.
The other #STRONGHEARTS defeat today came at the hands of Nobuhiro Shimatani of all people! He pinned El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike crucifix slam. Lindaman played a good sport after the match until he gave Shimatani a Low Blow and left the ring. That won’t upset Shimatani though. He’s starting off the year with a win. Everything’s coming up Nobu!
The show began with news that DDT has formed a partnership with the English promotion Fight Club: PRO. FCP co-owner Martin Zaki joined Takagi, MAO and Mike Bailey in the ring for the announcement. Takagi wants DDT to appeal across the world in 2019 so he’s joining in with the Japanese scene’s growing ventures to the UK. Both companies will be sending wrestlers back and forth to each other throughout the year. Zaki says this is a big opportunity to bring talent rich in personality, both male and female, over to the UK. It also gives British wrestlers the opportunity to learn both the spiritual and physical elements of pro wrestling in Japan. Maybe even a new style combining British and Japanese wrestling philosophies can be discovered through this.
Yukio Naya from Real Japan will compete at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. He is the grandson of the legendary sumo wrestler Taiho Koki. Naya has only been wrestling for over a year and says he will be honored to wrestle in Sumo Hall.
Danshoku Dieno’s newest creation OsuMAN Dankon is debuting at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I want to know what it is.
In Tokyo Joshi Pro news Natsumi Maki appeared on this show to confirm her debut with TJPW on tomorrow’s Korakuen show.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
3. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
5. New Year! 3 Way Tag Ladder Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
6. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
7. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai)
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
It is now confirmed that the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match is the main event for DDT’s first show of the year. #STRONGHEARTS defend against ALL OUT and there’s a few small stories to keep track of. CIMA wants Akito to take the fall so #STRONGHEARTS will have swept over the entire ALL OUT unit. CIMA is also encouraging Duan Yingnan to beat Konosuke Takeshita to raise the newcomer’s reputation. Takeshita is riding a wave of momentum by winning the D-Ou Grand Prix as well as the New Year Shuffle Tag Tournament. #STRONGHEART’s only defeat in DDT happened because of Akito and he’s the sole person in the company to claim a win over the invaders. Yuki Iino is eager to show what he learned teaming with Daisuke Sekimoto on the New Year’s Eve show.
The 3 Way Tag is now a Ladder match with an otoshidama gift envelope hanging above the ring for the wrestlers to fight over.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Millie McKenzie & X
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuna Manase Vs Veda Scott
3. Marika Kobashi Return Battle: Marika Kobashi, Mina Shirakawa, Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku Vs Raku, Hikari Noa, Pipipipi Pinano & Miu Watanabe
4. Unagi Himawari Debut Match: Saki Akai & YUMI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Unagi Himawari
5. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Itoh
For those attending this show, it will end at around 2:30pm so you’ll have plenty of time to get ready for the Tokyo Dome afterwards.
Will Miyu Yamashita’s curiosity about Maki Itoh’s abilities get in the way of her own performance? Two months ago she intentionally beat Itoh with a Crab Hold in order to see how Itoh would recover her momentum. A month later Itoh was able to pin Yamashita as part of a 2/3 Falls Tag Match so Itoh is capable of beating the champion even if it’s by fluke. Yamashita is certain they will have an interesting match together and wants to find out what version of Itoh shows up for the big main event. Itoh thinks this is the most special TOKYO Princess Title match ever. She knows that the fanbase are expecting her to lose but that only means they won’t see it coming when she wins! Itoh lost a lot and went through many twists and turns to get here. If she becomes champion, fans can look at her and think “Maybe I am a loser like Itoh, but I might be able to win like her too.”
The Magical Sugar Rabbits are determined to hold onto the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles because the championship is what makes their team. They will always be on good terms but should they lose the belts to the Twin Cam Monsters then it would greatly diminish their bond. The belts are what brought them together in the first place and they’re having too much fun together to let it fade away like that.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “IT’S A HAPPY STORY IN THE BEGINNING FOR WRESTLING IN THE NEW YEAR!”, 05/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
It’s the Raw After Mani-… The New Year’s D-… The Hangov-no wait they don’t drink… It’s the Tokyo Joshi Pro version of that show that takes place the day after the big event!
DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019”, 05/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito & Kota Umeda
2. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Jun Kasai & Antonio Honda Vs Sammy Guevara & Gota Ihashi
4. HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
5. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles & STRONGEST-K TAG Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (K/c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (S/c)
Shuji Ishikawa has signed a contract with All Japan which means he won’t be around for DAMNATION any more. Daisuke Sasaki tweeted that he now has to look for a new pet. Maybe Mad Paulie can cheer him up. Will Sasaki be in the right mindset for Takeshita at Sumo Hall next month? Was he even in the right mindset before?
BASARA “BASARA 85 ~SHUFFLE~”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Yasu Urano Vs Masato Kamino
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
3. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Jun Masaoka
4. Sento Minzoku Vs Best Stretchmen: Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man
5. Isami Kodaka Returns To War: Isami Kodaka Vs Naoki Tanizaki
6. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka (c) Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizara
On New Year’s Day, Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka successfully defended the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champions over at ZERO1. Since they are already scheduled to take on Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizara in a tag match, the Sparky members want the belts to be put on the line. The champions accepted the challenge and we now have a main event title match added to BASARA’s first event of 2019!
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI KORAKUEN HALL SPECIAL!!”, 28/10/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,106 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Unit Opposing 4 Way Match: Akito & Shunma Katsumata defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi and Antonio Honda & Kazusada Higuchi when Akito submitted Honda with the Scorpion Lock (8:13).
2. El Lindaman defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the German Suplex (7:00).
3. Loser Punishment Match: Makoto Oishi, Super Sasadango Machine & Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Yumehito Imanari & Michael Wolf when Oishi pinned Takagi with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (5:22).
4. Keisuke Ishii, MAO & Yuki Iino defeated Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Ueno when Ishii pinned Ueno with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (8:09).
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Joshi Battle Royal: Maki Itoh defeated Yuki Arai (c) (w/ Makoto Oishi) with a Crab Hold (11:39). Order Of Elimination: Yuki Kamifuku, Saki Akai, Mizuki, Cherry, Emi Sakura, Yuki Arai. *Maki Itoh becomes the 1,330th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Yuki Arai by Kickout (12:46 pm). *V1 for Maki Itoh.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie (c) when CIMA pinned Takao with the Mad Splash (13:09). *DAMNATION fails in V2. STRONG HEARTS becomes the 36th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. DDT Extreme Title – Wrestling Rules: Shinya Aoki defeated HARASHIMA (c) by TKO with a Triangle Choke (8:26). *HARASHIMA fails in V4. Shinya Aoki becomes the 42nd DDT Extreme Champion!
8. Special Tag Match: Naomichi Marufuji & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
Shortly before today came, news went around that this show was going to be the final episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI”. Rumour was the AbemaTV producers were not happy with Danshoku Dieno’s naked wrestling stunt in last week’s “RYOGOKU PETER PAN” main event which aired live on the service. Instead the story turned out to be rather different. A video was shown after the main event announcing a new monthly DDT series called “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER” beginning with the 3rd January Korakuen Hall show. AbemaTV assures everyone that DDT is not in trouble for what happened at Sumo Hall. Also Maji Manji Super is not going to be the monthly Korakuen shows. DDT is running Korakuen twice in January so they are able to dedicate the first of those shows to the new series. They will also sell every ticket for just 2,000 yen, which is the return of a marketing gimmick DDT used to do for their first show of the year.
The main event went the full twenty minutes as Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa fought to a draw against Naomichi Marufuji & Konosuke Takeshita. The end of Maji Manji meant one last table spot on the show which was done when Ishikawa gave Takeshita the Fire Thunder through a table at ringside. Marufuji took Ishikawa out with the Shiranui while Takeshita and Sasaki fought during the dying minutes of the match. Sasaki kicked out of a Lariat while Takeshita kicked out of the Hurricanrana. The two were trading Elbow Smashes when the bell rang and the match ended. Ishikawa wanted to end the show and the series with karaoke but Sasaki stopped him. They left to go sing karaoke on their own while Marufuji thanked Takeshita for the match. The fans then cheered Takeshita to sing karaoke. It was here when everyone got the news of Maji Manji Super to end the show.
The DDT Extreme Title match stayed mostly on the ground as the champion HARASHIMA wanted to out-grapple Shinya Aoki. A Piledriver had no effect on the challenger and Aoki avoided the Somato to lock in a Sleeper Hold. HARASHIMA shifted his position to apply a Cross Armbreaker but Aoki then trapped him in a Triangle Choke. HARASHIMA Power Bombed Aoki but the hold wouldn’t break. HARASHIMA lost consciousness and Aoki became the new Extreme Champion! HARASHIMA hesitated to shake Aoki’s hand after the match but eventually did so. Aoki then dedicated today’s victory to Kendo Kashin because this is the first championship a Hagure IGF fighter has won since its formation.
STRONG HEARTS are here to stay now that they’ve won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The match begun with CIMA and Soma Takao in the ring. Takao got “BIMA” chants from the crowd, referencing his CIMA tribute gimmick way back when he was in a college wrestling club. Takao tried to out-CIMA CIMA by hitting the Schwein and then trying to win with the Mad Splash. CIMA blocked the splash then hit his moves of doom. Venus, Iconoclasm then the original Mad Splash put Takao away and made STRONG HEARTS the new champions! CIMA said the result was obvious after he beat Takeshita in Sumo Hall. T-Hawk warned the rest of DDT that they will be waiting here forever. If that bothers them then step up and try to take the belts away! CIMA announced that the unit will be sticking around in DDT for November and will be here in full force. Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel are coming to DDT with STRONG HEARTS! CIMA also said he is waiting for Danshoku Dieno to come back and might invite Gorgeous Matsuno to join the unit in Dieno’s absence. One last thing, CIMA wants to defend the 6-Man Titles in China for OWE before their next DDT appearance!
Danshoku Dieno made his first public appearance since Sumo Hall but not in the way anyone expected. KUDO found Dieno wandering around with no memory of anything. Hisaya Imabayashi asked KUDO to pull down his pants because it might help Dieno regain his memory. Dieno was disgusted at the idea of somebody stripping naked in front of a big audience. Imabayashi thinks Dieno is in a deep state of shock after he was locked inside a casket at Sumo Hall. He is giving Dieno time to mentally recover. However, if Dieno finishes in the Dramatic General Election Top 20 then he must wrestle at the next Korakuen Hall show on 25th November, whether he has his memories back or not!
The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is no longer in the hands of SKE48 thanks to Maki Itoh. The previous champion Yuki Arai defended the title in an all joshi Battle Royal. When it came down to Arai and Itoh, Makoto Oishi got involved so Arai wouldn’t have to fight. However, Arai scolded Oishi because she wanted to wrestle and she gave him a Heel Kick. She did the same Heel Kick to Itoh but it was dodged. Itoh then put Arai in a Crab Hold to submit her and win the title. They shook hands after the match but Arai suddenly gave her a School Boy. Itoh kicked out then chased Arai out of the ring.
Since today was the final day of voting in the Dramatic Election, the wrestlers in the 6-Man Tag all wanted to impress their voters. Mizuki Watase is back to wrestling in his old gear and he is now dying his hair red. Keisuke Ishii picked up the win for his team.
Sanshiro Takagi had his body painted up to look like a pumpkin monster for Halloween. The AbemaTV audience voted for what punishment the loser of Match #3 would take. Each option involved a Muay Thai kickboxer. The fans chose the loser getting kicked in the ass with 79% of the vote. Oishi pinned Takagi and he took the punishment. Everyone then lost control of the kickboxer and he kicked all of them away from the ring.
Nobuhiro Shimatani and El Lindaman were both making fun of each other for being short so their heights were measured by the referee before their match. Lindaman is taller but Shimatani blamed Lindaman for using his hair to cheat. Lindaman ended up beating Shimatani while CIMA interacted with Mad Paulie outside the ring.
Daisuke Kiso wound up getting involved in the multi-man cascading leg split spot during the opener. At one point “Thriller” played and everyone did the zombie dance. Honda interrupted it to do his Gongitsune strikes to everybody. It didn’t work on Akito because he was wearing glasses. Akito was then able to put Honda in the Scorpion Lock to give ALL OUT the win. Akito describes today as the beginning of ALL OUT’s rebuilding process. They want to regain the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles.
The D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 blocks were announced. Block A consists of Daisuke Sasaki, HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi, Akito, MAO, Puma King and Go Shiozaki. Block B consists of Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao, Masahiro Takanashi, Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara and Shinya Aoki.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 