Dramatic DDT

DDT “MISSION IN BATTLE ~SHINSHUN KENRAN~”, 25/01/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Junta Miyawaki ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
2. Ryuma Tsukamoto, Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi defeated Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku, Yuni, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai when Sato pinned Masada with the PL (6:10).
3. Naomi Yoshimura & Kumadori defeated Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul when Yoshimura pinned Paul with the Harai-goshi (7:59).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Yoshihiko Return Match: Minoru Suzuki, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Dieno pinned Hirata with the Gaydo Clutch (0:06).
4a. Rematch: Minoru Suzuki, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Suzuki submitted Sasadango with an Arm Lock (0:05).
4b. Rematch: Minoru Suzuki, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Yoshihiko pinned Hirata with the Reincarnation (5:23).
5. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Jun Akiyama defeated HARASHIMA & To-y when Takeshita pinned To-y with the Wagamama (12:40).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & KANON (c) (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when KANON pinned Iino with the GURU-GURU Driver (15:35).
*V3 for STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION.
7. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title – Irregular 3 Way Match: Yuki Ueno (c/c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Chris Brookes
7a. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Ueno (c) and Chris Brookes when Sasaki submitted Brookes with the Crossface Lock (16:14).
*Yuki Ueno fails in V2. Daisuke Sasaki becomes the 20th DDT Universal Champion!
7b. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki and Chris Brookes when Ueno pinned Sasaki with the WR (10:05).
*V5 for Yuki Ueno.

Double the danger, double the fun. Yuki Ueno had two potential challengers gunning him down for his championships so he decided to put the DDT Universal Title and the KO-D Openweight Title on the line one at a time in an unusual main event. It was a 3 Way Match consisting of two falls. The first had Ueno defending the Universal Title. Daisuke Sasaki wanted to form an alliance with Chris Brookes but it was short lived. Ueno was still at a disadvantage because his injured left leg was targeted by both challengers. Sasaki also had DAMNATION T.A in his corner and despite the other’s attempts to wipe them all out, they became a key factor for how the first fall ended. Sasaki got Brookes trapped in the Crossface Lock and DAMNATION T.A all grabbed onto Ueno to stop him from breaking the hold. Brookes had no choice but to tap out and Sasaki became the new Universal Champion!

Sasaki wasted no time when the second fall began and the KO-D Title became up for grabs. He immediately Speared Ueno through the ropes to the floor then returned to the ring to put Brookes back into the Crossface Lock. Brookes was able to escape and wound up double teaming Ueno with Sasaki by giving the KO-D Champ the Doomsday Device/Double Impact. Ueno got Brookes into the Blackout Sleeper but Ilusion distracted the ref so Sasaki could break the hold with a chair. Ueno got his own back when he turned Sasaki’s standing Crossface attempt on Brookes into the WR that flipped over both men. Ueno’s leg injury almost cost him the KO-D Title because he slipped while climbing the top turnbuckle. Brookes tried to pin Sasaki but both then got squashed by a Frog Splash from Ueno. Brookes was thrown out of the ring and Ueno had no one to stop him from pinning Sasaki with the WR to win the fall and remain KO-D Champion.

Ueno placed the Universal Title in front of Sasaki after the match and admitted he was disappointed overall because he lost one of his championships. He is now even more determined to keep defending the KO-D Title to make up for it. His next defence will be at DDT’s 29th Anniversary show on 22nd March. KIMIHIRO walked out to interrupt Ueno but it was just so he could introduce the man who wants to take DDT’s top spot, KANON! After he entered the ring, KANON explained he’s been with DDT for four years now and every day his love for the company grows. He understands Ueno is feeling a little heartbroken at the moment but he wants to be his next challenger. Ueno accepted the challenge because KANON still sees him as the pinnacle of DDT. However Ueno still remembers everything KANON did to him when he was a member of DAMNATION T.A so he expects KANON to bring everything he’s learned over the last four years into the match. They shook hands until KANON suddenly Clotheslined Ueno! His final message today is he is just that little bit stronger than Ueno. Backstage KANON explained to reporters that the first opponent to beat him after he joined DDT was Ueno so this challenge is going to be his revenge for what happened four years ago!

The show turned out to be a significant one for Strange Love Connection as a whole. They were able to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against The Apex and then absorbed the team into their group! Yuki Iino’s recent obsession over MAO couldn’t give him the extra edge in the end. He was able to Spear MAO after seeing Yukio Naya take the Michinoku Driver II but KANON knocked him down with a Lariat and then pinned him with the GURU-GURU Driver. KIMIHIRO and Yuzuki Hoshimoto were both there to congratulate the champs for a job well done after the match.

After the match, KANON told everyone that both teams have been acting like idiots for the last month in order to try and out-do each other. What he learned from this is that idiots are strong people and for that The Apex have earned his respect. Iino called that the ultimate compliment and even though he lost the match, he has now grown to love MAO & KANON! He then asked Naya if they could join SLC? MAO instantly agreed and started to wonder if Iino & Naya should now be called The Apex from STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION (just like THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE)? Even if they just remain as The Apex, SLC has now upgraded into becoming a unit and they now all want it to become the strongest not only in DDT but the entire pro wrestling world! That’s not all, MAO revealed backstage that he was already planning on introducing a new SLC member next month. He didn’t expect to add two new members today but now SLC is going to become a 5-Man unit! The fifth man will be revealed on 22nd February.

Plans had to change when Kaisei Takechi got a case of pink eye and was unable to wrestle on this show. His role in the big tag match now had to be filled by To-y. He took on the challenge with gusto, bringing the fight to both Konosuke Takeshita & Jun Akiyama while having HARASHIMA help out as his tag partner. Takeshita & Akiyama didn’t shy away from giving him a bashing but that led to To-y finding his inner fire and fighting back, scoring a nearfall on Takeshita with the Kojima Impact. Takeshita put a stop to that with the Last Ride counter of the Kojima In Wonderland followed by a Double Knee Strike with Akiyama. To-y kicked out of that along with the big Elbow Strike afterwards so Takeshita had to hit him with the Wagamama to put To-y away. Later To-y said he wants to keep on fighting even if he may never get another chance to face Takeshita again. But if it does happen he knows he can beat him! Takeshita told him that meeting Akiyama played a role in his current success and he wouldn’t be where he is today without him. So he understands how important it was for To-y to fight him today. He believes To-y will one day inherit his strength just like how he inherited Akiyama’s.

I regret to inform everyone that the “Suzuki Incident” of 2021 was repeated today. While Minoru Suzuki was making his entrance for his match, Danshoku Dieno and Kazuki Hirata jumped the gun and began to wrestle. Dieno then immediately pinned Hirata with the Gaydo Clutch to end the match before Suzuki could even make it to the ring apron. Hisaya Imabayashi was understandably mad because the fans couldn’t sing along to “Kaze Ni Nare”. Suzuki was also annoyed because his entrance was going to take up 80% of the match anyway. The match restarted so Suzuki could do his entrance but this time Super Sasadango Machine tried to jump him. Suzuki immediately pulled him into an Arm Lock to make Sasadango tap out. Now Imabayashi was upset the match ended before Yoshihiko could make it to the ring. He even dared to get into an argument with Suzuki over it without backing down! Another restart took place so Yoshihiko could make an entrance and it even stopped Suzuki from immediately beating Antonio Honda. The match then continued with Dieno and Honda’s usual comedy until Yoshihiko pinned Hirata with the Reincarnation. Suzuki then dragged Yoshihiko along the floor as he left ringside. He remembers beating this thing half to death in Las Vegas almost a year ago. Dieno explained that Suzuki and Yoshihiko are linked together because they understand each other so well. Suzuki doesn’t believe him.

Meanwhile Imabayashi wanted Hirata to stay behind in the ring because he had an announcement to make. Hirata is going to have a singles match with Takeshita on 22nd March! Hirata was not happy with the announcement but talked himself into taking the match. If Takeshita the worldwide star wants to wrestle him then Hirata from Adachi Ward will be ready! He is sure Takeshita will beat him many times over but he promises he will make it hard for Takeshita to do so.

Although Kumadori has settled his feud with Ilusion, he is back in DDT to wrestle DAMNATION T.A some more. Ilusion was still there to give Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul a helping hand. Okatani also attacked Naomi Yoshimura with his bamboo stick until Kumadori came to save the day. With the coast clear, Yoshimura recovered to throw Paul over with the Harai-goshi to put the cheaters back in their place.

To-y being bumped up to the Special Tag Match meant the 10-Man tag was slightly changed. Ryoma Tsukamoto took his place to keep it within the D GENERATIONS scope. The match also featured Irish referee Niall Fox as the official for the match. What’s he doing over there? Anyway the match had NωA Jr. members Kazuma Sumi and Yuni face off against each other, Yuki Ishida pushing others around with his sumo moves, Rukiya trying to give Ilusion the Protobomb, Ilusion attacking Hinata Kasai with a chair and Yuya Koroku then knocking out Ilusion with an Elbow Strike. The match came down to Takeshi Masada and Daichi Sato where Sato caught Masada with the Fire Thunder and then pin him out of nowhere with a Penalty Kick. Backstage Tsukamoto predicted Sato will go on to win the D GENERATIONS CUP completely undefeated.

Not only did Junta Miyawaki got to wrestle his idol Shinya Aoki but he went the distance against him too. They fought to a 15 minute draw in the opening match that was built around joint locks and pinning attempts. After a few close calls, Miyawaki hit a dive out of the ring and got to counter a Sleeper Hold into a Modified Sunshine Driver. Aoki turned the pinfall over though to continue the back and forth action until he was put in a Crab Hold and had to fight to reach the ropes. The two then fought over the Aoki Clutch for the final moments of the match before the bell rang. Miyawaki said he was able to absorb a lot from Aoki today and he still looks up to him despite slapping away Aoki’s handshake in frustration after the match. Aoki praised him for having incredible spirit and determination. He wonders why wrestlers as good as they are were put in the opener? They need to aim higher because he thinks they’re not the kind of wrestlers to be curtain jerking.