1. Shota Kawakami & Ryuma Sekimo defeated Takeru Inoue & Hinata Kasai when Kawakami submitted Inoue with a Crab Hold (10:18).
2. Yuko Miyamoto & Naka Shuma defeated Fuminori Abe & Yuya Koroku when Miyamoto pinned Abe with the Gannosuke Clutch (10:22).
3. JARASHIMA, Toru Orochi & Poison Sawada JULIE (w/ Habukage Toguro & Naomi Susan) defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Antonio Honda & Seiya Morohashi when JULIE submitted Honda with the Cattle Mutilation (12:02).
4. Minoru Fujita & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Ilusion when Hidaka submitted Ilusion with the Shawn Capture (14:47).
5. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi defeated Yasu Urano with a Takatonic (20:01).
Yasu Urano gave himself a very busy day to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of his debut match. Not only did he put together his own show in Shin-Kiba 1st RING, he was also involved with a special K-DOJO reunion show in Chiba that same day and also found time in the evening to wrestle Akito in a Best 4 Out Of 7 Falls Match inside the Ochanomizu Dojo owned by DDT! On this show though Urano’s focus was on wrestling Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi. His opponent ended up using Masahiro Takanashi’s finisher the Takatonic to win the match.
The involvement of Poison Sawada JULIE on the undercard led to some snake magic related brainwashing. His teammates HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi were transformed into JARASHIMA & Toru Orochi before the match and KUDO also showed up to get involved in the match too. Shuji Ishikawa was brought in to be Danshoku Dieno’s replacement when Dieno was not cleared to wrestle.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Hinata Kasai with the Texas Cloverleaf (7:07).
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya when HARASHIMA pinned Rukiya with the Somato (10:05).
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion defeated Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori when Ilusion pinned Sumi with the Swanton Bomb (11:03).
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) defeated Akito, Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda when To-y pinned Hirata with a Crucifix Pin (14:13). *V4 for To-y.
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku defeated Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki when Akiyama pinned Miyawaki with the Exploder Suplex (14:53).
6. Special Single Match: AMAKUSA defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Kaikoku (16:23).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) and Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu (17:48).
7a. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) eliminated Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu when Iino pinned Yuu with the Spear (11:14).
7b. MAO & KANON eliminated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) when MAO pinned Naya with the Cannonball 450 (17:48). *The Apex fails in V6. Strange Love Connection become the 88th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Brookes with the European Clutch (26:03).
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada when TAKESHITA pinned Masada with the Raging Fire (24:14).
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) defeated Minoru Suzuki (U/c) with the Frog Splash (34:30). *V2 for Yuki Ueno. Minoru Suzuki fails at V6. Yuki Ueno becomes the 19th DDT Universal Champion!
Everyone in DDT can now breath a sigh of relief. Yuki Ueno was able to clean up the mess he caused in the first place as promised and for that he now stands on top of the company as both the KO-D Openweight Champion and now the DDT Universal Champion! That now makes him the first person to hold both of those belts at the same time. Minoru Suzuki made him fight for it and nearly took his leg off in the process. He targeted Ueno’s left leg throughout the match including attacking it with a chair and using an extended chain of submissions to try and make him kick. Ueno brought out moves like the Blizzard Suplex and the Bastard Driver but couldn’t go for the pin after using the WR. Suzuki wanted to take advantage of it but Ueno planted Dropkick right to his face before slamming him down with another WR. Suzuki kicked out but Ueno then jumped off the top rope with the Frog Splash and that was the end of it.
As Suzuki was leaving the ring in defeat, Ueno got on the microphone and thanked him because despite being different from each other, Suzuki still always treated Ueno like a pro wrestler. Suzuki will be welcomed back into DDT so they can fight again whenever he wants. Ueno is also looking forward with new goals in mind. First he wants to inspire everyone with his wrestling because watching wrestling will always make your day better. The other goal is he wants to bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome with all of his friends and colleagues from the company involved! Until that day comes DDT will always have their monthly Korakuen Hall shows and yearly visits to Sumo Hall where everyone will continue working hard and having fun.
Ueno then asked if there was anyone out there who wants to be next to challenge him? Suddenly Super Sasadango Machine appeared with an unexpected PowerPoint Presentation to show everyone. He admitted it was a good thing Ueno won his match because if he didn’t then Sasadango wasted his time making it. During the presentation Sasadango talked about Ueno being a respectable public figure in both wrestling and the entertainment industry but it is all a lie! His proof is when Sasadango fought Ueno nearly one year ago, Sasadango used thumbtacks that ended up leaving an L-shaped scar on Ueno’s stomach. Ueno won the match and promised that if he ever became KO-D Champion again he would nominate Sasadango as his challenger and get revenge for the scar. Well now the L stands for Lie because Ueno became KO-D Champion twice in 2025 and he never once gave Sasadango the title shot he promised him! Ueno understood his complaint and accepted his challenge for a KO-D Title match. He also offered to put the Universal Title on the line because Sasadango’s other gimmick Muscle Sakai originally retired after wrestling Minoru Suzuki. Sasadango said he is ready to win both championships except he doesn’t have the energy right now so they can do the match at Korakuen on 30th November.
The show finished with the big ending where Ueno reunited with The 37KAMIINA at the entrance and then passed by many wrestlers in the hallway. Suzuki was among them and he told Ueno this isn’t the end between them. He then entered the dressing room but it was empty. Konosuke Takeshita followed him inside and the two talked about maybe doing a champion versus champion match with each other some day. The rest of the DDT roster started filling in, including Danshoku Dieno and they all ended the show with a big group farewell to the camera.
Takeshita made his big return to DDT as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion fresh off of defending the belt on a New Japan show. Here he was teaming up with DDT’s next big superstar hope Kaisei Takechi facing a team of wrestlers they consider their respective rivals. Takeshita wanted to wrestle Kazusada Higuchi again while Takechi wanted to measure up with Takeshi Masada. While those two pairings were the focus of the match, there was a crossover of opponents that took place too. Takechi cut off a charge from Higuchi with the Swan Dive Forearm while Masada got a nearfall on Takeshita with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki. Masada tried to weaken further with Middle Kicks but Takeshita blew him back with an Elbow Strike and stunned him with the Wagamama. Takechi was then able to keep Higuchi away while Takeshita pinned Masada with the Raging Fire.
Both sides showed respect to each other after the match but when Takeshita offered to shake hands with his own partner, Takechi slapped away his hand instead and the two had a stare down in the ring. Takeshita then walked off by himself. Backstage he said he felt how much his opponents have grown and he wanted this match to send a message to Higuchi that he still has a lot more to offer. He’s been keeping an eye on Takechi since he debut and thinks his behavior after the match was his way of saying he wants to fight him. Takechi pretty much confirmed it and said he will work hard everyday so they can stand in the same ring together again. Higuchi said the other team are getting a lot of attention but fans should not overlook Harimao or SCHADENFREUDE International too for that matter. Masada admitted to feeling jealous of Takechi but he will take this loss as a positive one for his wrestling career. He’ll look forward to the day he can get revenge.
There is no bond in wrestling closer than the one shared between Chris Brookes and Zack Sabre Jr… Ok, yeah that’s a lie. The two are pretty close friends and today was their first singles match against each other in eight years but something felt a little off. Yukinori Matsui was ever so slightly acting lenient towards Brookes while being ever so slightly harsh towards Sabre. It then turned scandalous when Sabre had Brookes pinned for certain victory yet Matsui suffered a crisis of conscience during the pinfall and couldn’t count to three. The lights dimmed and Matsui’s heart revealed tender moments spent with Brookes up on the arena screen. Things went south after a ref bump and Brookes summoned Munetatsu Nakamura to come in and attack Sabre. Antonio Honda followed with a chair but he too hesitated to take action. More scandal broke out when Honda’s heart revealed tender moments he has shared with Sabre on the screen! Honda then tried to attack Brookes with Gongitsune but missed and hit Sabre instead. The match continued and Brookes tried to use the Praying Mantis Bomb. Sabre flipped out of it and tangled his opponent into the European Clutch to get the three count. Afterwards the two of them kissed, made up and walked off back up the ramp hand in hand. They said they should do this again in another eight years time. Sabre questioned Brookes over the ethics of a wrestler romancing the referee while Brookes called Sabre being with Honda a forbidden love between NJPW and DDT. They suggested maybe the two couples fight each other in a tag match next time.
The last team standing in the Survival 3 Way would be going home with the KO-D Tag Team Titles. No tags were needed so the match was chaos when all three teams were involved. The Apex grabbed KIMIHIRO and threw him out of the ring onto the rest of Strange Love Connection. They were then targeted by Team 200kg particularly so Yuki Iino and Chihiro Hashimoto could fight each other again. Iino was able to knock down both Team 200kg wrestlers and went on to pin Yuu with the Spear for the first elimination. SLC had to find the power needed to beat The Apex and MAO found it in order to give Yukio Naya the Michinoku Driver II. Naya was also accidentally drilled with the Spear from Iino and KANON cause more damage by giving him the LONELY DEZIRES. MAO followed up with the Cannonball 450 for the win, earning SLC the KO-D Tag Titles for the first time in the team’s existence. KANON said he wants the team to become historic champions so the DDT fans will always remember them. MAO brought up being tag champions with Mike Bailey and VENY in the past. He wants KANON to keep climbing so he can stand shoulder to shoulder with those two. He also wants the team to cause a big stir so they can make more money! Yuu felt regret over not being able to win a DDT championship for Team 200kg’s only appearance on a DDT Ryogoku show. Hashimoto enjoyed the experience but noticed Iino became quiet whenever they were in the ring together. She might continue showing up in DDT just so she can beat him again.
Daisuke Sasaki’s important match of the show went from one end of the spectrum all the way to the other because of Dasnhoku Dieno’s health problems. With Dieno unable to wrestle, Sasaki instead face AMAKUSA, the current persona of his SUPER CREW classmate from 20 years ago Yuki Sato. However AMAKUSA was all in on his current gimmick and had no memory of who Sasaki was. Sasaki tried cheating to win but when that wasn’t getting him the results he wanted, he then took a page out of Dieno’s book and gave AMAKUSA the Lip Lock! He then teased a set up of the Danshoku Driver but instead used his old NOW OR NEVER finisher for a nearfall. AMAKUSA survived taking La Mistica Crossface Lock and used an Elevated Magistral Driver followed by the Pedigree. That was all to put Sasaki in position for AMAKUSA’s Spiral Tap style finisher, the Kaikoku for the victory.
After the match AMAKUSA got on the microphone to remind everyone he has no past but the match he just had rekindled a memory of fighting Sasaki in a small venue twenty years ago. It was both their first match and now twenty years later they got to have a match together in Ryogoku! AMAKUSA has never felt more grateful for pro wrestling than he does today. The two shook hands and hugged while Sasaki told “Sato” not to cry. He said it doesn’t matter if the person in front of him is Yuki Sato or AMAKUSA but his kiss definitely tasted like Sato. AMAKUSA said he doesn’t remember that part of the match. What he does hope to remember though is meeting Sasaki again 25 years from now. Sasaki brought up all the different times they wrestled anniversary matches with each other, the previous being six years ago. He admits the things AMAKUSA has done in NOAH since then means AMAKUSA has surpassed him but he will always have battles with Yuki Sato.
After spending the last 10 months in NOAH, Tetsuya Endo returned to DDT for a day for the other DDT Vs NOAH match of the show. He teamed up with NOAH wrestlers HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki to take on his former allies from BURNING along with Shinya Aoki. There was a little extra BURNING energy on display when Yuya Koroku use Yusuke Okada’s Intercept DDT on Endo. Aoki then did a dive out of the ring to wipe out Endo & HAYATA. Miyawaki tried to tough it out against Jun Akiyama but he eventually fell to the Knee Lift and Exploder Suplex. Endo said the buds he is nurturing in NOAH this year haven’t blossomed yet. He is going to spend a little more time in NOAH so he can bring back the best gift possible for DDT, the GHC Heavyweight Title! However Koroku felt disappointed that Endo wouldn’t even look at him during the match because at last year’s “ULTIMATE PARTY” they were challenging for the KO-D Tag Titles. He wants to get better so Endo will set his sights on him the next time they are in the ring together.
Swerve! We all thought the Blindfold Death Match meant all five wrestlers involved would fight each other while blindfolded. However none of them actually wanted to go through with the stipulation so it was decided that the referee would be blindfolded instead! Yukinori Matsui had no vision whatsoever so he missed out of different finishes as well as weapon usage and other blatant cheating. To-y fought off his four challengers and even had Kazuki Hirata beat when suddenly two masked men that turned out to be Hirata’s hired goons interfered. Matsui tripped over Hirata which then caused Antonio Honda to trip over him. Matsui later walked right into a bear trap which caused Daisuke Kiso to come down as the replacement. He too was blindfolded and had to be led down to the ring by HARASHIMA. Sasadango hit him over the back with a giant mace to stop him counting Akito’s pin on To-y. Honda unmasked Sasadango so he could poke him in the eyes with Gongitsune. He then missed the Diving Fist Drop, landing fist first into the bear trap. Hirata knocked down To-y with a Mecha Fist and pinned him in a relaxed manner. To-y rolled him back in a Crucifix Pin mid-count and Matsui continued counting to three. To-y guided him into raising his hand as the winner so he was officially declared the winner and still the DDT Extreme Champion.
After the match To-y told everyone the Extreme Title belt must love him because it won’t leave his side. He then said anyone can challenge him whenever they want. Then during his celebration, Sanshiro Takagi walked up to him and gave him the Stunner. Takagi told To-y he is the one who created the Extreme Title in the first place so he is going to be the next challenger! To-y promised that as champion he will do something so chaotic it will make Takagi go crazy. It was later decided that their title match will happen on 30th November.
“ULTIMATE PARTY” is where Kumadori made his pro wrestling debut last year so he was back for this year’s event alongside the rest of O-MENZ for a big ring entrance. DAMNATION T.A ruined the vibe by attacking the other team from the get go. Demus tortured Kazuma Sumi while Hideki Okatani paired off with Yuki Ishida. That left the two big boys MJ Paul and Daichi Sato fighting each other to a stalemate. Ilusion got one over on Kumadori once more by giving him a Low Blow. He also set up some teamwork with Demus to put Sumi away for the finish.
Three former members of DISASTER BOX teamed up for Match #2. While HARASHIMA was happy to shake hands with his opponents, Naomi Yoshimura had a faceoff with Rukiya before the match even started. Toru Owashi and Soma Takao started off instead and when Rukiya tagged in, he quickly targeted Yoshimura and went to fight him instead. Shinichiro Kawamatsu got Yoshimura with the Shitamachi Rocket and hit HARASHIMA with the Somato. But HARASHIMA turned things around on Rukiya and pinned him with the Somato despite a spirited effort from the rookie.
Sanshiro Takagi officially returned to the ring after taking a year and four months off for company management and also health reasons. He chose the rookie Hinata Kasai to be his first opponent because there is something about him that draws him in for reasons other than being Jun Kasai’s son. Takagi was happy to be back while Kasai couldn’t help but show his excitement whenever it looked like he was about to get his first win. Takagi broke him down using the Spicolli Driver followed by the McEnroe Lariat to the leg. He then applied the Texas Cloverleaf to make Kasai give up. After the match Kasai refused to shake Takagi’s hand but backstage he took back all of the times he made fun of his boss for gassing out so easily. Kasai has been watching wrestling since he was a kid though so he knows how this thing works. The wrestling ring isn’t the only place where DDT holds matches so he will one day get a win over Takagi no matter where it literally takes place! Takagi talked about how this match was actually his proper 30th anniversary match but nobody hyped it up that way. He knows how much Kasai loves DDT and that is what he chose him to be in the match. Takagi still has issues over his own conditioning and even mentally wanted to give up halfway through the match. But a pro wrestler keeps going as long as they have the will to. He doesn’t know how often he will be wrestling from this point forward but he is going to treat it with an independent wrestler’s mindset and find his place in life from now on.
Both Shunma Katsumata and Kazuma Sumi kicked off the show with an NωA Jr. performance.
Akito gave reporters an overview of the show at the very end of the evening. He praised AMAKUSA for stepping in on short notice to be Dieno’s replacement for Sasaki. He is grateful to everyone in NOAH for being so accommodating about it. In regards to Ueno’s comments about bringing DDT to the Tokyo Dome, Akito said the great thing about DDT is they allow wrestlers to make their dreams come true. They could only book Sumo Hall once this year because of venue renovations giving them limited scheduling options but next year DDT wants to book the arena twice to build up to the company’s 20th anniversary in 2027. Akito doesn’t know if the Tokyo Dome will ever become part of those place but DDT will do its best to make dreams come true for its fans.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)
I waited way too long to get this done in time. So long that I’m too tired to write up a proper introduction. It’s DDT back at Sumo Hall. There you go, I’m off to bed.
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
Welcome back, boss. Things just haven’t been the same without you. This year has felt like Sanshiro Takagi’s influence around DDT as a whole wasn’t entirely there, and for good reason. He had taken a leave of absence as a wrestler July 2024 to focus on his behind the scenes role with CyberFight while also taking better care of his health. He kept it quiet until announcing his return but the health problem he had was angina. He still found ways to stay busy in the public eye because 2025 is his 30th year in wrestling. He celebrated it by launching more DDT spin off brands, the first being MatchMake & Agent which was then turned into Super Japan, an alternate look of the company if it went by that name instead of DDT. These shows captured the island of misfit toys vibe from DDT’s past that just doesn’t exist today while also giving Takagi some sneaky ways to get physical again on his journey back to the ring.
For his return match, Takagi has put himself in the opening bout of the show. His logic is the first match on the card is the second most important match after the main event because it sets the stage for the rest of the show. He needed the right opponent, someone he has never fought before yet still have some sort of connection with so fans will care. Luckily he has just the rookie to fit that bill. Earlier this year one of DDT’s new rookies drew some attention by revealing his name is Hinata Kasai, the son of Jun Kasai! He made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps and was guided towards joining DDT to become a pro wrestler. So far his skills in the ring aren’t anything to write home about but he got the crowd on his side from the get go and is able to draw sympathy from getting beaten down. He’s looking forward to his Sumo Hall debut and thinks he will make easy work of Takagi. He shouldn’t be underestimating him like that. After all, Takagi was the man who once flushed Hinata’s father fully down the toilet during a Falls Count Anywhere match inside this very building!
Not much to write about for this match. The highlight of HARASHIMA’s 2025 was getting to share the ring with Hiroshi Tanahashi again and fully patch over an unpleasant memory from ten years ago. Toru Owashi was around to see his little friend win DDT’s biggest championship and Naomi Yoshimura is rightfully taking his time with getting comfortable in the ring again coming back from injury. Soma Takao still exists to shill the Dropkick Bar while I guess Shinichiro Kawamatsu will continue getting booked so he can do the Axe Bomber in tribute to the late Hulk Hogan. Back in August, Rukiya was able to wrestle matches again after spending over a year on the shelf with a cervical sprain. Given how short his career has been so far, having to start all over again from scratch isn’t as much of a setback as it sounds in his case. He is catching up to the other wrestlers in the D GENERATIONS class and knock on wood should get a moment in the spotlight next year much like the others have gotten in 2025.
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
The leader of DAMNATION T.A has a big match later down the card so the rest of the unit are stuck in an 8-Man Tag. Hideki Okatani came back from injury during the first quarter of the year with a chip on his shoulder and immediately joined DAMNATION T.A so he can get violent about it. MJ Paul continues to be around as the low card heavy muscle while the unit now has the grimy luchador Demus reuniting with them for a while (I heard a rumour he was minding an egg back in Mexico). Ilusion has gotten a lot of screen time this year by getting to speak on the microphone while everybody else in the unit just stands around brooding and being quiet. They were also fine with him carrying all of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title belts whenever they held those titles. Sometimes it pays off to be the little shit of the group.
Facing them are a bunch of wrestlers from DDT’s current young generation. Although they do not have an official unit affiliation, DDT has collectively branded them the D GENERATIONS and they’ve gotten to run their own shows under the name throughout the year. Daichi Sato is the teenage heavyweight that joined DDT from HEAT-UP during the Springtime. The ways things are going for him so far are looking promising and he is already winning matches against other undercard wrestlers. Yuki Ishida can’t help but feel he is the weakest member of Harimao and is trying to fight through that mental block. Kazuma Sumi has been figuring out his place on the roster as the speedy high flyer. MIKAMI’s guidance has inspired him to use the 619 as a set up for the School Boy as an effective way to win matches. The odd one out is Kumadori who only wrestles a handful of matches due to his commitment with the O-MENZ dance group. He has the athleticism to become a good wrestler but I don’t know long he wants to do this for.
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
It’s fitting that Halloween just passed because lately To-y has had the enthusiasm of a kid running around playing with fireworks. His run as the DDT Extreme Champion for the second half of the year has been spent finding ways to build up his online presence with match gimmicks built around social media impressions and streamer behavior. To prove he is the modern champion that the title deserves, he wanted his match at Sumo Hall to be against someone from the older generation who most represents DDT’s brand of Extreme wrestling. He didn’t expect there would be a lot of options.
The first person to answer the call was Akito but pretty soon after that Super Sasadango Machine and Kazuki Hirata put out messages on social media demanding to be added as well. Antonio Honda then joined in and at least had the good manners to tell everyone in person at a DDT show. Now all that was left to do is to pick a match stipulation. To-y has gotten into gambling recently so rather than pick the match as he would be expected to as champion, he held played a dice game called Chinchiro with everyone. Sasadango ended up winning and announced the 5 Way will be a Blindfold Death Match! Being blindfolded means everyone’s training will be for nothing if they cannot see while Sasadango never trains anyway so all of his opponents are now on his level. To-y is willing to bet that he can see through his heart and prove he deserves the Extreme Title more than anyone else!
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
The original point of “ULTIMATE PARTY” was to get all of the different promotions connected to DDT involved on the card. It’s not really about that anymore but at least we get to enjoy a DDT Vs NOAH 6-Man Tag match. Shinya Aoki isn’t causing a stir this time around by challenging Kenoh for matches that don’t exist like he did last time. Yuya Koroku is working hard but seems kind of aimless when he isn’t part of a title program. Jun Akiyama is there as a link between both companies. Same with Tetsuya Endo and we’ll likely find out in two months if his excursion will become permanent or not. He played his part in the TEAM 2000X story this year so I don’t know what is left in store for him over there as things currently stand. HAYATA has had the latest season of “MONDAY MAGIC” built around him as the GHC Hardcore Openweight Champion. While I had been following that series, I don’t watch enough of normal NOAH to know what Junta Miyawaki has been up to. As far as I know the only NOAH storylines going on is somebody joins TEAM 2000X, NOSAWA Rongai books something random or somebody gets mad at Naomichi Marufuji and burns a bridge.
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
Breath a sigh of relief because the original plan for this match was going to be very different. DDT had wanted to do Danshoku Dieno against Daisuke Sasaki in a rematch of the infamous “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” main event where Dieno wrestled part of the bout completely butt fucking naked. Dieno had just gotten out of surgery from acute appendicitis and claimed to have had every last drop of toxicity taken out of his body so this match was going to be the most clean match ever. Sadly for Dieno he developed an intra-abdominal abscess after his surgery and is unable to wrestle for the time being. So that’s him off the Sumo Hall card and Sasaki is now in need of a new opponent.
DDT then decided to go in a completely different direction for the replacement match. Sasaki is now going to face AMAKUSA, the junior heavyweight missionary from NOAH. On the surface this looks like a random pairing but if you delve into the history of both wrestlers you will see they are closely linked. For you see, AMAKUSA is the former Yuki Sato and he debuted in the same SUPER CREW class as Sasaki that was mentored by Dick Togo. Not only that but the two of them faced each other in their debut match! Sasaki was the winner and they would continue to cross each other’s paths for many years until Sato disappeared from the wrestling scene in 2019. That was around the time when Sato joined NOAH under the name Hao and then a few years later transformed into AMAKUSA. His current persona has no memory of ever knowing Sasaki and believes this match will be their first time meeting each other.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
A match of truly heavyweight proportions coming from all sides. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya have become a united force known as The Apex and are currently the tag team to beat in DDT. They won the KO-D Tag Team Titles from Astronauts back in June and have had five successful defences so far against teams of all sizes. However it seems like if there is a team out there that are capable of beating them, it must be a pair of heavyweights. The Strange Love Connection believe they are that team of heavyweights. KANON has blown up in size over the last year and now weighs around 103kg while MAO is claiming he has also bulked up to about 100kg thanks to his square-shaped lifestyle. Meanwhile the only heavy hitting that KIMIHIRO can do is entrance introductions and victory speeches because SLC’s microphone work without him always fall apart.
Just when the match was ready to be booked for Sumo Hall, a third team entered into the picture. Team 200kg from Sendai Girls sent in a video demanding that they be the ones to get a title shot because Chihiro Hashimoto has unfinished business with Iino. The two had clashed several times back when ALL OUT and Sendai Girls feuded in 2019 and Hashimoto had her hand raised in victory in most of those battles. Simply the thought of Hashimoto being nearby has now driven Iino to lose his temper and go searching for her around venues so they can fight again. While all of that is going on, the soon to retire Yuu wants to test her might against Naya thinking she will be too much for him to handle. The solution to this three way dilemma is to make the match Survival rules so the last team standing gets to keep the belts for themselves. MAO promises a match chaotic enough to destroy Sumo Hall itself, although he wants it to only reach the level where SLC destroy their opponents instead.
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
Oh the bittersweet memories of BritWres at its peak. It is what helped get these two to where they are today yet getting out of it at the time they did was probably the smartest decisions they ever made. It sent Zack Sabre Jr. on a journey all the way to the top of New Japan. It also showed the world that Chris Brookes was the perfect fit for DDT as he became that company’s top wrestler too. They were able to reunite here and there in Japan over the last couple of years. There were a few DDT appearances for Sabre and also some sneaky cameos on a couple of Baka Gaijin + Friends related events. But a singles match between the two hasn’t happened since 2017 over on the other side of the world.
Since this is happening on a DDT show you can expect the early part of the match to be a bit relaxed and light hearted. Maybe Brookes will do the rubber band spot. I bet Sabre remembers the days of Brian Conley punching his sidekick and telling the audience “It’s just a puppet!” so he can use Bunbun to recreate that gag and have it fly over the entire audience. Once they get all of that stuff out of the way then they can show us what can happen when things get heated in the ring between close friends. Anyone wanting this to be a proper technical masterclass should probably wait for Sabre’s match with KEITA in THE House to take place and hope that makes tape.
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
Want to see what happens when the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion works more shows for DDT than New Japan in the month of November? Hey, I’m not going to complain about it. Konosuke Takeshita made his dramatic dream come true this year by winning the G1 Climax and then the IWGP Title. He is coming fresh off of a successful title defence against Hirooki Goto as well. DDT are capitalizing on this by having him team up with their newest draw, Kaisei Takechi. The handsome entertainer has now joined DDT to wrestle for them on a more regular basis and recently won his first championship, the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. Given how important this match is meant to be, Takeshita wanted Kazusada Higuchi to be one of their opponents. He still considers his match with Higuchi from September 2022 as one of his favorites. Takechi then decided he should pick Higuchi’s partner and chose Takeshi Masada because Masada was part of his debut match. It gives Takechi the chance to find out just how much he has grown against someone who can likely become a career long rival.
I’m excited to see Takeshita and Higuchi face off again after so long. DDT’s main event storytelling kind of pulled the rug from under Higuchi this summer as his King Of DDT victory and two month reign on top was brushed aside for a different direction. It probably isn’t something to worry about because as long as he stay healthy he will always be someone they can rely on, maybe not on the level as HARASHIMA but you can count on him staying loyal to them. Masada has become more comfortable as a wrestler by being part of SCHADENFREUDE International. He doesn’t have to worry about being the supernova rookie as first advertised but I hope he doesn’t lose his ambition as time goes by. He had a little taste of New Japan before on a dark match but that was pretty much played for laughs at the time because he had the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Maybe seeing Takeshita with the IWGP Title up close can stoke the flames a bit more for him.
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)
This entire situation was all Yuki Ueno’s fault and he’s opened the door to making it worse. Back in January Ueno won the DDT Universal Title from Gringo Loco and came up with a grand plan to increase the championship’s value without needing to travel around the world. A couple of months earlier Ueno fought Minoru Suzuki in a tag match that ended in a draw. He wanted to face him again so what better way to lure the “Pirate King” back to DDT than to wave some treasure around to get his attention. A title match was put together at “JUDGEMENT 2025” and Ueno proceeded to balls it all up by losing to Suzuki. So after years of one-off appearances in DDT where Suzuki only showed up to torture Sanshiro Takagi, he had now become one of their champions and decided to stick around to wreck anyone else who dared challenge him. Various challengers of all shapes and sizes stepped up to him just to fall at his feet one after the other. With every victory Suzuki felt more at home in DDT until eventually the time came for him to start looking for the one prize in DDT that is worth even more than the Universal Title.
Ueno was left to regret his decision to bring Suzuki into DDT this way but he got over it in order to come up with another plan to raise his company’s profile. One day he would like to fight Konosuke Takeshita once more and he wants it to happen when both of them are at the height of their powers. Takeshita had the G1 win and later the IWGP Title so Ueno set forth to win back the KO-D Openweight Title. He achieved that at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” in August then suffered another massive blunder when Kazuki Hirata of all people won the belt off him thanks to an impeccably timed Right To Challenge cash in. Ueno got revenge for that one month later with his own deviously planned RTC cash in and now with the belt back around his waist he is ready to lead DDT again. That is until Suzuki showed up wanting to challenge Ueno for the title in order to dominate DDT once and for all. Ueno saw this as his chance to redeem himself by getting Suzuki to put the Universal Title on the line too so we are now going Title Vs Title at Sumo Hall.
While the fate of DDT’s two main championships hang in the balance for the main event, there is not much actual hatred shared between Ueno and Suzuki. Ueno respects Suzuki for the freedom he has achieved as a pro wrestler and how it strengthens him. It inspires Ueno to believe in his own ideas to become stronger. Meanwhile Suzuki is enjoying the time he has spent conquering DDT this year, describing the experience as a new beginning for him. As we’ve seen over the last two decades, Suzuki likes to make himself at home in a company for a couple of years before eventually jumping over to another for a while and then again onto the next place. With that being said, he still took the opportunity at a press conference to attack Ueno in an attempt to injure him before their match. Even if he likes fighting the guy, he’s going to remind Ueno that pro wrestling should be a ruthless business.
DDT “CHARISMANIAxMANIAxMANIA SUPPORTED BY HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT”, 02/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Minoru Fujita, Hiroshi Yamato & MJ Paul defeated Yuko Miyamoto, Masashi Takeda & Choun Shiryu when Paul pinned Shiryu with the Reverse Splash (10:26).
2. Daisuke Sasaki Memorial Cup Gauntlet Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yasutaka Oosera & Ilusion, Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura, Danshoku Dieno & Sumicaras and Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Mataro) (14:50).
2a. Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao defeated Danhoku Dieno & Sumicaras when Hirata eliminated Sumicaras by Ring Out (1:15).
2b. Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao when Yoshimura eliminated Hirata by Ring Out (3:15).
2c. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Mataro) defeated Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura when Shu & Kei eliminated Yoshimura by Ring Out (7:00).
2d. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Mataro) and Brahman Chris & Brahman Takeshi (w/ Brahman Bunbun) when Naya eliminated Kei and Takeshi by Double Ring Out (12:14).
2e. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when Irie eliminated Iino by Ring Out (14:50).
2f. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Yasutaka Oosera & Ilusion when Ishii pinned Oosera with the Spinning Body Bomb (17:13).
3. Hardcore Match: Jun Kasai defeated Hideki Okatani with the Cross-Arm Stimulation (15:08).
4. Company yY Presents TOGO FAMILY Vs DDT ~ 5 Vs 5: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ueno, HARASHIMA, Akito & To-y defeated Dick Togo, Yasu Urano, KUBITO, Diego & Naohiro Katsumi when Ueno pinned Urano with the BME (15:37).
5. Daisuke Sasaki 20th Anniversary Match: Daisuke Sasaki & El Desperado defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Antonio Honda when Sasaki submitted Honda with the Crossover Face Lock (23:10).
Twenty years of Daisuke Sasaki was celebrated inside Korakuen Hall today for the latest edition of “CHARISMANIA”. There were not only wrestling matches featuring wrestlers closely connected to Sasaki but live music was performed by several bands too. HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT sponsored the entire show, VANISHING played Sasaki’s entrance music as he walked down to the ring and Sasaki’s own band CHANNEL D opened up the show with a song.
For the main event Sasaki teamed up with a previous big show opponent El Desperado from New Japan to take on two wrestlers who have been close to Sasaki for a lot of his career, Shuji Ishikawa & Antonio Honda. A match as important as this made Honda bring out the Tenzan Tombstone Driver to use on Sasaki while Ishikwa gave Desperado the Fire Thunder Driver. The opposing team also gave Sasaki the Double Impact/Doomsday Device but Desperado came back to give Honda the Pinche Loco. And even though it was Sasaki’s day to be the hero, he still cheated by giving Honda a Low Blow when the ref wasn’t looking so he can easily make Honda give up to La Mistica Crossover Face Lock.
The members of HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT congratulated Sasaki after the match and gave him a commemorative gift. He told the fans today was CHANNEL D’s first performance and their next goal is to perform at Budokan Hall. He also gave a shoutout to the injured Masahiro Takanashi, telling him to live his own life while Sasaki continues living in the ring because they will meet again some day. He then ended the show with a rare show of thanks toward the audience followed by a joke that today’s lineup will be back in twenty years time for Sasaki’s 40th Anniversary.
Sasaki is one of the many wrestlers who was trained by Dick Togo over the years so not only did he book Togo for the show, he booked a bunch of his other protégés too! Yasu Urano, KUBITO, Diego & Naohiro Katsumi have all had their lives touched by Togo and with their mentor taking the lead the TOGO FAMILY fought a team of five DDT wrestlers. Togo had moments to fight with HARASHIMA before Akito and KUBITO took over. Togo also exchanged attacks with Kazusada Higuchi and give To-y the Pedigree on top of Yuki Ueno’s back. Togo’s last big move was to cut off HARASHIMA before doing a running dive onto Higuchi from the ring apron. However Yuki Ueno survived a Cross-Arm Power Bomb from Yasu Urano to hit back with a Dropkick and then pin him with the Best Moonsault Ever.
The rest of DAMNATION T.A were involved in matches on the undercard. Hideki Okatani’s birthday isn’t happening for another month but Sasaki got him a birthday present anyway. It was a Hardcore Match against Jun Kasai! They fought each other using computer keyboards, chairs, a guitar and even a birdcage as weapons. Kasai put Okatani through a table at ringside by jumping from the top rope onto him. As Kasai was getting the upper hand, he told Okatani out loud that his son Hinata Kasai is grateful for all of his help. Okatani wouldn’t be beaten with the Pearl Harbor Splash even after he got skewers planted into his head and he got pushed off a ladder. He also kicked out of the Vertical Drop Tiger Driver so Kasai had to pull out the Cross-Arm Stimulation to finally put him away. He wanted to shake Okatani’s hand after the match but Okatani refused and gave him the middle finger instead. Despite his behavior, Okatani said backstage that it’s been a while since a Hardcore match got him feeling this excited. Meanwhile Kasai said that since DDT is currently taking care of his son, he would like if it they start taking care of him too!
A “Memorial Cup” for Sasaki was up for grabs in the Tag Gauntlet match that ended up turning into a free for all because some of the teams decided to enter early. Danshoku Dieno spent almost the entire match crouching over the top turnbuckle in the Hell Gate position, even after his team was eliminated when Sumicaras was “unmasked” and thrown out of the ring. When Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao were eliminated, the chaos then began thanks to The Brahman Brothers joining the match. They were accompanied by the long suffering staff member Mataro who was now Mataro Brahman! Mataro took a beating but that just gave The Brahmans the opening to eliminate Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura. Just when things couldn’t get worse, the SCHADENFREUDE International team entered the match with Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Bunbun also dressed up like The Brahmans and doing their spots! The Apex tried to clean things up but were overwhelmed by the ring full of Brahmans. Yukio Naya was shoved face first into Dieno’s Hell Gate, the Brahmans force fed Dieno green slime and by the end of the spot the slime started coming out of Naya’s mouth! Naya got revenge by knocking everyone out of the ring to eliminate both The Brahmans and SCHADENFREUDE. Mataro tried to distract Naya by placing a piece of sashimi onto his head. Naya took a bite out of it and fainted but Yuki Iino then chopped Mataro out of the ring. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie were the last team to enter and used their teamwork to eliminated The Apex and then Yasutaka Oosera & Ilusion back to back to become the last team standing. Their prize for winning was a free beer voucher each. Irie isn’t much of a beer drinker so he gave his voucher to Ishii.
MJ Paul got some shine in the opening match along with part-time DAMNATION T.A member Minoru Fujita as well as a sort of ally Hiroshi Yamato. Fujita was used by Choun Shiryu to vault himself onto everyone outside the ring. Masashi Takeda used his skills to Northern Lights Suplex Fujita & Yamato at the same time. Yuko Miyamoto tried to finish off Fujita but his Tombstone attempt was reversed into the Sayonara version by Fujita. The DAMNATION-ish team ended up focusing on Shiryu which paid off with Paul using the Reverse Splash to pin him.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2025 IN SHINJUKU ~EXTRA TIME~”, 12/09/2025 Shinjuku FACE ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Takeshi Masada with an Inside Cradle (8:52).
2. Akito, Soma Takao & Rukiya defeated Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida & Hinata Kasai when Akito pinned Ishida with a Modified Single Leg Cradle (8:40). *Akito wins Yuki Ishida’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. To-y, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi defeated Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul by Disqualification when Ilusion attacked the referee (9:09).
4. Our LariPro ’25: HARASHIMA, Keisuke Ishii & MAO defeated Yuki Ueno, Toru Owashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ishii pinned Matsunaga with a School Boy (9:48).
5. Yukio Naya 8th Anniversary ~ Special Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yuki Iino & Jun Akiyama when Naya pinned Iino with La Magistral Cradle (11:59). *Yukio Naya wins Yuki Iino’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
6. Enter Sandman Match: Antonio Honda defeated Kazuki Hirata, Danshoku Dieno, Chris Brookes and KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) when Honda pinned Hirata (19:09).
Today was the day Kazuki Hirata needed to choose his first challenger for the KO-D Openweight Title. There is a scheduled title defence at Korakuen Hall set for 28th September and Hirata’s request to fight a weak opponent like Hisaya Imabayashi kept getting denied by the GM. Hirata also had the problem of three Right To Challenge Arm Covers being active, two of which were being held by wrestlers who want to cash them in as soon as possible. To deal with that Hirata today brought along a masked, muscular bodyguard to protect him. Fans watching assumed it was Ryoma Tsukamoto under the mask but he went to Twitter to deny it, although he agrees they could pass for twins given their identical body shape (he then went on to retweet a lot of photos of the bodyguard).
As the show progressed there were two Right To Challenge movements. Akito pinned Yuki Ishida in the second match to win his RTC Arm Cover. Then in the fifth match Yukio Naya pinned Yuki Iino to take that Arm Cover. So when Hirata took part in the main event, Akito entered the ring midway through wanting to cash in his title shot. However the bodyguard was there to physically stop him. Then Naya entered the ring and successfully fought off the bodyguard. But when he tried to cash in his shot, Danshoku Dieno interrupted him by giving him the Lip Lock and Hirata then shoved Naya’s face into Dieno’s rear end. Just when Hirata thought he was safe and sound, the lights went out and the music stopped. The lights then came back on to show Yoshihiko was suddenly in the ring and it attacked Hirata using the Reincarnation. Antonio Honda tried to rescue Hirata but Yoshihiko send him head first into Dieno’s Hell Gate, knocking him out. Honda then collapsed onto Hirata with Yoshihiko on top of both of them while the ref counted to three.
Honda was officially the winner but Hirata knew Yoshihiko was the enemy. He came to the conclusion that the most worthy opponent to fight him for the KO-D Title is not a human being. It is Yoshihiko! Imabayashi accepted the nomination and announced the title match for 28th September. Backstage Hirata told reporters he is now at six successful title defences and everyone quickly figured out he is counting every avoidance of a cash in as a successful defence. Hirata also told the bodyguard he will continue to pay him well so he is counting on his continued protection in the future.
Naya showed everyone that even after eight years of being a wrestler he is still learning new things. He used La Magistral Cradle for the first time and it worked in pinning Iino for the three count in their tag match. Naya got on the microphone afterwards and told fans he will become a strong wrestler who can compete on the level of Iino, Kazusada Higuchi and Jun Akiyama in the future. Backstage The Apex switched to talking about their next KO-D Tag Team Titles defence. Iino warned Naya not to let his guard down because they can lose to To-y & Yuya Koroku if their challengers do indeed show their true strength.
The whole point of “LariPro” matches is to throw Lariats so Yuki Ueno kept getting booed for using other moves. When Toru Owashi complained to him about it, Ueno got on the microphone and said he wasn’t going to do a boring match where everyone does the same move over and over. He stormed out of the ring while Owashi admitted he didn’t want to use Lariats either. So Owashi decided to wrestle like Mil Mascaras instead! The match turned into lucha libre and HARASHIMA even dragged Yukinori Matsui into the action. That was when Ueno returned dressed just like Riki Choshu! He threw Choshu-style Lariats at the other team until MAO stopped him using the Takeshita Line followed by the Buckshot Lariat. However despite all of the Lariats being thrown by everyone, the match instead ended when Keisuke Ishii pinned Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a School Boy.
A contact signing for Sunday’s DDT Extreme Title match took place and To-y revealed the match rules to Ilusion. It is called a “Stop The Annoying Streamers!! Unicast Death Match!” Both wrestlers will stream themselves on Wrestle Universe while the match goes on. In order to win you must either pin or submit your opponent on-camera or switch off their stream! The usual rules still apply for fouls and there will also be no countout. During the signing Ilusion read out a prepared statement apologising for his recent streamer behaviour while also asking To-y to admit that both sides are to blame. To-y got mad over Ilusion’s insincere apology and said he came up with these rules to punish him. However he also showed his lack of knowledge about live streaming, telling reports he just needs to press a button on his phone so even an idiot like him can do it. Then later in the show their match ended in a DQ when Ilusion attacked To-y and the referee with his streamer equipment. He also stole the Extreme Title belt to add insult to injury.
On paper the result of the opening match doesn’t look good for Takeshi Masada but he and also his opponent think differently. He lost to Shinya Aoki in what was supposed to be a warm up match for his DDT Universal Title shot later this month. However Aoki was able to counter Masada’s finishing move into an Inside Cradle to get the win out of nowhere. Aoki still praised Masada for having a strong desire to do his best. He is rooting for him because he doesn’t want to see Minoru Suzuki going around doing as he pleases. Masada also told reporters he gained something amazing from this match so Suzuki better watch out!
Daisuke Sasaki made an appearance to give everyone some updates over his health as well as the “CHARISMANIAxMANIAxMANIA” happening on 2nd October. First he said if his injury forced him to miss the show then the show would have been cancelled. Lucikly his ribs are currently at 90% health thanks to taking vitamins, doing muscle training and praying to God. That means his return to the ring will be at that show. He then told Hideki Okatani he has a very early birthday present for him. Okatani is going to face Jun Kasai in a Hardcore Match at the show!
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi defeated To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai when Koroku submitted Sato with a Jumping Armbar (6:36). *Yuya Koroku wins Daichi Sato’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2. ¥3,000 Match: Jun Akiyama, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito defeated KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO) when Akiyama pinned Honda with a Blockbuster (9:17).
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul and Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Masada pinned Ishida with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (18:59).
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki when Naya pinned HARASHIMA with The World’s Best Back Drop (11:37). *V3 for The Apex.
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated MAO with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (17:50). *V4 for Minoru Suzuki.
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Danshoku Dieno with a Crab Hold (16:29).
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi (c) with the WR (20:42). *Kazusada Higuchi fails in V3. Yuki Ueno becomes the 86th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (2:51). *Yuki Ueno fails in V1. Kazuki Hirata cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Kazuki Hirata becomes the 87th KO-D Openweight Champion!
The second day of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” took place today in Korakuen Hall and by the end of it there was pandemonium over the KO-D Openweight Title going to the most unlikeliest wrestler in years! But first Kazusada Higuchi put the belt on the line against Yuki Ueno when just less than a day earlier he defended it against Jun Akiyama in a hard fought battle. Ueno pulled out the Sit Down Himawari Bomb for a nearfall and avoided the Claw Slam to hit Higuchi with a Dropkick to the back. Higuchi fought back using Lariats until Ueno blocked the fourth one and suddenly captured Higuchi in the WR to score the three count and become the new KO-D Champion! The two showed respect to each other after the match but then things took a wide swerve in a different direction.
Suddenly Kazuki Hirata made it down to the ring and he hesitated over whether or not he should cash in his Right To Challenge Arm Cover to get an immediate title shot against Ueno. He decided that since he held it on for so long, the audience’s expectations have grown too large. Hirata had also grown attached to the Arm Cover and didn’t want to lose it. He considered burning it in a shrine but that didn’t feel right so he’s going to use it for the title shot right away! The match began and although Ueno was tired from just wrestling Higuchi, he easily went on the offensive against Hirata. However Hirata kicked out of Ueno’s Frog Splash and suddenly rolled him up with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the upset of all upsets. Kazuki Hirata is now the KO-D Champion!
Hirata was just as shocked as everyone else that he won and admitted he didn’t mean to do that. Being the KO-D Champion is a heavy burden and he cannot think about what waits for him in the future but right now he is really happy. In his 15 years as a pro wrestler he’s had fun times, difficult times, injuries and a lot of other things going wrong. He persevered though and through hard work in all kind of forms he has made it to the top of DDT! He doesn’t feel any stronger though so he isn’t going to let his guard down. With that said, he promised the fans he will show them everything that is fun about the KO-D Title.
Hirata went back to the locker room where everyone was there in the hallway to give him applause. However Toru Owashi approached Hirata and gave him a slap across the face. He then led Hirata back out to the ring with everyone else was there waiting for him. Owashi then grabbed the title belt but it was only so he could wrap it around Hirata’s waist. The entire locker room took a group photo together and Hirata was given a pair of Hirata GO! glasses so he could do his complete dance routine uninterrupted in front of everyone. Backstage Hirata told reporters he would rather defend the KO-D Title against Hisaya Imabayashi or Daisuke Kiso instead of Higuchi or Ueno. The thought of being the defending champion at Sumo Hall on 3rd November sounds hellish to him. However it will never intentionally lose a match when a championship is on the line so he will give it his all to win every time, even if his first defence will probably be a tough one. Ueno said he has no excuses for losing to Hirata. He warned the new champ to be careful on his way home because everyone now has their eyes set on him! Higuchi said he is satisfied with how his weekend went because he gave it his all on both days. He’ll keep working hard to show his spirit with the rest of Harimao.
On paper a matchup between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Danshoku Dieno sounds like the most two opposite forces of pro wrestling colliding with each other. But look deep into the layers and you will find both men have a similar past background. Both are from the Kansai region, are nearly the same age and made their starts in wrestling by joining student pro wrestling clubs in college. It turns out this match was fate all along. Dieno couldn’t help but burst into tears when the match began. He needed all of his seconds at ringside to slap him across the face to psyche him up. As he went toe to toe against Tanahashi, he used moves from other DDT wrestlers like the nose grab from Masahiro Takanashi, the Stunner from Sanshiro Takagi, the God’s Right Knee from Yukio Sakaguchi and the Buzzsaw Kick from KUDO. He even added in the Kamigoye from Kota Ibushi for good measure. The Danshoku Driver couldn’t keep Tanahashi down so Dieno went for a Moonsault and missed it. Tanahashi went to town on Dieno with his signature moves ending with the High Fly Flow. But rather than pin Dieno, Tanahashi encouraged him to get back up so he could give him the Lip Lock! It took Dieno off his feet and when Dieno grabbed onto Tanahashi to try and pull himself back up, he instead pulled down Tanahashi’s wrestling tights to reveal he was wearing a Danshoku thong underneath this whole time! Tanahashi then tripped Dieno to the canvas and put him in the Crab Hold, forcing Dieno to tap out.
After the match Tanahashi talked to Dieno about their university routes. Their upbringings ended up being completely different but pro wrestling is what brought them together. Tanahashi really got a sense of what Dieno has achieved as a pro wrestler. So even though Tanahashi is retiring on 4th January, he encouraged Dieno to keep going because he still has a lot going for him. He then told Dieno if there’s any young wrestlers in New Japan that he likes, just let him know (his second at ringside Katsuya Murashima had a flustered look on his face when he heard that). Dieno was a little annoyed to have earned Tanahashi’s acceptance so quickly because he’ll have nothing to reach for if the top of the industry now recognizes him. This match wasn’t about winning or losing to Dieno, it was his chance to have a fun fight with Tanahashi and he wasn’t going to apologise for that if it went wrong. He will never forget what he felt today and he told Tanahashi he loves him. Backstage Tanahashi explained that passion is just the matter of where you direct it. He put his passion into training his boy while Dieno put his passion into DDT. It is all about heart and Tanahashi thinks it is good for NJPW to cooperate with companies like DDT and NOAH. With today done he believes he has settled of of his ties with DDT before his retirement. Now he has to wait and see what everyone will say to him about the Danshoku thong tomorrow.
Not even MAO’s craziness can surpass Minoru Suzuki when it comes to the DDT Universal Title. Suzuki lured MAO out of the ring so he could attack his leg using the steel post and also strike the limb with a chairshot. Suzuki then got his hands on KIMIHIRO and knocked him over with an Elbow Strike. KIMIHIRO got a little bit of revenge later in the match when MAO knocked Suzuki out of the ring and KIMIHIRO used his tie to strangle Suzuki on a chair so MAO could run over and hit a Cannonball into the champion. Back in the ring Suzuki tried to counter the Michinoku Driver II into a Front Neck Lock but MAO completed the move and also hit the Iai Kick. However Suzuki only fell down to one knee from the blow and immediately popped back up to put MAO in a Sleeper Hold. MAO got a rope break and tried fighting back with Palm Strikes until Suzuki caught him with a Dropkick, wore him down with another Sleeper Hold and pinned him with the Gotch-Style Piledriver.
Suzuki told MAO after the match that he had fun. He also found something he wants to do in DDT and that is keep the DDT Universal Title all to himself. It’s not like there’s anyone here that can take it away from him, right? Takeshi Masada felt otherwise and he got into the ring to challenge Suzuki. Unfortunately for Masada, Suzuki ignored him then threw him out of the ring when he wouldn’t get out of the way. He called Masada a brat who isn’t strong enough to deserve a title shot so he should just go home. Masada then accused Suzuki of running away. Suzuki grew furious over the comment and headbutted Masada before accepting the challenge. The title match was confirmed for the 28th September Korakuen Hall show. Masada promised that he isn’t afraid of Suzuki but Suzuki warns he is really going to kill Masada!
Unlike Higuchi there were a pair of heavyweights who survived the weekend with their championships still intact. The Apex were victorious against the pairing of HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki, meaning they achieved a successful KO-D Tag Team Titles defence for the second day in a row. Yuki Iino stuggled at first against Aoki’s grappling along with HARASHIMA targeting his back. The challengers also held the champions in stereo Cobra Twists. But when HARASHIMA went to go do the Somato on Yukio Naya, Iino cut him off with the Spear. Naya then used a Running Knee Lift on HARASHIMA before pinning him with The World’s Best Back Drop.
After the match Naya called The Apex the strongest tag team in DDT. Yuya Koroku then entered the ring wearing the Right To Challenge Arm Cover he won earlier in the show. To-y then entered from the opposite side to ambush Iino with a dive from the top rope. However he ruined the surprise by encouraging the fans to chant “T-O-Y” and Iino easily caught him. Luckily for To-y, Iino’s back was still hurt from the match so he couldn’t drive him into the turnbuckle like he did to Daisuke Sasaki yesterday. To-y said he and Koroku want to challenge for the titles. Iino refused because he is tired but he did show interest in taking the RTC Arm Cover from Koroku. Imabayashi decided a tag title match will go ahead between the two teams in Osaka on 23rd September. Iino agreed to it but said he will cancel the match if Koroku loses his Arm Cover before then.
The injury Daisuke Sasaki suffered in yesterday’s KO-D Tag Titles match was revealed to be a fractured rib. MJ Paul replaced him as Hideki Okatani’s partner in the 3 Way Tag Match. When Okatani was held in the Schadenfreude Tower by Chris Brookes & Masada, Yuki Ishida jumped on top to pull off a Dosukoi pose. Masada encouraged all of SCHADENFREUDE International to do a train attack on Naomi Yoshimura but Yoshimura knocked everyone down with Shoulder Blocks one by one. He then grabbed Bunbun and gave him the Coconut Crush, literally knocking the puppet out of its pants! Okatani attacked other wrestlers with his bamboo stick but ended up accidentally hitting Paul with it. Paul then tried to break up Yoshimura pinning Okatani but ended up squashing his partner by mistake. The match then came down to Ishida missing the Dosukoi Splash, giving Brookes & Masada the opportunity to double team him until he was pinned with Masada’s finisher.
If only we knew during the second match what was to come. Hirata was part of a 6-Man Tag Match teaming with KANON & Antonio Honda. This was also the match where Akiyama was placed for losing in yesterday’s main event, teaming with Super Sasadango Machine & Akito. Everyone in the match was still feeling tired from yesterday’s show so Imabayashi promised the winning team would get 3,000 yen as their prize. That fired everyone up to levels above even their normal standard. When Akiyama won the match for his team, they were overjoyed to receive the 3,000 yen.
The wrestlers from D GENERATIONS were put into the opening 8-Man Tag Match. Rukiya and Kazuma Sumi started off while Ilusion would get in To-y’s way when the opportunity presented itself. Ilusion didn’t stop there because he pushed his own tag partner Munetatsu Nakamura off the top rope just so he could do the Missile Dropkick instead. In the end, Koroku used the ropes to give Daichi Sato a Tornado DDT and he then made him submit to a Jumping Armbar, winning his RTC Arm Cover in the process.
Just like yesterday, NωA Jr. members Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi kicked off the show by singing “Going my ωay!!!!! ~You Are Not Alone~” for everyone.
Sanshiro Takagi made an appearance during the show to give everyone an update on his return to the ring. He has been cleared by his doctor to have his official return match at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November and his opponent will be against someone he has never fought before. It will be Hinata Kasai! Takagi congratulated the rookie on debuting yesterday and explained to him that the first match on a show is the second most important bout after the main event. It will be up to them to set the stage for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”. Kasai asked how can a promising young talent like him lose to an old man who lost his breath from simply getting to the ring? He is going to beat Takagi at Sumo Hall! Backstage Takagi said that while Kasai has the obvious connection with his father Jun Kasai, there is something else about Hinata that draws him in and makes him excited for this match to happen. Kasai meanwhile is looking forward to winning in his Ryogoku debut. Later in a brief interview with Tokyo Sports, Takagi revealed that the actual reason for his absence was because he got diagnosed with angina. However it was detected early and he eventually made a full recovery.
Akito told the reporters some behind the scenes details about this weekend’s shows. “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year was originally planned to take place as one show in Sumo Hall but the venue was unavailable around this time period due to renovations. He also thanked New Japan for giving them miracles like Zack Sabre Jr. while he is the reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion as well as what is likely to be Tanahashi’s final match in DDT before he retires. Akito couldn’t have imagined things like that happening if it wasn’t for NJPW and President Tanahashi agreeing to it.
DDT announced Kaisei Takechi’s remaining appearances for this year as well as his first booking for 2026. He is already announced for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November. He will also be at the Korakuen Hall shows held on 28th September, 19th October, 21st December and 3rd January.
DDT “KING OF KINGS ~ARASHI’S JUNE SHOWDOWN~”, 29/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
0. Dark Match: Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida defeated Akito & Kazuma Sumi when Ishida pinned Sumi with the Flame Palm (6:46).
1. Jun Akiyama, Daichi Sato & Soma Takao defeated Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada when Sato pinned Masada with the Mad Splash (8:53).
2. International Special Tag Match: Mansoor & Mason Madden defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Madden pinned Hirata after the Danshoku Driver-Style Centrefold (8:57).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Poison Sawada JULIE (c) with the Stunner (12:08 pm). *Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 1,749th champion.
3. Special Tag Match: MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated HARASHIMA & Kumadori when Ilusion pinned Kumadori with a Cradle (10:43).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani defeated MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) and Shunma Katsumata & To-y when Sasaki submitted Katsumata with La Mistica Crossface Lock (8:39).
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yuki Ueno defeated Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with a Chickenwing Arm Lock Counter (14:03).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya defeated Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) when Naya pinned Abe with The World’s Best Back Drop (14:14). *Astronauts fails in V6. The Apex become the 87th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Chris Brookes (c) with the Claw Slam (20:43). *Chris Brookes fails in V5. Kazusada Higuchi becomes the 85th KO-D Openweight Champion!
Three months after his return from injury, Kazuasada Higuchi has climbed to the top of DDT again to regain his place as the KO-D Openweight Champion! His match with Chris Brookes started with a Chop battle and quickly escalated from there. Brookes did a Piledriver onto the ring apron, a Diving Foot Stomp to the outside, an Avalanche Double Arm Suplex back into the ring and also the Somato. Higuchi kicked out of the Praying Mantis Bomb, Heabutted his way into taking control of the match and did the Claw Slam, which Brookes also kicked out of. Higuchi then powered his way out of the Octopus Hold and used Lariats as well as the Doctor Bomb to soften up the champ. Another Claw Slam (that Brookes tried to stop by pinching Higuchi’s nose) after that kept Brookes down for the count and made Higuchi the new champion!
Brookes was leaving the ring when Higuchi called for him to come back. He told Brookes he is really strong for brushing off every challenge that has come his way in order to defend the KO-D Title. Brookes wrapped the belt around Higuchi’s waist then Harimao and SCHADENFREUDE International shared cans of beer together. Higuchi talked about how it was his dream to regain the title when HARASHIMA approached the ring. He said he always admires strength which is why he always aiming to win the strongest championship in DDT. Therefore he is here to challenge Higuchi for a title match! Higuchi agreed and the match will take place at Korakuen Hall on 13th July.
A new heavyweight tag team has taken over the tag division. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya only just recently joined forces but their combined power was too much for Astronauts to handle. The result brings an end to their KO-D Tag Team Title reign at the halfway point of reaching their goal to get the most title defences. Fuminori Abe continued to stop Iino from doing his “I Am BURNING! Yeah!” catchphrase as he’s been doing in the buildup to this match. But Iino got the last laugh by hitting him and Takuya Nomura with a Double Spear then gave another Spear to Nomura so he wouldn’t be able to stop Naya pinning Abe with The World’s Best Back Drop. However Abe was able to get one last sucker punch in to stop Iino from saying his catchphrase after the match.
Despite becoming the new KO-D Tag Champs, Naya told Iino they still have a lot to learn but at least together they will make DDT the best it can be. Iino is pleased to have safely come back from his eye injury and win his comeback match. He also revealed to everyone their tag team’s new name. Is it BURNING? No, it is The Apex! They way he announced it left the audience feeling a bit confused but Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato walked out to quickly move on from the awkward moment so they could challenge The Apex for the titles. Akiyama even said out loud what a confusing name it is. Earlier in the show Sato directly won a DDT match for the first time today and he wants to carry on that momentum to get a title shot with Akiyama. Naya accepted but warned Sato not to get too cocky just because he won one match. The title bout will happen in Sumitomo on 27th July.
Earlier in the show Minoru Suzuki and Shinya Aoki had a contract signing segment for their DDT Universal Title match taking place on 13th July. It went ahead without any trouble although the two had a tense staredown at the end of it. Then later in the show they fought in a tag team match with Yuki Ueno on Suzuki’s team and Yuya Koroku on Aoki’s. This turned out to be a lot more dangerous with Suzuki and Aoki having a ringside brawl with chairshots being thrown. Back in the ring Koroku went for the Triangle Lancer on Ueno but Suzuki found himself getting trapped in Aoki’s Sleeper Hold. Ueno made a surprise cradle counter on Koroku to get away with the win but as this was happening, his partner Suzuki was choked out cold by Aoki! After the match Aoki got on the microphone and simply said it was an “Easy job.” He had already made his way to the back when Suzuki regained consciousness. Suzuki then immediately went on a rampage by kicking referees, attacking the wrestlers doing ringside duties and throwing furniture around the venue.
A 3 Way Tag Match featuring wrestlers from Strange Love Connection, The 37KAMIINA and DAMNATION T.A was always going to get out of control. To-y wanted to show how crazy he is but Daisuke Sasaki hit him in the back with a chair. To-y tried to get revenge with a Diving Body Press but Sasaki blocked it with his knees. MAO & KANON worked over Hideki Okatani with double team moves until Shunma Katsumata stunned MAO with a Thrust Kick. MAO fired back with the Michinoku Driver II but Sasaki broke the pin and then put Katsumata in La Mistica Crossface Lock to make him tap out.
Other members of DAMNATION T.A played spoiler for Kumadori’s return to DDT. Ilusion in particular wanted to make an example of the O-MENZ dancer because he got served when it comes to dance moves. HARASHIMA came to Kumadori’s aid by hitting Ilusion with a Standing Somato and then went to hold MJ Paul back. But Ilusion found the referee’s blind spot to give Kumadori a Low Blow and get away with cradling him for the three count. Ilusion made fun of Kumadori afterwards, calling him a weak baby who should go back to his mom’s bed instead of being in the ring. Kumdaori demanded a singles match with Ilusion and he is going to get it at Shinjuku FACE on 16th July.
Perhaps MxM Collection are an even better fit in DDT than I thought. They made their entrance to “Death By Glamour” from Undertale and did their own little dance along with their chic poses. They weren’t going to beat Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata in a popularity contest though, if only because Dieno brought his pet dog Haku down to the ring. Once the match actually began Mansoor quickly found out how much of a pervert Dieno is. MxM did some of their own Danshoku moves to Hirata but that only made Dieno want to take Hirata’s place. It fired him up enough to get the hot tag just so nothing could stop him from getting a piece of Mason Madden. But when Madden grabbed him for a Choke Slam, Dieno successfully pleaded him not to do it because Haku was watching from the corner. When Mason bowed to Haku in apology Dieno knocked him out of the ring, attached the handle to Haku’s dog collar around his neck and made Haku walk forward to strangle him. Mansoor then tried to take Haku and bring him up to the top rope when Hirata stopped him. Dieno stripped off his main tights and tried to do Danshoku things to MxM when Madden escaped and hit a Double Spear to Dieno & Hirata. Madden then put Dieno’s tights on himself and with Mansoor gave Hirata the Centrefold (elevated double team Pedigree) to get the win.
Sato’s first DDT win was almost overshadowed by Soma Takao attacking Bunbun with an unwarranted Leg Drop during the match. Toru Owashi used a little bit of lucha to deal with him and Sato while Antonio Honda prepared Gongitsune. Things almost got passionate between Sato and Takeshi Masada but Akiyama was there to give Masada the Exploder Suplex. Sato then scored his first win by hitting the Mad Splash from the top rope.
Naomi Yoshimura’s limited schedule has put him in the dark match for today’s show. He and Yuki Ishida kicked off what became a good day for Harimao by beating Akito & Kazuma Sumi. Akito targeted Yoshimura’s massive legs to slow him down but couldn’t count on Sumi to finish Ishida. Instead Ishida gave him a Back Drop followed by the Flame Palm for the victory.
To celebrate the 25 years of the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title its creator and current champion Poison Sawada JULIE went and created a brand new belt to replace the first generation prize that has become badly worn down. Sawada explained it was originally created so he could fight Sanshiro Takagi 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However many, many different things got in their way resulting in so many wrestlers, oridnary people, animals and inanimate objects to become champions over the last 25 years. Hisaya Imabayashi presented the 2nd generation belt to Sawada who started laughing because nobody will ever be able to take it off him! Then Takagi ran into the ring, gave Sawada the Stunner and pinned him to win the title. Backstage Takagi said he hopes the new belt will make new history for the championship. He also told fans to keep an eye on its movements because it will also show up in Super Japan as well as DDT.
It was announced that Zack Sabre Jr. will compete at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1” being held in Higashin Arena Main Arena on 30th August. This news came out hours before Sabre won back the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at today’s New Japan show.
DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION ~SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE VS TORU YANO~”, 09/06/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
-. Special Exhibition Match: Kazuma Sumi Vs Daiki Nagai ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).
-. Special Exhibition Match – Extra Time: Kazuma Sumi Vs Daiki Nagai ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
-. DDT Pro Wrestling x New Japan Pro Wrestling Mini All-Out Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & YOH defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Akito & Antonio Honda when Tanahashi pinned Sasadango with the High Fly Flow (12:03).
-. New Japan Pro Wrestling & DDT Pro Wrestling Alliance Vs World Pro Wrestling Union Peacekeeping Force: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, YOH, Super Sasadango Machine, Akito & Antonio Honda defeated Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Shuji Ishikawa, Ken Ohka & MAO when YOH pinned Takagi with the Dragon Suplex (15:10).
1. DDT Extreme Title – Corner Mat On The Mat Rules: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Toru Yano ended in a Double Countout (126:32). *V2 for Super Sasadango Machine.
Today’s show was an experiment in pushing the idea of inter-promotional wrestling warfare to its limit. It was ten years ago when a blossoming working relationship between DDT and New Japan led to a dream match that instead became a nightmare. A battle of the aces turned sour when New Japan’s ace Hiroshi Tanahashi vehemently rejected the idea that DDT’s ace HARASHIMA was even close to his level. A few months later there was an apology of sorts when DDT was able to book a tag match between HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka against Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu. DDT came out on the winning side but the result never sat right with Toru Yano who felt that NJPW should never lose in these situations. Regardless, once the match was over DDT’s working relationship with New Japan pretty much came to an end (there’s also the Kota Ibushi double contract drama that happened around the same time period but that’s a whole different story and he’s currently persona non grata to both companies so let’s just ignore it for now).
On paper it was a one match card that was built upon years of history between DDT and New Japan Pro Wrestling. What it turned into was a pro wrestling therapy session to mend the decade long damaged relationship between both companies. It could also just all have been a grand plan by Muscle Sakai to trick wrestling fans into attending a Muscle show. Every element of the event was produced twice, one end by the DDT side and the other by the NJPW side. Wrestle Universe and NJPW World had separate PPV broadcasts of the show with their own commentary team and camera crew. Korakuen Hall even had two screens set up side by side just to show the differences in the separate broadcasts.
The crowd were split into separate cheering sections to keep DDT fans and NJPW fans away from each other. Both companies also provided their own referees and ring announcers. Haruo Murata was given the neutral role of explaining the rules since he works closely with both companies. The agreed rule was there would be one referee for the match but Yukinori Matsui and Kenta Sato would have to trade shifts every five minutes. Sato won the draw to be the ref at the beginning. Inoue Mic and Makoto Abe would ring their bells together to start the match but only one would get to announce the winner depending on who won. Finally a lottery determined that Yano would enter first and Sasadango second. Normally in Japan the wrestler who enters second is considered higher in rank.
Next the commentary teams were revealed. New Japan had Shinpei Nogami and Milano Collection A.T. calling the match for NJPW World while Wrestle Universe relied on Ken Suzuki and… Haruo Murata! Turns out he wasn’t going to play neutral after all. Danshoku Dieno then came out to encourage cheers from the DDT fans. Hiromu Takahashi then showed up to do the same with the NJPW crowd. This kept going until Dieno snuck up behind Takahashi. He tried to put him in the Lip Lock but the lights went out and it was time for the show to begin!
Yano made his entrance and along the way handed his towel to a lucky fan named Yuji Nagata who was sitting in the front row. When the match started, Yano quickly left the ring and came back carrying a Louis Vuitton bag as a present for Sasadango. When Sasadango bent over to take a look inside, Yano knocked it into his face resulting in a cloud of powder blowing out of the bag and supposedly blinding him. Yano then rolled him up but only got a nearfall. Another roll up attempt had Sasadango complaining because the show is scheduled to last for another two hours. They then had a strike exchange that Yano didn’t like so he left the ring again. He and Sasadango decided to waste time by going around ringside signing autographs for fans until they had to break the 20 count.
Five minutes had passed and Sato had to be replaced by Matsui. Yano quickly decided to brawl with Sasadango all the way out of the room and into a nearby elevator before they went back into the room so Yano could throw Sasadango into the railings. However Sasadango’s ringboy Kazuma Sumi suddenly grabbed him and held on to stop Yano from doing another Irish Whip. That caused Yano’s young lion Daiki Nagai to confront him and start a fight between the two youngsters! Sasadango and Yano saw what was going on and came up with an idea. If the fans want to see the rookies fight then they’ll let it happen!
All of a sudden an exhibition bout between Sumi and Nagai began. For three minutes they exchanged holds and got into a strike battle until the match was ruled a time limit draw. Sasadango wanted it to continue so he allowed a five minute overtime to begin. This time the match was more clearly about Sumi’s agility against Nagai’s power but again it ended in a draw when the extra time ran out. The enthusiastic effort of both wrestlers overwhelmed Sasadango and he asked for a time out so he could clear his mind. Yano agreed and the two walked back to their locker rooms.
To keep the audience occupied during this break, Antonio Honda entered the ring to promote the special T-shirt that Shinsuke Nakamura designed for the show. However he tripped over the ropes and hurt his knee. This was supposed to set up Gongitsune but YOH interrupted it because he hates foxes! He told everyone the story of when he was four years old and got bitten by a fox. Honda told YOH he makes a living doing fox jokes so he wasn’t going to stop it just for him. YOH climbed into the ring to attack Honda only to trips over the ropes and hurt himself just like Honda did. Honda then suggested they do Gongitsune together so YOH could get over his hatred of foxes. He led him into doing a dick joke about “Mission Chinpo-ssible” before they tried attacking each other with Gongitsune. They struggled until their hands formed together shaped like a heart and before they knew it, they were dancing together. When they were done Honda told the audience there was more of the show to come.
Sasadango returned but instead of continuing his match (that was still in progress) he decided to do one of his famous PowerPoint Presentations instead. Titled “How Can I Defeat Toru Yano And Win The One-On-One Confrontation Match” Sasadango explained he wants Yano to take the match more seriously. To make that happen Sasadango decided that his DDT Extreme Title was now on the line! And since the Extreme Champion gets to create the match stipulation, Sasadango deliberately came up with a match format that Yano will not want to lose. Two of the corner pads just so happened to be sponsored by businesses related to the two wrestlers. There was a Sakai Seiki Co. Ltd sponsor pad belonging to Sasadango and a EBRIETAS sponsor pad belonging to Yano. Whoever could unhook their opponent’s corner pad and pin it down on the canvas for a three count would become the winner!
Yano returned to the ring to repeat the match introductions now that is was turned into a title bout. He immediately removed Sasadango’s turnbuckle and attack him with it. He then removed his own turnbuckle to hide it beneath the ring. Sasadango retrieved it thanks to help from some fans telling him which side of the ring it was hidden in. He and Yano continued to hit each other with turnbuckles until Sasadango dared Yano to fight him using Strong Style. Yano did so but soon changed his mind and taped Sasadango to one of the other corners. He then pinned the turnbuckle but right before the three count was made, time stopped.
The song “Etupirka” played over the speakers as everyone was given a chance to see into Sasadango’s thoughts at this moment in time. He was digging deep inside himself looking for the strength he needed to break the pin. With everything now in slow motion, Honda cut the tape away and Sasadango broke Yano’s pin in time. He knocked down Yano with the other turnbuckle and began to pin it when time froze again. This time we got to hear Yano’s inner thoughts, which was pretty much him shilling the EBRIETAS bar. Somehow that made his turnbuckle pad kick out of Sasadango’s pin by itself! Yano then made fun of the slow motion gimmick and made the song play in fast forward, forcing the two of them to fight at the same speed.
Yano had the advantage at this point so Honda and Akito ran into the ring to fight him. Yano fought off the 3-on-1 disadvantage by using Low Blows and Manhattan Drops until he collapsed from exhaustion. YOH ran in to check on him and now everyone could hear his inner thoughts. YOH said he hasn’t paid back his debt to Yano from ten years ago and he has never lived a day of his life without him. Sasadango brought everyone back to reality and asked YOH what he meant about a debt from 10 years ago? YOH said he meant the tag match he and Tanahashi had against HARASHIMA & Ohka where HARASHIMA pinned him with the Somato. He never got over losing that match while Yano still doesn’t accept why NJPW lost and Tanahashi had to apologise afterward. Akito reminded the fans that this longstanding grudge began when Tanahashi said he didn’t want DDT to be treated as NJPW’s equal. He thought the grudge was finally settled when Konosuke Takeshita beat Tanahashi in America recently but now he realizes it hasn’t ended for YOH yet. YOH admitted how weird it is that he is still wrestling with these feelings while Tanahashi hasn’t been bothered by it at all. Sasadango brought up that at the tag match a decade ago, he remembers Tanahashi called Yohei Komatsu a future start but in the ten years since then that hasn’t happened at all! YOH went as far as to do the Somato on MAO at the Best Of The Super Jr. yet it seems like Tanahashi has completely forgotten about that match! If only Tanahashi would care enough to be here and explain himself…
Yano then remembered that Tanahashi is currently being interviewed somewhere by the comedian Ryota Yamasato. Sasadango helps out with Yamasato’s Youtube channel so he knows that Yamasato likes to film his guests in the Chinese restaurant three floors below Korakuen Hall. In fact he can get a video feed onto one of the screens. The video stream showed Yamasato ending the interview and telling the viewers that Tanahashi is about to leave. But he is certain if Tanahashi ever hears a crowd chanting his name, he will be drawn towards them. The fans began the chant and Tanahashi couldn’t help but notice it. Say his name and he appears, Hiroshi Tanahashi entered Korakuen Hall with Yamasato following him!
After Tanahashi introduced himself, Sasadango had a question for him. Does he remember calling YOH a future star ten years ago? Tanahashi was at a loss for words and couldn’t answer. Sasadango then played a video of the comment as proof. He then told Tanahashi to give YOH some tips in front of everyone on how to become a star. After giving it some thought, Tanahashi said YOH doesn’t need somebody to make him a star. He instead needs to be one of the stars of New Japan. The advice didn’t quite work so Yamasato stepped in to help. He knew something like this would happen so he prepared his own PowerPoint Presentation!
Yamasato’s first advice in the presentation is a wrestler needs to find success in their home promotion. YOH has won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles many times and recently made it to the Best Of The Super Jr. final but he is still one step away from becoming the ace he wants to be. The key is he needs to win an inter-promotional match against another big wrestling company! All of a sudden he noticed there were three DDT wrestlers and three NJPW wrestlers in the ring so he came up with the idea for them to do a 6-Man Tag Match straight away. After all this could be YOH’s final chance to team with Tanahashi for a shot at revenge against DDT. Everyone agreed and they all left ringside so they could do proper entrances for the match.
It was a full length trios match where Tanahashi, Yano & YOH were victorious against Sasadango, Akito & Honda. Sasadango gave Tanahashi the Vertical Drop Lehman Shock but only got a two count. He tried it a second time but Tanahashi escaped and gave him the Sling Blade. YOH called his partner for a tag but when he was setting Sasadango up for the finish, Tanahashi suddenly tagged himself back in, climbed the top rope and hit the High Fly Flow to get the three count for himself! Sasadango got annoyed because he put together all this effort to put YOH over just for Tanahashi to steal the glory. This is why he hates New Japan!
Sasadango was about to declare an end to DDT and New Japan’s recovering relationship when he was interrupted by Amon Tsurumi. The former GM of Muscle said Sasadango is always worried about looking good which is why he keeps losing. He should be watching more WCW Nitro and learn from that instead! Tsurumi then revealed he is now the executive director of the World Pro Wrestling Union, the world’s first automatic pro wrestling industry organization which automatically operates every wrestling company around the world. The main goal of the operation is to maintain peace in the wrestling industry. He is here because it is absolutely unacceptable for New Japan and DDT to be fighting each other on a Monday night! All six wrestlers who just had the match are going to receive serious penalties for what they’ve done.
To sort this out Tsurumi has called upon The Pro Wrestling Peacekeeper Force. Six elite wrestlers are on their way to crush those they deem responsible. The Force turned out to be HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Shuji Ishikawa, Ken Ohka & MAO. Plus there was their leader who was making a one night only return from his hiatus, Sanshiro Takagi! A 12-Man Tag Match broke out with everyone brawling all over the venue.
The match included MAO giving Tanahashi the Sling Blade and Takagi also giving him the Stunner. Later Tanahashi got to face off with HARASHIMA again for the first time in a decade. Ishikawa blocked Honda’s Gongitsune but didn’t expect Tanahashi to poke him in the eyes with the same move instead! The NJPW x DDT Alliance got the upper hand and YOH was ready to get the win he was after for so long. Then Tanahashi tagged himself in again to give Takagi the Sling Blade. This time however YOH convinced Tanahashi to tag him back in so he could get the glory. YOH gave Takagi the Somato and then followed up with the Dragon Suplex to get the win.
After the 12-Man Tag was done, Takagi asked YOH if he knows what it means to beat him? YOH won the match but Takagi is only one member of DDT. The fight between the two companies isn’t over yet and will go on for years if not decades! He hopes YOH will become a superstar. Sasadango then explained to YOH that this whole entire thing going back to ten years ago was all Takagi’s fault. He is the root of all evil and Sasadango thanked YOH for beating Takagi. Tanahashi said he has learned a lot since becoming a company president. He thinks NJPW and DDT can work together more often from now on to make pro wrestling even more exciting. YOH said he feels like a little bit more of a star now but he will work hard to become a real one.
Yano then interrupted the closing speech to point out that his match with Sasadango hasn’t ended yet. He called for “Etupirka” to be played normally so everyone could hear his true thoughts. He thinks the right way to end today’s match is for every wrestler to get out of the ring and all be counted out together. That way the rivalry between New Japan and DDT can end in a draw. Everyone did so (including an El Desperado cameo) and they all waited for Matsui and Sato to both count to 20, meaning the match between Sasadango and Yano ended in a Double Countout after officially lasting for over two hours.
Before the show could end, Sasadango gave his thanks to everyone who was involved in putting the event together. He also had one more request for Tanahashi. He wanted him to do the Muscle Muscle pose to close out the show. Tanahashi made a deal with him to combine it with his “I Love You!” catchphrase. So in the end everyone shouted “3, 2, 1 Love Muscle! Muscle!” Even though the show was now over, the Wrestle Universe and NJPW World broadcasts couldn’t help but continue streaming just to see who could stay on the air longer.
Backstage Tanahashi admitted that after all of these years, DDT saved his heart. He didn’t go into this show thinking he had to atone for anything he did in the past. But he is happy to have done it with only six months left until his retirement from pro wrestling. Yano is impressed with himself because it was the first time he wrestled for two hours. It felt to him like NJPW and DDT were competing against each other on several levels. Sasadano said he could never imagine being able to hold a show like this in his 25 years as a wrestler. He thanks Yano for making so many dreams come true today.
Takagi got to talk about DDT’s involvement with New Japan that went back even further beyond 2015. He remembers when there were DDT wrestlers appearing on NJPW Lion’s Road shows during the mid 2000s. He admits DDT has never been able to catch up to NJPW but it suits him better to chase after them. He also brought up Takeshita’s current triple deal as well as MAO’s Best Of The Super Jr. appearance. Takagi also explained he got asked to take part in the show only recently and he felt good enough physically to do it. He may be able to get in the ring again in the not too distant future. He wants to get his body in shape and once he does he hopes everyone will look forward to his comeback.
DDT “MY LOVE LETTER 2025”, 07/06/2025 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated Shunma Katsumata, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi when Okatani pinned Sumi with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (6:56).
2. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki defeated Soma Takao & Daichi Sato when Aoki pinned Sato with the European Clutch (10:13).
3. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 5 ~ Singles Match Where Hirata Gives It His All: Toru Owashi defeated Old Kazuki Hirata with a Body Press (0:36).
3a. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 5 ~ Second Singles Match Where Hirata Gives It His All: Toru Owashi defeated Hiratimo Dragon with La Magistral Cradle (0:33).
3b. Thank You Toru Owashi ~ Toru Owashi 20th Anniversary Of DDT Participation Series Vol. 5 ~ Fourth Singles Match Where Hirata Gives It His All: Kazuki Hirata defeated Toru Owashi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (1:12).
4. Special 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y defeated MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) and Jun Akiyama & Danshoku Dieno when To-y pinned Dieno with a Lip Lock (7:22).
5. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs Harimao!: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Higuchi pinned Brookes with the Claw Slam (11:18).
6. Antonio Honda 20th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Antonio Honda with the Crossface Lock (17:19).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura (c) defeated Akito & Yuya Koroku when Abe pinned Koroku with a Modified Triangle Lancer Cutback (15:11). *V5 for Astronauts.
It turns out that Astronauts were just that little bit more skillful than their challengers today. Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura trapped Yuya Koroku & Akito in separate Octopus Stretches but both holds were countered. Koroku got out of Abe’s Stretch and gave him an Intercept DDT off the ropes. Then he started putting Abe in the Modified Triangle Lancer while Akito captured Nomura in an Ankle Lock. However Abe countered the Triangle Lancer into a Small Package and he pinned Koroku to survive a close call. The two teams shook hands after the match.
After the match Yukio Naya walked down to the ring to tell Astronauts he wants a shot at the KO-D Tag Team Titles. He also told them his tag team partner is backstage. Out walked Yuki Iino to the ring! He thanked Naya for calling him because he’s been recovering from a fractured eye socket for the last four months and been itching to fight again. He also wants to become a KO-D Tag Champion again as soon as possible. The match will take place on 29th June. Iino tried to say his “I am BURNING!” catchphrase but Abe slapped him in the jaw during it. Iino tried it again but Abe slapped him a second time. So Iino walked back to the entrance where he was able to finish his catchphrase without introduction. It made him so excited he did it several more times.
The contract signing for the KO-D Openweight Title match was tense with neither Chris Brookes nor Kazusada Higuchi saying anything. Then later in a show Higuchi sent a message loud and clear by beating Brookes clean with the Claw Slam in a tag match. They finally made some comments afterwards backstage. He said he lost to Brookes in Nagoya but gained something by winning here. There are more preliminary matches coming up so he’ll keep going until they get to Korakuen Hall. Brookes said he thought he had kicked out at two but admitted today was a defeat. He said Higuchi won this time but he isn’t the champion yet. Brookes is the champ and he is confident he will still be the champ after Korakuen.
The match that was meant to celebrate Toru Owashi ended up celebrating Kazuki Hirata instead. Hisaya Imabayashi introduced him as Old Kazuki Hirata and he showed up dressed in his rookie gear acting like his beginner self. Owashi quickly beat him and Hirata exited to the back. Imabayashi then all of a sudden did another ring introduction, telling Owashi he now had to fight Hiratimo Dragon! Owashi was confused but again quickly won his match, sending “Dragon” to the back. Imabayashi did a third introduction, this time for Hirata Collection A.T.! Hirata did the full entrance and then retreated to the back when he got scared by Owashi glaring at him. Imabayashi did one more introduction and it was for the regular, modern Hirata. After losing all the other matches he finally scored a win on Owashi. He said he was happy to beat Owashi in their final singles match before Owashi retires. Owashi had to correct him because he isn’t retiring nor is he planning to anytime soon.
There was a special treat for fans at the end of the show. Super Sasadango Machine had produced a bonus PowerPoint Presentation! It was to promote his one match show with Toru Yano on Monday that is being put together by both DDT and New Japan. He described the match as a battle for pro wrestling’s reputation. He wrestled and lost to Yano last June and felt completely defeated not just physically but creatively as well. Sasadango talked about previous incidents between DDT and New Japan, particularly the HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi match from 10 years ago. Tanahashi said after the match he hated the idea that wrestling promotions should be treated equally and it is ridiculous to think they are all evenly matched. His comments at the time resulted in the working relationship between DDT and NJPW quickly falling apart. Sasadango was so sad and angry at the time it made his blood boil. Sasadango, Ken Ohka & Danshoku Dieno eventually hatched a plan to organize their own show for Tanahashi to wrestle on in order to prove DDT was not worthless. The plan worked, the DDT team won the match and Tanahashi did his own PowerPoint Presentation at the end as his way of apologising to DDT.
This ended up causing frustration on the other side because Yano at the time did not like seeing NJPW lost to DDT in this situation. Also a young Konosuke Takeshita was not satisfied because the DDT team weren’t able to defeat Tanahashi directly (HARASHIMA pinned the wrestler we now know as YOH). Sasadango brought up how Takeshita was fueled by that grudge with Tanahashi for years and it was only recently that he was finally able to move on from it and make NJPW his third home promotion. It made Sasadango wonder in hindsight if his plan working out the way it did came at the expense of his juniors by taking away their chances of evening DDT’s score with New Japan. Now the working relationship has been repaired allowing Takeshita and MAO to win over new fans on NJPW shows. It makes Sasadango want to jump on board and show New Japan what he has to offer. He believes DDT’s video production is the best in the world and is part of a DDT package that NJPW cannot compete against. His match with Yano is not to show that they are equals. DDT is the underdog but Sasadango still thinks they are the best! He encourages DDT’s fans to give him their strength so they can fight New Japan together this Monday!
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 