DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

February 15, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The first pre-show match will begin at around 12:10pm JST/3:10am GMT. The main show begins at 1:00pm JST/4:00am GMT. For America that means the show begins at 11:00pm EST/8:00pm PST on Saturday.

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Hey there. Back again to see what DDT is up to at Sumo Hall this time? Cool. The time between Ryogoku visits has been short for this one. Usually DDT books the venue every six or seven months. “JUDGEMENT 2019” is taking place only four months after “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” so it kind of feels like this weekend has snuck up on me. As I’ve written in a previous blog post I see this period of the entire wrestling scene as the final chapter of this current era. You can thank Kenny and his buddies for some of the reasons why. The landscape is changing, DDT is establishing new relationships around the world and there’s bound to be more surprising twists to come in the future.

But let’s not worry any further about that stuff. Ryogoku is set for a double header weekend from the DDT family. On Saturday the Muscle brand is back from the dead. What it has come back to do exactly I have no idea. Then on Sunday DDT is bringing together a packed card of matches that only they can provide.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

One of the big movements happening in BASARA lately is several wrestlers banding together to form the Sento Minzoku unit. Formed by Isami Kodaka and taking inspiration from Dragon Ball Z, each member has grown a monkey’s tail to represent their power. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura are the two guys from BASARA’s main roster to join Kodaka and Minoru Fujita in the group. Facing them are the two freshest faces on the BASARA roster Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino. Nakano has mostly been improving his skills while staying out of trouble. Kamino joined BASARA in December after DNA closed down. Injuries kept him out of action for almost the entirety of DNA’s run so his jump to BASARA so his career has more or less started all over again.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe

Some new girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro get to wrestle in Sumo Hall for the first time. Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma and Natsumi Maki have wrestled there before. Manase and Tenma were there for a Battle Royal during “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. Maki wrestled there for All Japan’s 45th Anniversary show only one week later. Yuki Aino, Hikari Noa and Miu Watanabe however are all wrestling their first Ryogoku match.

Manase has quietly been one of the more protected wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, regularly winning her matches with the Neck Screw Hold. Nodoka Tenma is weeks away from challenging for the TOKYO Princess Title and has a recent pinfall win over the champion Miyu Yamashita. Aino is there supporting her sister as always. Over on the other side Noa and Watanabe have shown the most progression out of the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) unit. Their recent name and costume changes have allowed them to express their personalities more. Watanabe has added a Laser Beam baseball swing into her chops while Noa has become more enthusiastic in the ring. She took the most out of the opportunity to train with Shinjiro Otani when the Up Up Girls visited the ZERO1 dojo in December. Noa also happens to be wrestling the day before her 21st birthday. Last but certainly not least there is Maki. Her arrival in Tokyo Joshi was surrounded in controversy thanks to a burned bridge with Yumiko Hotta and Actwres girl’Z. But once she started wrestling it became clear that she has moved on. Maki has yet to be pinned or submitted in Tokyo Joshi and she currently finds herself in a feud with Maki Ito over who is cuter. The match hasn’t happened yet but if Hotta is still pissed off with Maki she might spoil the result of that too.

1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura

A right orbital and cheek bone fracture has kept Shunma Katsumata out of action for almost three months. When he went under surgery in December his goal was to come back in February and here he is. While he was gone ALL OUT went out of this world to find a new member. They found one with Space Monkey who has been winning everyone in DDT over with his antics, bananas and all. Yuki Ueno has been stepping his game up as a member of DISASTER BOX. He’s also been scouting one of his opponents here in the hopes of forming a new tag team. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid are already teaming together as Gon Gift so that leaves Naomi Yoshimura. When he unexpectedly returned to DDT in December he was aiming straight for the top and gunning after the championship. In a scary moment right near the end of 2018, Yoshimura took a Pedigree wrong and was left needing medical attention inside the ring. He ended up getting a cervical sprain and made a full recovery, returning to the ring two months later. With his chance at the main event now far away from his reach he is beginning the climb all over again. Maybe Ueno’s idea for them to team up will get him back on track. Or how about Power Bombing him instead? Yoshimura usually likes to do that given their history together.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto

DDT has spent the last few months searching for fresh blood and obscure talent from across Japan to diversify their roster. Heading the pack is Asuka. No not the one who hasn’t been booked on TV since the Royal Rumble despite being a champion and tapping out the current big star of the company. I mean the one that’s been blazing through the puroresu scene over the last twelve months as “Japan’s First Genderless Wrestler”. When Asuka left WAVE to go freelance, DDT jumped at the chance to bring her back and promote her as a next generation star. Since then Asuka has won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and became so attached to it she now calls it her boyfriend. So far the relationship has worked out better than the last one she had in DDT, even though it’s made her a target for jealous eyes down in Roppongi.

(Sidenote: Most English speaking fans write down ASUKA in all caps to differentiate her from the other Asuka. Out of preference I only do this when the wrestler also spells their name in all caps. Asuka’s name in Japanese is written as 朱崇花 so that’s why I prefer writing it in the lower case).

There is a full field of different faces out to take the title from Asuka. Saki Akai has a new finishing move inspired from her current role in the Fate/Grand Order stage play. The move is called Quetzalcoatl and it is a Twisting Crucifix Bomb similar to Kaji Tomato’s Red Eye finisher. Keisuke Okuda has been settling into DDT by fighting at an outdoor sauna and hate-teaming with Makoto Oishi. Who knows what Super Sasadango Machine will be up to the day after his latest Muscle show takes place. OWE is represented by both El Lindaman and Scorpio X2. Tokyo Joshi are sending in Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa. Sakazaki in particular will have a lot of eyes on her after it was announced she will be appearing at All Elite Wrestling soon. Chinsuke Nakamura will no doubt be all up to date on whatever his inspiration is currently doing. And then there’s the rest of the usual low card DDT roster. That’s it. Nobody else. I’m not missing anybody…

… Sigh… Okay there’s one more. You know who I’m talking about. Behold the Twitch chat come to life, the one creation that makes Arby “The Meathead” McDonald look pure and wholesome, he’s ruined seven Valentine’s Days but saved two, it’s Maku Donaruto! This walking cease and desist waiting to happen was found in UDON Pro Wrestling and made an impression on DDT management. However his lewd wrestling style and obscene personality is making DDT a little unsure how often they want to continue booking him after Sumo Hall. A lot? A little? A seven match series with Kazuki Hirata? Here’s his biggest chance to leave an impression on everyone.

3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino

Let’s move on to some history, some legacy that is attached to Sumo Hall. Yukio Naya is only around a year into his wrestling career. He is getting attention because his late grandfather was a legendary sumo wrestler named Taiho Koki. Naya’s grandfather was one of the youngest wrestlers to become a yokozuna and he also earned many accomplishments throughout his distinguished career. Naya has said he is proud to wrestle in the same building where his grandfather achieved much of his success. Teaming with him is DDT’s sumo turned pro Kazusada Higuchi as well as D-Ou Grand Prix finalist Go Shiozaki. Facing them are a trio of big beefy boys! Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi and Yuki Iino are the opposition in a match that I bet will have many, many chops. And probably a Haka dance from Iino too.

4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk

The #STRONGHEARTS love to cause some commotion wherever they go but what do they do when somebody successfully stands up to them? During their feud with ALL OUT, they were able to get pinfall wins over every member except one. The one guy they haven’t been able to beat is Akito. In order to right this wrong T-Hawk is set to face Akito one on one. As the current WRESTLE-1 Champion, T-Hawk feels on top of the world. It would be nice to see Akito pull him down. Akito is confident wrestling on his own and is convinced that T-Hawk hasn’t watched any of his singles matches. Akito has a reason of his own to win other than keeping #STRONGHEARTS at bay again. He is looking into the idea of wrestling in other companies on behalf of DDT. A win over the WRESTLE-1 Champion can open some doors for him.

5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

You know what’s big these days? Mascots. Put somebody in a big wacky costume, make them do stupid shit, put it online and watch those social media numbers shoot up. Most likely inspired by the popularity of such characters like Chiitan, Nyango Star and you can also include Andreza Giant Panda in that list, Danshoku Dieno now wants a piece of the pie. So he has created his own mascot and went through several names before picking something suitable for everyone. Or at least I assume it’s suitable. It’s probably not but whatever. Anyway the mascot is called Pokotan and it looks like a seal. Dieno himself was planning to be under the costume during the build up to the show. Unfortunately the costume has not been finished as of a week ago. Dieno only has the head ready and he is very upset over it. Will Pokotan be complete in time for his grand reveal?

6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
Around 14 years ago Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito teamed up for a 1,000m Barbed Wire And 100 Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match in Differ Ariake. They’re back together again to fight DAMNATION! Nagayo’s involvement in the show was already announced when the story of her saving a woman from an assault made the news in November so yay good publicity! What’s even more interesting is Nagayo’s protege Takumi Iroha is against her on the DAMNATION side. Since she is the Ikemen Joshi she might be there to take up the handsome looking role in the trio. Then again Mad Paulie is still on the team so that’s probably not the reason. Iroha is thrilled to face her mentor but is a little nervous that it’s in a Hardcore Match.

On a more serious note, Soma Takao is going into this match holding a grudge. For weeks leading into the show, Takagi has been poking Takao and questioning the current state of his career. Years ago Takao had the potential to become one of DDT’s best and yet he has never really attempted to take the torch. Maybe he’s gotten too comfortable being the mid-level guy in DAMNATION. Takagi wants to light a fire under Takao and see if he has any real ambition. Takao acts like he is angry at the world and everything around it. Now is his time to prove it.

7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka

#STRONGHEARTS have a reason for sticking around in DDT despite losing their feud to ALL OUT. After they lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, CIMA and his crew admitted defeat and wanted to head home to the OWE headquarters in Shanghai. OWE told them not to come back until they get revenge on DDT. The best way to do that is to win one of the DDT championships again. This time CIMA is setting his sights on the KO-D Tag Team Titles and he is bringing along one of his newer partners Seiki Yoshioka to get them.

They aren’t the only ones who want the belts. Shuten-dōji challenged for the belts before #STRONGHEARTS did. The solution was to give both of them a shot in a 3 Way Match. Yukio Sakaguchi doesn’t care as long as he fights somebody strong (and El Lindaman provoking him with spitting and insults only resulted in Sakaguchi kicking him half to death). Masahiro Takanashi is interested though since he’s been able to cross paths with CIMA again. The two are linked through the Toryumon system but split off into two completely different paths. Takanashi wants to show CIMA that his unpolished way of wrestling is just as effective as CIMA’s state of the art abilities.

The scenario leaves the champions looking like a third wheel. But maybe that gives The Moonlight Express the advantage. MAO & Mike Bailey are currently ruling the tag team divisions in DDT and K-DOJO, holding both the KO-D Tag Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles. MAO is as comfortable as ever in chaotic situations and Bailey always looks happy to go along for the ride, the crazier the better. MAO also feels the need to beat Shuten-dōji because they have beaten him so many times back when he was a part of NωA. He wants to move on from that part of his life but can’t if Shuten-dōji beats him again. The 3 Way stipulation being used is only one fall so a title change can happen without the Express being directly involved.

8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The rematch for the DDT Extreme Title sees HARASHIMA trying to win the belt back from Shinya Aoki. During his brief time in DDT, Aoki has defended the title in a Boxing Glove match and also got challenged into a fight at an outdoor sauna. This is what bad financial decisions can do to some people. But at least Aoki still has his pride. HARASHIMA has pride too so the two of them agreed to let their prides bring the best out of both of them. So that’s it. Nothing complicated, just a battle to see who is the best. Unless DDT decides to pipe in the Pride FC music during the match as a joke there isn’t much else that needs explaining. Well there is that one thing where HARASHIMA isn’t entirely sure what the exact ruleset for the match is. Aoki just keeps talking about pride and he hasn’t been the best at understanding the general pro wrestling rules. Is there even a three count?

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo

Here we go! DDT usually has a dream match saved for Sumo Hall and they picked a good one this time round. Naomichi Marufuji returns to DDT and Tetsuya Endo is there waiting for him. You’d think Endo would see this as an opportunity to make a huge statement to the wrestling world but he’s a little distracted by his diet. No matter where he is or what he is doing Endo has been eating his handmade meals and drinking his protein shakes on a very strict timetable. This has interrupted several press conferences that were meant to promote this match. Marufuji doesn’t mind. There’s no bad blood between the two and Marufuji is looking forward to discovering Endo’s current potential. The match is also happening so soon after Marufuji’s return from injury so he gets to figure out what his own condition is like. We should get a nice, clean and competitive match out of this right. I mean it’s Marufuji in a DDT dream match. Nothing has ever gone wrong in a situation like that before. Right, Kenny?

10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

After vanquishing Dieno at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” in October, Daisuke Sasaki is headlining Sumo Hall for the second time in a row. This time he is going in as the KO-D Openweight Champion rather than the challenger. That role goes to Konosuke Takeshita for winning the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix. In the build up to the match something strange happened. Sasaki started acting friendly, wrestled clean and prohibited the other DAMNATION wrestlers from cheating. He even shook his opponent’s hand after matches. Takeshita wasn’t convinced by this new attitude at first but Sasaki behaved for long enough that Takeshita eventually bought into it. Of course it was at this point when Sasaki could not resist temptation any longer and went back to his usual dirty tactics.

That’s not all. While they wrestled their matches, some of the other DAMNATION members went to the restaurant owned by Takeshita’s mother Keiko. She was happy to serve them until they dined and dashed! That right there was the boiling point that turns Sasaki Vs Takeshita into a blood feud. Over the last few days Sasaki and Takeshita have gotten into fights wherever they find each other. Sasaki attacked Takeshita outside Sumo Hall during an interview and with a Hurricanrana threw Takeshita down a stairway. Takeshita got revenge on another night when he attacked Sasaki at a bar and gave him a Brainbuster onto a sofa. Things escalated even further when Sasaki vandalised Takeshita’s car with anime decals and then gave Takeshita a Pedigree onto the car roof! The match hasn’t even happened yet and both men are already trying to end each other’s careers before they even get to Sunday! Sasaki has said that he will not allow Takeshita win the KO-D title, otherwise DDT will be sent to the dark ages.


DDT “ROAD TO WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019 ~FREE BOX OFFICE SIMULATION SPECIAL~” Results

February 6, 2019

DDT “ROAD TO WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019 ~FREE BOX OFFICE SIMULATION SPECIAL~”, 06/02/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
352 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Akito & Space Monkey when Kincaid pinned Monkey with the Philosopher’s Stomp (8:43).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 4 Way Match: Asuka (c) defeated Mad Paulie, Kazuki Hirata and Saki Akai when Asuka pinned Hirata with the Moonsault (4:46).
*V? for Asuka.
3. Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda when Owashi pinned Owashi with La Magistral (10:26).
4. Sanshiro Takagi defeated Soma Takao by Disqualification when Takao attacked the referee (7:43).
5. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Kota Umeda & Makoto Oishi when HARASHIMA pinned Umeda with the Somato (12:42).
6. Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO with the Takatonic (16:17).
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino when Sasaki pinned Iino with a Diving Elbow Drop (19:45).

Well it was nice while it lasted but Daisuke Sasaki is fighting clean no more. Sasaki kept up the good behaviour at first by shaking everyone’s hands and even calling out Tetsuya Endo for fighting dirty against Yuki Iino. But Sasaki eventually showed his true self when Yukinori Matsui got knocked out. With the referee gone, Sasaki said he couldn’t hold it in any longer and he kicked Konosuke Takeshita below the belt. He then threw a chair at Takeshita when they were outside the ring. Takeshita got revenge back inside when he took Sasaki’s chair and smashed it over Sasaki’s head. Takeshita then tried to squash Sasaki by Power Bombing Iino onto him but Sasaki rolled out of the way. Takeshita then tried to give Sasaki a German Suplex but Sasaki grabbed onto Matsui to block the move and do the Now Or Never Instead. With Takeshita out of the picture, Endo gave Iino the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and Sasaki pinned him with a Diving Elbow.

Sasaki mocked Takeshita after the match by calling him stupid for ever believing that Sasaki was a good guy now. Takeshita admitted he keeps falling for Sasaki’s tricks but he really thought Sasaki meant it this time because there was a glint in his eyes that was never there before. Even Endo said he was also falling for it. Sasaki told everyone he will protect the KO-D Openweight Title from being taken by idiots like Takeshita. He ended the show with the DAMNATION motto, adding “You must never trust us” at the end of his mantra.

Masahiro Takanashi doesn’t see what is so threatening about MAO. He beat him cleanly in a singles match today. Yukio Sakaguchi couldn’t do that but Takanashi showed there is nothing to fear. For MAO the defeat brought back bad memories of NωA and the times when Shuten-dōji would beat them over and over. MAO needs to beat Shuten-dōji at Sumo Hall so he can move on from that period of his life.

After Match #5, HARASHIMA got on the microphone to talk about how he still doesn’t know what the stipulation is for his DDT Extreme Title match at Sumo Hall in two weeks time. Luckily for him, the champion Shinya Aoki was in the building and he came down to the ring. Aoki already said the stipulation. They will be fighting for “our pride”. Hisaya Imabayashi stepped in and asked for clarification but HARASHIMA understood Aoki’s point. Aoki and HARASHIMA will fight with their pride on the line.

Something has been bothering Soma Takao lately and Sanshiro Takagi was determined to find out what. He brought out the Dream Go but once again it fell apart as soon as it was used. The match turned violent with both Takagi and Takao smashing the plastic boxes over each other until Daisuke Kiso told them to stop. Takao then made a pile of chairs in the ring and gave Kiso a Michinoku Driver onto them! He then gave Takagi a the Scwhein but the bell rang and Takao was disqualified for attacking the referee. Takao told Takagi that he is angry at him, angry at Ryuji Ito, angry at Chigusa Nagayo and angry at, well, everything! Takagi told Takao to bring that anger with him to Sumo Hall. In his backstage interview, Takagi explained he has twenty years worth of reasons to be angry. New Japan, All Japan, NOAH, WWE and AEW have made him angry. He’s been angry at the wrestling magazines for the times they only gave DDT half a monochrome page worth of coverage in their issues. When he goes to other shows and gets stuck in a packed lobby that makes him angry. What reason does Takao have to be angry at in comparison?

Yesterday Toru Owashi made his triumphant return to Dragon Gate for the first time in 14 years! Today he marked the occasion by imitating Masato Yoshino’s high speed rope running at the start of Match #3. The match also featured a lot of kiss teasing between the wrestlers. Owashi and Honda first teased it when they were fighting over Gongitsune. Yuki Ueno and Kazusada Higuchi then teased it but their moment was interrupted when Owashi pinned Honda.

Asuka had nothing in her schedule today so she came to the building and added herself into the 3 Way Match. Kazuki Hirata dared Asuka and Saki Akai to give Mad Paulie a Double Suplex and they succeeded. The three of them danced until Asuka and Akai attacked Hirata. Asuka turned on Akai and hit her with a High Kick. Asuka then pinned Hirata with a Choke Slam and the Moonsault.

The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets will be up for grabs on the 23rd February Shinjuku FACE show. A new rule has been added this year where the Gauntlets can only be cashed in for an immediate title match. The holder can no longer declare their intention to cash in on a certain date in advance.


DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2019” Results

January 27, 2019

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2019”, 27/01/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,040 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Akito & Space Monkey defeated Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid when Monkey pinned Honda with the Tail Whip (10:07).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Asuka defeated Chinsuke Nakamura (c), Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Kazusada Higuchi, Keisuke Okuda, Yuki Iino and Kikutaro (9:53).
2a. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kikutaro eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura (c) after a Big Boot from Toru Owashi (0:04).
*Kikutaro becomes the 1,346th champion.
2b. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata eliminated Kikutaro (c) with a School Boy (4:16).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,347th champion.
2c. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Asuka, Keisuke Okuda & Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Toru Owashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Iino by Ring Out (6:32).
*V1 for Kazuki Hirata.
2d. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Asuka & Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Keisuke Okuda with a Roll Up (7:40).
*V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
2e. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Asuka eliminated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the Moonsault (9:53).
*Asuka becomes the 1,348th champion.
3. Heisei’s Last Grudge Match Check: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated El Lindaman with the God’s Right Knee (8:42).
4. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Ueno when Takao pinned Oishi with the Gin And Tonic (11:22).
5. Special 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO and CIMA when Takanashi pinned MAO with the Laphroaig (10:41).
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – Final Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Kota Umeda with the Splash Mountain (13:02).
7. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki when Sasaki submitted Takeshita with the Crossover Facelock (22:43).

In a preview for next month’s Sumo Hall show, the two big title matches were mashed together for a special wild card tag match. Daisuke Sasaki had to team up with one of his rivals HARASHIMA to take on their competition Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki. Tensions between the two sides went out of control after a flash Hurricanrana bumped into Yukinori Matsui and knocked him out. Sasaki brought out a chair and chaos happened when a “missed” swing hit his partner with it! Takeshita grabbed the chair but he too missed his target and hit Aoki by accident. Sasaki finally found his mark with a chairshot to Takeshita. However a German Suplex only got him a one count. Victory looked to have slipped away for Sasaki when Takeshita got his hands on him but HARASHIMA suddenly saved the day with the Somato. Sasaki quickly reacted by using La Mistica to put Takeshita in position for the Crossover Facelock. Takeshita was at his limit and had to give up.

HARASHIMA wasted no time after the match asking Aoki what the stipulation will be for their DDT Extreme Title bout. Aoki said their prides will be on the line so it will be a match where both champion and challenger are determined to do their best. They both left the ring so Sasaki and Takeshita could take over. Sasaki doesn’t have pride so the KO-D Openweight Title match won’t be about that. Instead he showed a video of Tetsuya Endo and Mad Paulie having a meal at the restaurant owned by Takeshita’s parents! They left without paying so Konosuke’s mother Keiko Takeshita chased after them yelling into the camera. A slightly embarrassed Takeshita swore revenge on Sasaki for bringing his family into this.

Kota Umeda’s seven match trial series comes to an end with no victories and a defeat to Shuji Ishikawa. Umeda threw many kicks but he was stopped in his tracks with a Running Knee Lift and the Splash Mountain. Ishikawa feels honored to be the final opponent for Umeda’s trial. He thinks Umeda can fill a hole DDT has been missing for a while because there are not many who fight like him. Although Umeda lost every match, he believes he gained something from every one so the trial was worth it. He agrees with Ishikawa that his style is rare in DDT so he wants to continue it.

DDT is a weird place but even with that knowledge CIMA wasn’t prepared for the antics MAO and Masahiro Takanashi had in store. Takanashi stole the win when CIMA went for the Meteora but MAO moved out of the way. MAO hit CIMA with the Screw High Kick but Takanashi then snuck in and pinned MAO with the Laphroaig. He told CIMA that this kind of wrestling is different than what they learned in the Dragon System. They argued about their past until turning their attentions to MAO. CIMA said the 3 Way Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles will be fought in #STRONGHEARTS favour this time. He also boasted that despite being outsiders, #STRONGHEARTS are popular with the DDT fans. When he left the ring Takanashi told everyone a story about how bad CIMA’s cooking was back when they were in the Toryumon dojo with the Brahman Brothers.

Chigusa Nagayo was in the audience to watch the 8-Person Tag featuring Sanshiro Takagi fighting DAMNATION and Takumi Iroha. When things went wrong for Takagi’s team he yelled out to staff to summon his secret weapon, the Dream Go! Staff went to carry the plastic case mecha only to drop it down the stairs of Korakuen Hall’s lobby. Takagi used the remains as best he could but in the end Soma Takao won the match for DAMNATION.

After the match Takagi asked Takao if he is satisfied being in DAMNATION. What position is he in the group? Number one? Two? Three? Four? When they were part of an anti-establishment unit years ago Takao aimed to reach a much higher level back then than he does now. Takagi doesn’t want to wait until Sumo Hall to fight him. He wants a singles match on 6th February so Takao can finally wake up! Takao said he always hated Takagi. The people he is with in DAMNATION are his friends. He’s going to defeat Takagi on his way to the top. Takao then looked over at Nagayo in the audience and provoked her into standing up. Takagi went over to Nagayo and raised her hands. Takao took back what he said. He’s not going to just beat Takagi to reach the top. He’s going to beat Takagi and Nagayo to reach the top!

El Lindaman made a grave mistake. He spat at Yukio Sakaguchi. You don’t do that without suffering the consequences! Sakaguchi responded with a Rock Punch, a High Kick and the God’s Right Knee to win. Sakaguchi is confident that he and Takanashi can win the KO-D Tag Titles at Sumo Hall. Lindaman said it’s been a long time since he was kicked like this.

Throughout the week Chinsuke Nakamura has been spending his day to day life defending the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against a bunch of different parody and comedy characters. Being on guard 24/7 must have taken his toll because he was eliminated four seconds into the Battle Royal. Toru Owashi kicked him and everyone piled on top for the pin. Kikutaro was on top of Chinsuke so he was declared the new champion. Kikutaro was chased away from ringside. When everyone returned, Yukinori Matsui was wearing Kikutaro’s mask and holding the title belt. Everyone attacked him until they realised it wasn’t the real deal. Kikutaro used the distraction to attack Keisuke Okuda. He was about to set up the Shining Wizard when Kazuki Hirata gave him a School Boy to win the title. With six wrestlers left they split off into two sides of three. The trio of Hirata, Okuda and Asuka all Dropkicked Owashi, Kazusada Higuchi and Yuki Iino out of the ring to eliminate them. Hirata and Asuka then rolled up Okuda to pin him. With the match down to two, Hirata and Asuka put on Hirata Go! glasses and danced. That ended when Asuka gave Hirata a Choke Bomb and pinned him with the Moonsault to become the new champion! Asuka called it a perfect victory.

The debuting Space Monkey is already getting along with ALL OUT. He was given a banana by Akito before the match started. Jason Kincaid demanded the jokes to stop so they can wrestle. Monkey threw the banana away and gave Kincaid a Monkey Flip. When Antonio Honda got in the ring he slipped on the banana peel and hurt his knee, setting up the latest Gongitsune gag. Honda targeted Monkey’s tail believing it to be his weak point. Monkey toughened up and hit a Lionsault to both members of Gon Gift. He then won the match by hitting Honda across the face with his tail. Akito praised Space Monkey and told him he’s already winning over the DDT fans.

Danshoku Dieno has come up with a final name for his mascot. He finally realised it needed to be family friendly so he is naming his creation Pokotan.

Riki Choshu makes his DDT debut on the 21st March Korakuen show.

Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda, Colt Cabana, Joey Ryan, Jason Kincaid and Ethan Page are the latest names added to “DDT IS COMING TO AMERICA” in New York on 4th April.

It was already announced that DDT’s next show at Sumo Hall after “JUDGEMENT 2019” will be on 3rd November. The new news today is the show will be called “ULTIMATE PARTY 2019” and will feature big matches from DDT, BASARA, Tokyo Joshi Pro and Ganbare☆Wrestling.

Both Naomi Yoshimura and Shunma Katsumata made appearances at the start of the show to promote their return matches next month.

The Muscle show taking place the day before “JUDGEMENT 2019” in Sumo Hall will feature a retirement match. Pedro Takaishi will have his final match on the show. He is considered one of the four pillars of Muscle. That doesn’t really mean anything but hey, whatever sells tickets. They really need to sell tickets…


DDT “DRAMATIC SHIN-YURISEE 2019” Results

January 17, 2019

DDT “DRAMATIC SHIN-YURISEE 2019”, 17/01/2019
Kanagawa Shinyuri Twenty One Hall
102 Fans

1. Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated MAO & Gota Ihashi when Takanashi pinned Ihashi with an Oklahoma Roll (8:20).
2. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Kincaid pinned Hirata with the Philosopher’s Stomp (10:26).
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Umeda & Makoto Oishi defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Umeda pinned Shimatani with the Umeda Driver (9:25).
4. Special Single Match: Asuka defeated Yuki Ueno with the Moonsault (10:29).
5. Number One In DDT Handsome King Decision Battle: HARASHIMA defeated Mizuki Watase with the Somato (12:17).
6. KAWASAKI Shin-yuri Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie & Hiroshi Yamato when Yamashita pinned Paulie with the Fable (19:16).

ALL OUT gets their first win over DAMNATION in 2019 but the spotlight was on Hiroshi Yamato to for the main event. When Daisuke Sasaki grabbed a chair to attack Konosuke Takeshita with, Yamato stopped him and pleaded to act like “Mexican Era” Sasaki. Sasaki swung the chair at him but Yamato ducked and Mad Paulie took the blow. Takeshita then hit the Fable on Paulie to win the match. Takeshita credited Yamato’s sense of justice for giving ALL OUT the win today. He asked Yamato to sing for everyone. He did and ALL OUT joined in.

HARASHIMA has faced Mizuki Watase in singles match three times and has won all of them. However he thinks today was more difficult than the previous bouts. He felt Shigehiro Irie’s influence this time especially when Watase did the Cannonball into the corner. He expects Watase will become more and more stronger but HARASHIMA will still beat him every time.

Sanshiro Takagi promised a next generation talent to face Yuki Ueno and he delivered. Asuka is back in DDT! Ueno was no match for Japan’s first genderless wrestler and Asuka grabbed the win with a Choke Slam, German Suplex and the Moonsault. Takagi asked Hisaya Imabayashi to book Asuka on more DDT shows. In particular he wants Asuka to wrestle at Korakuen Hall, Itabashi Green Hall and Sumo Hall in the coming weeks. Asuka told the DDT fans “long time, no see” and to expect more action in the DDT ring regardless of gender.

Kazuki Hirata complained that somebody stole his entrance gear before the show. It turned out Jason Kincaid stole it and wore it down to the ring himself! He even did his own dance to “TOKYO GO!” The Hirata GO! glasses wound up getting destroyed so Toru Owashi replaced them with a pair of sunglasses he randomly found. When he handed them to Hirata, “CRASH” played over the speakers. Hirata ran out of the room and came back dressed as Masahiro Chono! He gave Owashi a Yakuza Kick but Honda snuck behind him and did a Scorpion Death Drop. Kincaid followed up with the Philosopher’s Stomp for the win.

Looks like Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga are looking for a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot together. They demanded that Gota Ihashi be taken out of the opening match and be replaced by Mike Bailey. MAO agreed but when it was time for the Moonlight Express to make their entrance, Ihashi came out dressed as Bailey! Ihashi tried to do Bailey’s moves including the Machine Gun Middle Kicks. With MAO they also tried to do the Michinoku Tornado Driver and Skylab Hurricane. Unfortunately Ihashi missed the Moonsault and Takanashi pinned him with an Oklahoma Roll.


DDT “DRAMATIC ROKUMONSEN! 2019” Results

January 14, 2019

DDT “DRAMATIC ROKUMONSEN! 2019”, 14/01/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall
262 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Kota Umeda defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the Umeda Driver (7:02).
2. New Year’s Special Rumble: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru) with a Crucifix Pin (14:10).
Order Of Elimination: Keisuke Okuda, Toru Owashi, Yuni & Kikutaro & Antonio Honda, Maku Donaruto.
3. Mike Bailey, MAO & Veda Scott defeated Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase when Bailey pinned Hirata with a Buzzsaw Kick (10:15).
4. Soma Takao defeated Yuki Ueno with the Gin And Tonic (11:56).
5. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Sammy Guevara by Countout (9:12).
6. Humanity Is A Game Blooming In The Big Ring Of Naniwa! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Jason Kincaid with the Somato (11:41).
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino when Endo pinned Iino with the Shooting Star Press (16:31).

The first of several ALL OUT Vs DAMNATION match ups on the road to Sumo Hall ended in victory for DAMNATION. At first Daisuke Sasaki was in trouble when he was in the ring with Konosuke Takeshita. Things changed thanks to Sasaki’s partners. Tetsuya Endo gave Takeshita the Tetsuya In The Sky onto Yuki Iino! Then Mad Paulie took out Akito with a Lariat. The end came with Endo hitting the Shooting Star Press onto Iino. Nobuhiro Shimatani made fun of ALL OUT afterwards because the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions just lost so easily! Takeshita told DAMNATION they can have a title shot whenever they wanted. When ALL OUT left the ring, Sasaki said they could have the title match now. Takeshita asked Iino if he could go for another match but Iino was in too much pain to take the request. Sasaki told ALL OUT to go home. This is just getting started. Sasaki says he will get everything he wants in 2019.

HARASHIMA called Jason Kincaid a peculiar and unique wrestler. He had fun fighting him today. He is now waiting for Shinya Aoki to choose the match stipulation for their DDT Extreme Title bout next month.

Masahiro Takanashi rolled Sammy Guevara up in the ring apron to win by countout. Guevara tried to chase him afterwards.

Yesterday Soma Takao kicked Yuki Ueno below the belt not once but twice. Ueno didn’t waste any time waiting to attack when Takao came out for their match today. They brawled around the ring and later Ueno saw Takao’s Low Blow coming so he could block it. Ueno tried to avoid the Gin And Tonic but a Thrust Kick left him stunned long enough for Takao to hit his finisher and win.

In the Battle Royal Yuni couldn’t be punched by Kikutaro and Antonio Honda because he was too short for them. Keisuke Okuda wasn’t so friendly and attacked Yuni with no problem until Kazusada Higuchi and the others eliminated him. When Toru Owashi was eliminated, Honda and Kikutaro lifted Yuni onto their shoulders to celebrate. All three of them ended up falling over the top rope and out of the ring. That left Higuchi with Maku Donaruto. The clown dry humped Higuchi and hit the Swanton Bomb. However Higuchi then hooked Donaruto into a Crucifix Pin to steal the three count. Donaruto decided to dry hump Higuchi again while Sanshiro Takagi entered the ring. Takagi asked Donaruto if he enjoyed wrestling in DDT this week. Donaruto called it fun. Well Takagi now wants to see him wrestle on a bigger stage so Maku Donrauto is booked for Sumo Hall in February!

DDT and Yukinori Matsui will put on a special show at Osaka Edion Arena #2 on 26th May. The show celebrates Matsui’s 25th anniversary in wrestling. Kikutaro snuck up on Matsui and sent him to sleep with a chop to the neck. Kikutaro took over the segment and told everyone it will be his 25th anniversary in May too. He promoted his own stuff before reviving Matsui so the show could start.


DDT “CHIBA CITY MONORAIL WRESTLING” Results

January 12, 2019

DDT “MITSUI CHOJI CO., LTD. PRESENTS CHIBA CITY MONORAIL WRESTLING”, 12/01/2019
Chiba City Monorail Car
24 Fans – 100% Boarding Rate

1. Falls Count Anywhere Throws Prohibited Battle Royal: HARASHIMA defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroshi Yamato, Konosuke Takeshita, Ippanjin Munenori Sawa, Akito, Yuki Iino, HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Yuki Ueno, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Isami Kodaka, Chinsuke Nakamura, Gota Ihashi (36:30).
1a. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo and Nobuhiro Shimatani eliminated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito and Yuki Iino by Monorail Out (12:3).
1b. Isami Kodaka eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura with the Zeyyari (17:34).
1c. Isami Kodaka and Tetsuya Endo eliminated Gota Ihashi by Monorail Out (19:07).
1d. Isami Kodaka and Yuki Ueno eliminated Hiroshi Yamato, Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda by Double Ladder Pin (28:21).
1e. Sanshiro Takagi eliminated Soma Takao with a Diving Body Press from a Ladder through a Table (30:33).
1f. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Sanshiro Takagi and Ippanjin Munenori Sawa with a Moonsault from the Platform Stairway (31:10).
1g. Isami Kodaka eliminated Tetsuya Endo with a School Boy (31:21).
1h. Yuki Ueno eliminated Nobuhiro Shimatani with a Cradle (32:52).
1i. Yuki Ueno eliminated Isami Kodaka after a Brainbuster from HARASHIMA onto a stairway (35:35).
1j. HARASHIMA eliminated Yuki Ueno with the Somato (36:30).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chinsuke Nakamura defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a School Boy (7:38pm).
*Chinsuke Nakamura becomes the 1,343rd champion.

A packed monorail train of 24 fans got to take a trip with DDT across the Chiba line. The Battle Royal began with Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroshi Yamato and Konosuke Takeshita duking it out as the monorail left Chiba Station. With slams prohibited for the safety of the monorail and everybody onboard, the wrestlers had to think up of other ways to fight. Takeshita quickly came up with the idea to hang off of the train handles to Dropkick his opponents without having to land on the floor.

When the monorail made its first stop at Chiba Park Station a salaryman walked on board reading a newspaper. It was Ippanjin Munenori Sawa! Takeshita attacked Sawa and purposely ripped the sleeve on Sawa’s suit jacket. Sawa however used one of the train handles to trap Takeshita in a Wristlock.

Akito & Yuki Iino entered the match at Sakusabe Station. Iino put Yamato in an Argentine Backbreaker while Akito traded Anklelocks with Sawa.

Chaos broke out when another man in a suit started attacking the wrestlers and acting lewd. It was Danshoku Dieno! The wrestlers were put into a linked chain of Headscissors for Dieno to do the Danshoku Nightmare along the entire monorail.

With no eliminations yet the car got even more packed when DISASTER BOX got on board at Anagawa Station. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno got caught up in Dieno’s shenanigans. It still continued when Takeshita hit Dieno with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title belt. Dieno just fell into Iino and got his hands all over him even more.

ALL OUT were so focused on Dieno that they didn’t see DAMNATION coming on board at Dobotsukoen Station. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani kicked every member of ALL OUT as well as Dieno out of the monorail and the doors closed on them, eliminating ALL OUT from the match!

Isami Kodaka was ready for a fight when the monorail reached Mitsuwadai Station. For a few moments we got the dream matchup of HARASHIMA Vs Kodaka inside a monorail. Meanwhile Ueno put Endo in a Cobra Twist.

Familiar music played at Tsuga Station for the entry of the one, the only, Chinsuke Nakamura! Kodaka hit Nakamura with a knee to the back of the head and pinned him for the quick elimination. YeahOh!

Gota Ihashi got on board at Sakuragi Station. The other wrestlers welcomed Ihashi by forming arches with their arms for Ihashi to walk through. The arches guided Ihashi to the door at the other end of the monorail. Kodaka and Endo then kicked him out before the door closed to eliminate him.

Chaos broke out again when everyone decided to gang up on Shimatani. Even Takao and Endo got involved even though Shimatani is on their side! Takagi and Sawa also clashed with each other during the melee.

The final entrant was Antonio Honda at Chishirodai Station. He immediately wanted to give up because he was standing out in the cold for so long. Yamato dropped his guard while listening to the story so Honda used Gongitsune to pinch him in the nipple.

The monorail was still at the Chishirodai Station so some of the wrestlers took the fight outside to the platform. Yamato, Owashi and Honda found a ladder then suddenly began singing a song from Galaxy Express 999. This lured DJ Nira out from the shadows to grab the ladder with the other three and join in with the song. Kodaka and Ueno jumped on top of the group and used the ladder to pin all of them at the same time for the three count.

Nearby Sawa hit Takao with the Shining Wizard and placed him on a table. Takagi climbed a ladder beside it and put Takao through the table with a Diving Body Press. That was enough for Takagi to eliminate him by pinfall.

The eliminations then came thick and fast on the platform. Endo did a Moonsault from the stairway railing onto Takagi and Sawa to pin both of them.

Kodaka then rolled up Endo with a School Boy to pin him with some extra help by HARASHIMA & Ueno.

Shimatani dashed from one end of the platform to the other yelling “I am Nobu!” Whatever he wanted to do didn’t happen because Ueno rolled him into a Cradle for the three count.

Kodaka went and found a tag team partner to face HARASHIMA & Ueno. It is the Chiba Monorail mascot Mono-chan! HARASHIMA was surprised to discover how easily Mono-chan overpowered him.

Kodaka tried to Brainbuster HARASHIMA down a flight of stairs but HARASHIMA reversed it! Kodaka tumbled down the steps while Ueno chased after him. When Kodaka reached the bottom it was an easy three count for Ueno.

So the match came down to HARASHIMA and Ueno as the final two. Ueno shook HARASHIMA’s hand but it was a trap to roll him into a pin. HARASHIMA got out of it and hit Ueno with a High Kick. He then hit the Somato to win the match!

The match was over but HARASHIMA was suddenly approached by an exhausted looking Takeshita. He ran the entire way from Dobotsukoen Station chasing after the monorail! Chinsuke Nakamura snuck up behind Takeshita and hit the Low Blow. Chinsuke then pinned Takeshita with a School Boy to become the new Iron Man Champion! Chinsuke ran off yelling “YeahOh!” HARASHIMA called today the best wrestling match on a type of transportation DDT has done yet.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!” Results

December 30, 2018

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,018 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when MAO pinned Shimatani with the Cannonball 450° (11:40).
2. Muscle Offer Match ~ M-Ou GRAND PRIX 2018 Total Victory Decision Battle Royal: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with a School Boy (7:10).
Order Of Elimination: Yasu Urano and Makoto Oishi, Pedro Takaishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Choun-Shiryu.
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (9:49).
4. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda (w/ Hideki Suzuki) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) ended in a No Contest (5:08).
5. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka defeated Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda when CIMA pinned Iino with the Meteora (13:06).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara by TKO when Sasaki knocked out Yoshimura with the Pedigree (13:02).
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Go Shiozaki with the German Suplex (23:07).
*V? for Konosuke Takeshita.

Konosuke Takeshita has booked his ticket for Sumo Hall next February because he is the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix winner! There was an uncomfortable vibe inside Korakuen Hall before the main event because of what happened to Naomi Yoshimura in the previous match (more on that below). Takeshita encouraged everyone to cheer for Yoshimura while he was on his way to the hospital. When they were done he then told Go Shiozaki not to hesitate fighting him at full force because of what happened earlier. Shiozaki didn’t hold back with his Chops and Lariats, leaving their mark on his opponent. Takeshita kicked out of the Go Flasher and did what he could to combat the Strong Arm Lariat. Takeshita successfully used the Fable then followed with a German Suplex to win the match and the Grand Prix. Since he is also the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion that also means a successful defence but that’s kind of a low priority from the list of accomplishments today. Takeshita now gets a KO-D Openweight Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2019” on 17th February.

After the match Takeshita said he never imagined he would ever wrestle against Shiozaki. But today near the end of Heisei era, Takeshita got to fight a member of the strongest class of pro wrestlers. He has never felt such pain or suffering before but he wants to go through it again. Takeshita’s pecs will always be ready to take Shiozaki’s Chops. The show ended with the people who made the most impact in DDT this year talking about their summaries of 2018. MAO said he did a lot of weird things this year and wants to do more next year. Meiko Satomura talked about winning the KO-D Title. HARASHIMA said 2018 was a good year because he is still smiling at the end of it. Takeshita gave the last word. He promises to bring fun and exciting pro wrestling with all of DDT in 2019!

The semi-main event was stopped after Naomi Yoshimura spiked his head against the canvas from Daisuke Sasaki’s Pedigree. Yoshimura was knocked out from the move and Yukinori Matsui called off the match so he could get stretchered out. Sasaki got on the microphone, called Yoshimura a waste of scrap that should be sent back home and left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi later gave everyone the update that Yoshimura could move his legs and was regaining his grip strength. Hours after the show was over it was announced that Yoshimura was diagnosed with a cervical sprain. There is no timetable yet for his return. The KO-D Title match scheduled for 3rd January has been cancelled and will be replaced with a DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION 10-Man Tag Match. Sasaki is annoyed because he was thought he now had free time to take a vacation to Hawaii.

#STRONGHEARTS have the upper hand over ALL OUT with today’s win. Yuki Iino was cut off by El Lindaman’s German Suplex. That allowed CIMA to hit the Schwein and the Meteora for the three count. Outside the ring Kota Umeda and Seiki Yoshioka had a face off after the match. CIMA noticed this and said that the difference between Umeda and Yoshioka is the same as the difference between Shunjuku and Ikebukuro. CIMA talked about the upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defence on 3rd January. He has now beaten Takeshita and Iino. All that’s left for him to beat is Akito! Although he thinks T-Hawk can do that for him. Or maybe Duan Yingnan can leave his mark in DDT history by beating Takeshita?

When #STRONGHEARTS left the ring one by one, El Lindaman was the last to move until he was suddenly attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani! They faced off then stood back to back in a height measuring contest. Both men declared themselves the winner.

Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda brought along Hideki Suzuki to be their cornerman to even the odds against Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by their side. This led to chaos when Okuda provoked Sakurai leading to a fight with his own partner Aoki! Okuda, Aoki and Suzuki fought each other among the audience until they found their way back into the ring. Things calmed down and Hisaya Imabayashi asked Aoki to pick the stipulation for his DDT Extreme Title match against Toba on 3rd January. Aoki told Okuda to pick for him and another fight broke out. When that brawl ended Aoki told Toba that they will have a Boxing Gloves Match!

It was an exciting day for Kazuki Hirata because he had a brand new pair of Hirata Go! glasses to show off to everyone. Yukio Sakaguchi didn’t care and tried to break the glasses by placing them on a chair and asking the other wrestlers to sit on it. They survived Saki Akai sitting on them but were crushed underneath Gota Ihashi. Hirata was devastated because if the glasses break then so too does his music. Hirata broke down into tears until Toru Owashi & Meiko Satomura put on their own pairs of glasses and sang “TOKYO GO” to him. Hirata danced along to it until Sakaguchi kicked him to oblivion. Sakaguchi then placed a fresh pair of glasses on Hirata’s body and imitated a line from the Hazuki Glasses commercial.

The D-Ou Grand Prix wasn’t the only big event on the show today. The return of Muscle to promote the sub-brand’s Sumo Hall show on 16th February led to a Battle Royal to determine who gets to be in the main event. The goal of the match is for a wrestler to phone the opponent they wish to face while pinning another wrestler. The winner would get that match as well as up to 1,000,000 yen to book that wrestler and 30% of that to be taken in as a booking fee. Antonio Honda wanted to book his father Tetsu Watanabe, Choun-Shiryu wanted to book Jackie Chan “of the Hong Kong International Police Department”, Pedro Takaishi wanted to book Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Yasu Urano wanted to book the comedian Kuro-chan. We didn’t hear who Makoto Oishi wanted because when he said he was going to book someone from K-DOJO he was cut off by the return of Amon Tsurumi! Tsurumi said he’s been gone for so long because he was busy producing movies. While doing this he discovered that ultra low budget movies can make good profits due to word of mouth. That means you don’t need to blow out your budget getting a big name in order to create a big success. He cancelled the Battle Royal and announced the start of the M-Ou Grand Prix round robin tournament! Urano complained that they don’t have time to do that. Everyone agreed on doing a normal Battle Royal after Tsurumi poked everyone in the eyes. Honda ended up winning the match. His prize was a briefcase representing his right to main event the Muscle show in February. Honda noticed it was heavy so he opened it up. Inside was a pile of unsold tickets for the show! Tsurumi said because Honda is main eventing the show it is now his responsibility to sell the remaining tickets. Only 780 tickets have been sold so far!

The Moonlight Express now have the perfect momentum for their Double Titles match on 5th January. They along with HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi were victorious over DAMNATION in the opener. The Express want to be the best tag team of 2019 so they are already planning appearances inside and outside of DDT. They will be at Fight Club: PRO’s Japan debut on 7th January and also K-DOJO’s next Korakuen show on the 13th no matter the result of the Double Titles match.

Ten minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Yuki Ueno and Mizuki Watase in the pre-show bout.

The big summer show in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 15th July will be called “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. DDT is asking fans to choose the Twitter hashtag for the show. The options are either #PeterPanDDT, #DDTPeterPan, #DDTWPP or #WrestlePeterPan.

Shuten-dōji’s self-produced show that they won from the Dramatic Election will be held in Shinjuku FACE on 17th April. They will bring in a lot of wrestlers associated with the unit and promise to deliver a ridiculous show. KUDO wasn’t there for the announcement so Shota took his place dressed just like Masahiro Takanashi. It was enough to make Sakaguchi laugh.

Shunma Katsumata is planning to return from his orbital injury this February. He had successful eye surgery on 11th December.

Jason “The Gift” Kincaid returns to DDT on 13th January. Space Monkey makes his debut on the 27th.


DDT “SOUKEN HOLDINGS PRESENTS DDT SPECIAL 2018” Results

November 25, 2018

DDT “SOUKEN HOLDINGS PRESENTS DDT SPECIAL 2018”, 25/11/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,312 Fans – Super No Vacancy
DDT Dramatic General Election Ranking In Parentheses

0. Under Match: Gota Ihashi (#22) & Makoto Oishi (#23) defeated Mizuki Watase (#21) & Yuki Ueno (#24) when Oishi pinned Watase with a Back Drop Switchover (6:26).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tetsuya Koda (c) with a Low Blow (11:26 am).
*Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 1,337th champion.
1. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi (#19) defeated Antonio Honda (#12) and Saki Akai (#14) when Owashi pinned Honda with La Magistral Cradle (5:29).
2. Tetsuya Endo (#6) & Soma Takao (#8) defeated Keisuke Ishii (#10) & Yumehito Imanari (#11) when Takao pinned Imanari with a Perfect Driver (7:58).
3. Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel defeated KUDO (#15), Shunma Katsumata (#16) & Kazusada Higuchi (#17) when Wentz pinned Katsumata with the Hot Fire Flame (7:00).
4. DDT Special Four Great Singles Match – Hardcore Rules: Jun Kasai (#20) defeated MAO (#9) with the Vertical Drop Reverse Tiger Driver (12:30).
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – DDT Special Four Great Singles Match: Konosuke Takeshita (#13) (c) defeated Maki Itoh (#3) by Knockout with a Zahi (11:53).
*V1 Konosuke Takeshita.
6. DDT Special Four Great Singles Match: Akito (#2) Vs Danshoku Dieno (#7) ended in a No Contest (12:04).
7. DISASTER BOX Vs #STRONGHEARTS: CIMA & El Lindaman defeated HARASHIMA (#4) & Kazuki Hirata (#18) when CIMA pinned Hirata with an Egoist Driver (14:17).
8. KO-D Openweight Title & 1,000,000 Yen Prize Money ~ DDT Special Four Great Singles Match: Daisuke Sasaki (#5) (c) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (#1) with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (21:56).
*V1 for Daisuke Sasaki.

Guess who is a million yen richer? Daisuke Sasaki, that’s who! His win over Masahiro Takanashi not only marks his first successful defence of the KO-D Openweight Title but he also wins the cash prize Takanashi originally earned from the Dramatic General Election. Sasaki used the Flash Hurricanrana early for a nearfall but his second attempt twenty minutes later sealed the deal. Inbetween that time, Takanashi used everything from the Takatonic to the Laphroaig to even KUDO’s Diving Double Knee Drop to win. Although Sasaki was the one who had his hand raised, he showed a rare moment of compassion for his opponent by calling him back to the ring. Sasaki asked if the scene around him was what he wanted to see, a packed Korakuen Hall cheering for him. Sasaki said today was an important story and together he and Takanashi can bring in a new era for DDT. He offered out his hand but Takanashi turned around and left the ring.

With that out of the way, Sasaki turned to his future plans. His next scheduled title defence is at Sumo Hall on 17th February against the winner of the D-Ou Grand Prix but he thinks that is a bit too far to wait. He’d rather have a title defence sooner and he also wants nominate his own challenger. The DDT GMs Tetsuya Koda and Hisaya Imabayashi consulted with each other and decided a title match can happen on 3rd January for the first episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER”. Sasaki said he will pay attention to the entire Grand Prix and choose his opponent from his research. Suddenly Tetsuya Endo pushed Sasaki and told him he’s going to win the Grand Prix. Well, either him or Soma Takao. Takao told Endo to calm down and then asked Sasaki if he can have the prize money because Sasaki used the Gin And Tonic in the main event without his permission. Think of it as a rights fee. Sasaki said no. It was his birthday this week so he’s off to spend the money at a bar to celebrate.

El Lindaman was worried that Kazuki Hirata’s entrance would bring back some horrible memories for CIMA so he made CIMA wear an eye mask and headphones until Hirata finished his dance. Hirata instead Dropkicked CIMA while his guard was down. He would then taunt CIMA by giving Lindaman a Gyrating Frankensteiner. To everyone’s surprise, CIMA did his own Gyrating Frankensteiner to Hirata in response. Lindaman dove out of the ring onto HARASHIMA while CIMA tried to take care of Hirata. There was a moment where Hirata caught CIMA in the Miracle One Shot Cradle but CIMA kicked out of it. CIMA got the win when he pinned Hirata with the Egoist Driver. Turns out CIMA has gotten over that piece of his past. After the match CIMA talked about STRONG HEARTS recently getting a new member from WRESTLE-1. Maybe they should get a member from DDT and it should be Hirata! CIMA offered Hirata a handshake but Hirata turned him down. Hirata looked a bit hesitant over his decision as he walked back to the locker room.

Nobody wanted Danshoku Dieno to get his memory back more than Akito. Today was meant to be a dream match for the lad but Dieno just wasn’t himself. Instead of kissing fans in the audience, he just shook their hands. Every time Akito blatantly put himself in position for one of Dieno’s trademark moves Dieno would do something else instead. Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine got involved desperately trying to cure their friend’s amnesia. Nothing worked and it drove Oishi mad to the point that he grabbed a chair. Oishi swung the chair at Dieno but he ducked and Akito got hit instead. Dieno grabbed the chair and swung at Oishi but missed. The chair bounced off the ropes and smashed back into Dieno’s face! Suddenly Dieno began to stir and the lights went off. When they came back on Dieno was naked with his lose tights covering his junk! He gave Akito the Lip Lock and a naked Danshoku Driver while everyone else at ringside tried to block it from the audience’s view. The match ended in a no contest while Dieno rampaged through the crowd to the back.

The match between Konosuke Takeshita and Maki Itoh became more interesting when Takeshita won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title at the beginning of the show. So now Itoh had a chance to win back the title. Itoh gave Takeshita the middle finger but struggled to do much against her opponent. However that only charged Itoh up. Takeshita begun to get worried when Itoh started banging her head off the turnbuckles so he removed one of them. That backfired when Itoh was able to throw Takeshita head first into the exposed turnbuckle. Takeshita grabbed the title belt from ringside to use it as a weapon but Itoh stopped him with a DDT. Itoh was later pushed into the steel but she landed onto Takeshita’s crotch for an unintentional low blow. Itoh tried to give Takeshita another middle finger but he grabbed her hand and smashed her in the face with an elbow strike. Takeshita stomped on Itoh’s hands and then hit the Zahi Knee Strike. Yukinori Matsui started counting Itoh out but she slowly started to get up. At nine she gave Takeshita one last middle finger and collapsed, losing the match by knockout.

As Ito was being helped to the back, Takeshita scolded her for giving him the middle finger so many times. He thought they could be rivals but unfortunately admits it is too much of a mismatch. However he wants Ito to continue on the path she has chosen. That is the pro wrestling way. You can go as far as you like when you do things your way as long as you try your hardest. Ito gave him the middle finger and walked off. Michiaki Nakano from Souken Holdings entered the ring and handed the Iron Man Title to Takeshita. Nobuhiro Shimatani and Gota Ihashi both tried to ambush Takeshita with School Boys but Takeshita kicked out of both of them. Nakano then tried to do one but couldn’t even get Takeshita off his feet. Takeshita, Shimatani and Ihashi all stomped on Nakano until he was pulled out of the ring.

MAO has had a crazy 2018 and considered today’s match with Jun Kasai as his final boss battle. He wasn’t able to win but he thinks having a Hardcore Match with Kasai will open new doors for him. They slammed each other through plastic boxes and skewered each other’s heads with bamboo skewers. MAO kicked out of the Pearl Harbor Splash but was put away with the Vertical Drop Reverse Tiger Driver.

STRONG HEARTS were also victorious earlier in the show when Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel beat the mixed DDT team of KUDO, Shunma Katsumata & Kazusada Higuchi. The home side were unprepared for the fast paced moves presented by The Rascalz which included a triple dive to the outside. When Higuchi tagged into the match his team were able to take control but eventually Katsumata was singled out. Wentz got the pin with the Hot Fire Flame, a move where he does Standing Moonsault next to his opponent and Xavier pushes him over to the target in mid-air!

The DAMNATION duo of Endo & Takao were able to beat Ganbare☆Wrestling’s pair of Keisuke Ishii & Yumehito Imanari without much trouble. Endo gave Imanari the Swivel Torture Rack and Takao got the three count with the Perfect Driver. Was that done intentionally because CIMA was on the show?

When Toru Owashi put Saki Akai in a Mexican Stretch it had the unintended effect of making Antonio Honda too hyper actively aroused to wrestle. This happened again when Honda was ready to do a Shining Wizard to Akai only to stall when Akai moved herself into a seductive pose. Owashi used the distraction to pin Honda with La Magistral Cradle.

In the pre-show match Makoto Oishi was able to counter Mizuki Watase’s Back Drop into a Cradle to nab the three count.

Takeshita was able to win the Iron Man Title from Tetsuya Koda at the beginning of the show when the two were in the ring for the opening announcements. Takeshita was there to promote the New Year’s Eve wrestling show. He said that he’s been in the final of the annual tournament for the last three years so he has to make it four in a row. When it was Koda’s turn to talk, Takeshita gave him a Low Blow and pinned him to win the title. After he left the ring, Michiaki Nakano climbed in and jumped on top of Koda. Hisaya Imabayashi had to tell him Koda was no longer the champion so nobody was going to count his pin

Chigusa Nagayo’s match at the 17th Febuary Sumo Hall show will be a 6-Person Tag Match. She will be teaming up with Sanshiro Takagi & Ryuji Ito against a trio to be announced later. Nagayo, Takagi & Ito have teamed together once before way back in March 2005 as part of an event produced by Nagayo in Differ Ariake.


DDT “DRAMATIC TENJINBASHI! 2018” Results

November 4, 2018

DDT “DRAMATIC TENJINBASHI! 2018”, 03/11/2018
Osaka Oyodo Community Center
219 Fans

1. MAO & Rising HAYATO defeated Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when MAO pinned Watase with the Michinoku Driver I (9:01).
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Yuni defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Yuni pinned Hirata after a Triple Dropkick (0:39).
2a. Likely Settled! Complete Settlement! Heisei’s Last Big Battle! Super Death Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuni with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (4:38).
3. Kota Umeda & Yuki Iino defeated Keisuke Okuda & Makoto Oishi when Umeda pinned Oishi with the Umeda Driver (10:20).
4. God Of Trials! In Oyado: Antonio Honda defeated Yuki Ueno with a Leg Roll Clutch (14:26).
5. Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Jun Kasai when Sasaki pinned Takanashi with the Sasatonic (14:29).
6. Road To D-Oh GP 2019 Special Single Match: Akito defeated Soma Takao with a Roll Up (9:34).
7. Road To D-Oh GP 2019 Special 4 Way Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA and Kazusada Higuchi when Endo pinned Takeshita with a Roll Up (17:22).

There were constant breakups throughout the 4 Way Main Event. Kazusada Higuchi had HARASHIMA pinned with the Doctor Bomb until Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo both broke it up with a Double Dropkick. Endo then broke up Takeshita’s pin on Higuchi with a Lionsault. Takeshita gave Endo a Reverse Implant but that pin was stopped by HARASHIMA’s Somato to Takeshita. Endo rolled up Takeshita from a Handspring to sneak away with the win. After the match DAMNATION gathered together in the ring for the closing speech. Endo said the road to the D-Oh Grand Prix starts here and his goal is to win the tournament so he can face Daisuke Sasaki for the KO-D Openweight Title at Sumo Hall next February.

Akito was able to counter the Gin And Tonic to roll Soma Takao into a Cradle. This was Akito’s first singles match in almost three months so he wanted to win this one before the D-Oh Grand Prix began.

Sasaki used Masahiro Takanashi’s own finisher against him. Except this one is called the Sasatonic instead of the Takatonic.

Antonio Honda says pro wrestling is a painful activity but it is the only way he can communicate with hearty young wrestlers like Yuki Ueno.

Keisuke Okuda and Yuki Iino had to be pulled apart after Match #3. They will be facing each other in a singles match tomorrow.

Sanshiro Takagi attacked Kazuki Hirata during his entrance. Toru Owashi didn’t care that his partner was being attacked so he joined in and did a Triple Dropkick with Takagi and Yuni. All three then piled on top of Hirata for the three count. Yuni then demanded a final match with Hirata to end their feud. He asked Hirata to be the referee so everybody vertically placed white paper tape on Owashi’s body to act as a referee shirt. Owashi counted slow for Hirata and fast for Yuni. He also ignored a Low Blow Yuni gave to Hirata. Yuni hit the 2nd Rope Sky Twister Press but it did no damage and Hirata rolled him over. Takagi and Owashi were too busy posing to the crowd to notice Yukinori Matsui counting the pin and declaring Hirata the winner.


DDT Dramatic Election 2018 Results

October 30, 2018

DDT “DRAMATIC GENERAL ELECTION 2018 VOTING EVENT”, 30/10/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
231 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the Canadian Backbreaker (8:26).
2. MAO, Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno defeated Shunma Katsumata, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Iino when Umeda pinned Iino with a Right High Kick (9:31).

DDT Dramatic Election 2018 Final Standings

1. Masahiro Takanashi (1,963 Votes)
2. Akito (1,669 Votes)
3. Maki Itoh (1,412 Votes)
4. HARASHIMA (907 Votes)
5. Daisuke Sasaki (853 Votes)
6. Tetsuya Endo (605 Votes)
7. Danshoku Dieno (547 Votes)
8. Soma Takao (438 Votes)
9. MAO (430 Votes)
10. Keisuke Ishii (387 Votes)
11. Yumehito Imanari (377 Votes)
12. Antonio Honda (374 Votes)
13. Konosuke Takeshita (350 Votes)
14. Saki Akai (328 Votes)
15. KUDO (304 Votes)
16. Shunma Katsumata (272 Votes)
17. Kazusada Higuchi (257 Votes)
18. Kazuki Hirata (246 Votes)
19. Toru Owashi (243 Votes)
20. Jun Kasai (239 Votes)

Masahiro Takanashi wins a KO-D Openweight Title shot on the 25th November Korakuen Hall show. He also receives a 1,000,000 yen cash prize. Akito gets 300,000 yen and a shot at any of the other DDT championships. The Top 7 wrestlers are also guaranteed to appear at “COMING TO AMERICA” in New York on 4th April, 2019.

Takanashi promised to give a big speech but only when he win the KO-D Title on 25/11. He admits that the current champion is a great guy, better than all of the previous KO-D Champions he challenged and couldn’t beat.

Akito admitted he’s had an average year. It was his dream to win an election, so much so that he made it his goal this year. He did more election related activities than any other wrestler in the contest. He purposely did not choose which championship to challenge for because he wants the fans to decide for him. As for the prize money, he is saving it up so he can some day start an inter-promotional war with BASARA!

Maki Itoh wanted to finish in 1st but she is still pleased to finish 3rd. She wondered during the election why is she so popular? She realised that the people who like her wrestling are also going through hard times in their lives and they sympathise with her. Itoh wants to give those fans hope and also boost Tokyo Joshi Pro in the process.

HARASHIMA understands the importance of even just one vote so he is thankful for getting 907 votes.

The KO-D Champion Daisuke Sasaki finished in 5th but only prepared a speech for winning the contest. He gave the speech anyway. Sasaki wanted to defend the title against Laura James so they could wrestle in Korakuen Hall and then spend the night having sex in the Tokyo Dome Hotel.

Both Tetsuya Endo and Soma Takao thought they would get prize money for their placements. Endo thought he would get 60,000 yen for finishing 6th and Takao would get 80,000 for finishing 8th. It was pointed out to him that that doesn’t make any sense. They wwanted to spend the money on buying pet beetles. They were told there isn’t any money for them.

Danshoku Dieno still has amnesia and didn’t understand what was going on. All he could figure out is he must be cool and popular if so many people voted for him. Even if he doesn’t recover his memory he will wrestle on 25th November.

MAO has done a lot of strange things this year but even he feels weird to qualify for the Korakuen show on his own. He will carry his 430 votes in his chest.

Keisuke Ishii said he was happy to wrestle in Korakuen Hall again through the Election. He will go back to Ganbare☆Wrestling motivated to aim above DDT with the group.

Yumehito Imanari told everyone that he quit his job at a TV station 8 years ago. Everyone thought he was a loser for doing it but DDT found him and hired him. He didn’t join DDT as a pro wrestler but today he is standing here as a pro wrestler.

Antonio Honda is using his #10 ranking to request a new tag team of himself and Jason Kincaid. It was something he wanted to ask for if he finished in the top ten because they have become great friends during Kincaid’s stay. Hisaya Imabayashi told Honda he would consider it.

Konosuke Takeshita promised to wrestle as hard as he can for DDT and also everyone who voted for him.

Every year Saki Akai gets more nervous and excited for the election results. She said she loves DDT. As more fans vote every year, she wants to be a woman worth voting for.

KUDO wanted to be the highest voted husband in the election. He beat Makoto Oishi so he thinks he achieved that goal.

Shunma Katsumata was worried that his injury earlier this year would have harmed his popularity. He promises to repay the fans who voted for him.

Kazusada Higuchi is pleased to reach the main card for the first time in the election.

Toru Owashi feels awesome about his placement but his happiness was diminished when he found out Kazuki Hirata finished one spot ahead of him.

Jun Kasai promoted his 20th Anniversary feature in the new issue of Shukan Puroresu. He was also embarrassed by finishing so low. He threatened to leave DDT in December then come back next year as somebody worthy of winning the election

21. Mizuki Watase (238 Votes)
22. Gota Ihashi (231 Votes)
23. Makoto Oishi (224 Votes)
24. Yuki Ueno (200 Votes)

The wrestlers who finished between 21st to 24th will compete in the 25/11 pre-show match. They will also act as reserves if anybody qualified for the main card has to pull out before the show takes place. Mizuki Watase misses out on the main card by one vote!

25. Super Sasadango Machine (189 Votes)
26. Yukio Sakaguchi (178 Votes)
27. Tanomusaku Toba (133 Votes)
28. Yuki Iino (83 Votes)

These four were the next closest entries to the pre-show spot but they just didn’t get enough votes. They can also be used as a reserve if any of the above pre-show wrestlers get bumped up to the main card.

Unit Election Final Standings

1. Shuten-dōji (3,663 Votes)
2. DAMNATION (3,119 Votes)
3. ALL OUT (1,756 Votes)
4. The Compliance ( Votes)
5. DISASTER BOX (1,515 Votes)
6. Moonlight Express (863 Votes)
7. Booing 2018 (536 Votes)

Total Number Of Votes: 14,065 Votes

DAMNATION have been denied the three-peat. Shuten-dōji will be the unit to get their own self-produced show at some point in the next couple of months. The 2017 DAMNATION show was held at the end of December but this year’s December date is already being used for the D-Oh Grand Prix final.

KUDO said that there are more people to credit than just Shuten-dōji for today’s victory. He mentioned DJ Nira but wanted to bring out the one person who has fought by their side more than anyone else. Saki Akai! Masahiro Takanashi promised they will all put together the best show possible. Yukio Sakaguchi said that while Shuten-dōji is changing a lot, they will still always be the same at heart. “Sakamori!”

Goodbye Booing 2018. We hardly knew you. They thanked the fans who voted for them because they really appreciated it. They also promoted the “ALL DOIN” show taking place on 9th November.