BASARA “BASARA 250 ~TAKAGARI 25~” Results

June 2, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 250 ~TAKAGARI 25~”, 02/06/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Daichi Kazato defeated Takato Nakano with a Rocket Punch (10:09).
2. FUMA & KUBITO defeated Lil’ Kraken & Takahiro Katori when KUBITO pinned Kraken with the Death Metal Roll (13:11).
3. Isami Kodaka & Judomaster Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga ended in a Double Countout (13:22).
4. Ryota Nakatsu defeated Masato Kamino with a Cradle (14:43).
5. Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Fuminori Abe defeated Minoru Fujita, Yasu Urano & Ryuichi Sekine when Tsukamoto pinned Sekine with the Running Zudon (17:32).

After the main event Takumi Tsukamoto challenged Minoru Fujita for the Union MAX Title at the next Takashimadaira Kumin Center show on 15th July. Fujita said the atmosphere for this title match will be different because the audience in Takashimadaira are more calm and sober than the crowd who gets to drink a lot at BASARA shows held in Shin-Kiba 1st RING. Backstage Tsukamoto said he wants to do a match that only BASARA can do, one that will dig deep into their hearts.

Yesterday it was announced that Astronauts will be challenging Harimao for the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles on 21st June. Fuminori Abe was on the winning side in the main event today. He also walked past Fujita during Fujita’s post match comments backstage.

Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi appeared with the other members of Asian Kung Fu Revolution at the start of the show to announce he has now become a first class Love Intructor. However seconds before his match took place he had to pull out when he suddenly came down with another bout of love sickness. Judomaster replaced him, making his first public appearance since losing the Iron Fist Tag Titles match with Tsukamoto a week ago. His tag match ended in a double countout when everyone fought up to the entrance stage. FUMA appeared in the ring armed with a rifle sensing wildlife was nearby and he shot down all of the wrestlers on the stage. Judomaster tried to run back to the ring but FUMA shot him last and the referee finished the 20 count.


Mystery Dragon, Kotoge Coming To DDT, Higuchi 10th Anniversary, Unagi Warriors

May 31, 2024

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 2”, 01/06/2024
Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue

1. Shinjuku Takashimaya Half Day Promotional Ambassador Contest Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni Vs Keigo Nakamura Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Pokotan Vs X
2. HARASHIMA, Kazuasada Higuchi & Soma Takao Vs Chris Brookes, Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
3. Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku

The mystery wrestler entering the Battle Royal has been described by DDT to be “Dragon” related. I’d outright say who it is based on the silhouette used on the updated promo image but she’d strangle me for spoiling it.

GANBARE☆PRO “BOAT RACE G1 TODA PRIMROSE”, 01/06/2024
Saitama Boat Race Toda

0. CWP Offer Match: Sasaki Complete Jr. & Baraki Ueno Vs Daisuke®️ & TERU Oshima
1. Gabai Ji-chan & HARUKAZE Vs Yuna Manase & YuuRI
2. Choun-Shiryu & Shota Kawakami Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Ken Ohka & Rekka Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yumehito Imanari
4. Aja Kong, Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Keisuke Ishii, Mizuki Watase & Tsuyoshi Okada

The Ganbare☆Pro wrestlers are already spending time at the boat races cheering on the action and promoting tomorrow’s show over there.

BASARA “BASARA 250 ~TAKAGARI 25~”, 02/06/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Daichi Kazato Vs Takato Nakano
2. FUMA & KUBITO Vs Lil’ Kraken & Takahiro Katori
3. Isami Kodaka & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Masato Kamino
5. Ryuichi Sekine, Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Fuminori Abe

Judomaster seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth. What’s up with that?

After being away for most of the last few shows, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi has returned.

GANBARE☆PRO “WILD GAMBLE 2024”, 02/06/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Hartley Jackson Vs Shota Kawakami
2. HARUKAZE & YuuRI Vs Banny Oikawa & Ayame Sasamura
3. Keisuka Ishii & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Yumehito Imanari & Tatsuya Hanami
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Time Staggered Battle Royal: Ken Ohka Vs Yuna Manase Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Gabai Ji-chan Vs Baliyan Akki Vs Daisuke®️
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

There might be more wrestlers being added to the Battle Royal. Tyson Maeguchi is trying to get added to the match. Shuichiro Katsumura photoshopped him into the graphic on Twitter but I can’t tell if it’s just a joke or not. He also did the same for Minoru Fujita but that one is definitely meant to be a joke… I think?

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/06/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
2. Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Jun Akiyama, Atsushi Kotoge & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
4. Daisuke Kiso Referee 14th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs To-y & Yuni
5. CDK 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi

During the week Jun Akiyama defeated Atsushi Kotoge at a NOAH show and invited him over to DDT so he could learn something new. Kotoge accepted the offer and DDT added him to Match #2. Yuya Koroku is also now in the match on the BURNING side.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN ASAKUSA”, 11/06/2024
Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashi Theater

0. Dark Match ~ Nariagari Sponsored Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine Vs Ariji Akinori, Shosaku Inoue & awesome Tezuka
1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
2. MAO & To-y Vs Chris Brookes & Ilusion
3. Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Makoto Oishi
5. Akasuka Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko Vs Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
6. Kazusada Higuchi 10th Anniversary Match ~ Harimao Vs BURNING!: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku

Ten years of Kazusada Higuchi has flown by. Feels like it was only yesterday when he was the unbeaten DNA rookie who was good enough to already get KO-D Openweight Title shots.

If Akiyama wanted to teach Kotoge something new he should have made him team with Danshoku Dieno & Yoshihiko.

The amateur pro wrestling group Nariagari returns for a dark match. Since Sanshiro Takagi is in the match it must have been another thing to tick off the checklist before his break from wrestling.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM BATTLE”, 16/06/2024
TOKYO FM Hall

1. DAMNATION T.A Vs BURNING!: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
2. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Fuminori Abe Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
3. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs X

The only previous time Yuki Ueno and Fuminori Abe have been in the same match together was at a Campsite Pro Wrestling show in 2018.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2024 IN UENO”, 05/07/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Special Tag Match ~ Unagi Warriors Vs Brahman Brothers!: Sanshiro Unagi & Sayaka Unagi Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei

Takagi was not joking when he said he wanted to form the Unagi Warriors with Sayaka Unagi. He will return to his Sanshiro Unagi persona for the upcoming battle against The Brahman Brothers!


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE” Results

May 19, 2024

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE ~ MAKING THE SQUARE WORLD INTERESTING”, 19/05/2024
Osaka City Sumiyoshi Civic Center
968 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match – Future Is Here!: Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuni and Ilusion when Sumi pinned Yuni with the School Boy (7:10).
1. THE Non-Stop Action Battle! ~Three High Speed Crows Vs Naniwa Pro Wrestling Three Musketeers~: Yuto Kikuchi, Harutoki & Kohei Kinoshita defeated Naruki Doi, Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura when Kikuchi pinned Nakamura with the Diving Foot Stomp (01:15).
2. An Absolutely Outrageous Tag Match Between The Four Heavenly Kings Of The Variety Team: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Dieno pinned Hirata with the Gaydo Clutch (0:09).
2a. Rematch: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Dieno pinned Hiroshi with an Inside Cradle (0:07).
2b. Rematch: Danshoku Dieno & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Kazuki Hirata when Dieno pinned Sasadango with a School Boy (0:07).
2c. 1 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Dieno pinned Sasadango with a School Boy (0:21).
2d. 4 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi ended in a Draw when all four wrestlers pinned each other simultaneously (2:33).
3. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Mixed Martial Arts Battle: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba ended in a Draw (R2 1:00).
4. Staggered Entry Tag Battle Royal “Surprise! Tag Rumble”: Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka defeated Soma Takao & Shota when Kodaka pinned Shota with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (15:00).
Order Of Elimination: Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi, Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re, KANON & MJ Paul, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi, Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida, Yoshihiko & Pokotan, Keisuke Ishii & Akito and Soma Takao & Shota.
5. Tsuji Dental Clinic & Yasuda Dental Clinic Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match – “20 Years Ago THE OSAKA”: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai defeated Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida when Kishiwada pinned Uchida with the Last Ride (5:19).
6. Seisho Kogyo Co., Ltd. Presents Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi defeated Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Koroku when Shinzaki pinned Koroku with the Nenbutsu Power Bomb (10:42).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya when HARASHIMA pinned Irie with the Swan Dive Somato (11:55).
8. PANTASIA Presents Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda when Togo pinned Honda with the Diving Senton (17:19).
9. Triple Main Event Kagoshima no Dancho Presents Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen defeated Kikutaro with the Kansai Airport Tornado (16:38).
10. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Minoru Suzuki with an Elbow Butt (23:41).
11. Triple Main Event Ondo Metal Co., Ltd. Presents Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi defeated MAO & Tetsuya Endo when Ueno pinned Endo with the WR (25:37).

The worlds of DDT and the Osaka wrestling scene gathered together for Yukinori Matsui’s annual show and this year was a special one. The referee was celebrating 30 years in the business and put together a marathon show for the occasion, although he cared more about making sure everyone watching the show had fun. He admitted he was tired by the end of it and in hindsight probably should not have officiated the last four matches back to back. He was pleased with the quality of the matches that happened. He probably won’t be doing another anniversary show for another 5 or 10 years but you can bet Matsui will continue booking his annual Osaka show no matter what day it falls on every year.

Everyone in the main event congratulated Matsui and all expressed their gratitude to him backstage after the show. Yuki Ueno said Matsui has supported pro wrestling for 30 years and it is thanks to him that he was able to grow stronger as a champion today. He thinks it is important that Matsui holds these shows to make matches he wants to show to everyone. Tetsuya Endo feels honored that Matsui picked him to be in the main event. He noticed everyone in the match are all currently champions and have a high standing in DDT. He admits this year has been a struggle but it will be worth it if it will lead to better results in the future. That will be Endo’s way of repaying Matsui for everything he’s done for him. MAO said the history of companies that Matsui worked for is where all of his favorite wrestlers came from. He hopes Matsui will take care of himself for years to come because MAO intends to wrestle for another 50 years and he likes using Matsui as a weapon. Kazusada Higuchi told Matsui to do his best so Higuchi can continue doing his best too.

The match between Konosuke Takeshita and Minoru Suzuki had a little bit of extra gas added to it thanks to developments happening elsewhere this past week. Takeshita will be facing Jon Moxley in AEW soon in a non-title match and if Takeshita wins he will be getting an IWGP World Heavyweight Title shot. Suzuki was aware of that news. The day before this show happened he declared he will beat Takeshita and work his way towards destroying Moxley to take the championship for himself. Suzuki was a tough challenge but Takeshita was able to wear him down to the point of collapse. Suzuki withstood all of the Elbow Strikes and Jumping Knees until one final Elbow Butt put him down for the pinfall. By beating “The King Of Pro Wrestling” today, Takeshita can now boast he is the stronger of the two. A defeated Suzuki admitted he is now just an old man from the Showa era and has nothing else to say about the result.

Matsui isn’t the only person celebrating 30 years in the business this year. Kikutaro and Kuishinbo Kamen have been a vital part of Matsui’s career for a long, long time. The three of them have known each other since they were all wrestling trainees in Yokohama. Matsui ended up getting injured and switched to being a referee. Kikutaro paid tribute to him after the match by impersonating Atsushi Onita. Kamen was rewarded with a championship belt from the match sponsor for being the winner.

There was an unexpected guest accompanying Dick Togo’s team in Match #8. It was Diego! He even helped out by interfering in the match a little bit. Daisuke Sasaki enjoyed teaming with his mentor today but thinks Matsui should make them opponents next time. There are still many moves and other tricks that Sasaki wants to steal from Togo before he can ultimately surpass him. Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda both think seven years is too long a wait for them to wrestle Togo again. They would like to do it every six months. Honda also described Togo as the father of pro wrestling and Matsui is the mother. He himself is not sure if he is being serious or just joking.

Kyohei Wada was the referee for Match #7. To-y made demands at Sanshiro Takagi to raise his salary. Takagi told him he has to ask President Okamoto for that from now on. After the match Matsui presented Wada with a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Wada’s 50 years in the wrestling business. Wada said he wants to continue for another 20 years so Takagi encouraged him to reach his 70th anniversary.

Match #2 had to be restarted over and over because Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata and Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi were all beating each other within seconds. Eventually they all collapsed onto each other in a pile and Matsui counted the pinfall for all of them, resulting in a draw. Although in the ring it was announced that they were all winners.

Keiko Takaeshita, the mother of Konosuke, was welcomed into the ring to greet everyone at the start of the show. She Clotheslined Matsui and finished the show’s opening call.


BASARA “BASARA 248 ~TAKAGARI 24~” Results

May 11, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 248 ~TAKAGARI 24~”, 11/05/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Chicharito Shoki & Daiju Wakamatsu defeated Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano when Shoki pinned Kamino with a Side School Boy (12:47).
2. Minoru Fujita defeated SAGAT with a Rope Assisted Cradle (12:42).
3. Lil’ Kraken, Leo Isaka & Takahiro Katori defeated FUMA, KUBITO & Jet Bar when Kraken pinned KUBITO with the High Angle Jumping Knee Butt (16:12).
4. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Sekine submitted Hiroshi with the Let’s Combine (14:00).
5. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Daichi Kazato defeated Isami Kodaka with the Firebird Splash (17:46).

Could this be the breakthrough match for Daichi Kazato? He pulled out a Firebird Splash to beat Isami Kodaka and become No. 1 Contender for the Union MAX Title. He told fans he still has a long way to go but he wants to have more intense matches to make BASARA the most fun place in the world! Minoru Fujita told him the title match on 28th May will be a battle to break either Kazato’s heart or his own!

In a confusing turn of events, Judomaster has suddenly gone missing and cannot be found. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi just so happens to live near the venue so he was able to fill in on short notice. Ryota Nakatsu insulted him during the match by telling everyone that Judomaster’s techniques are better. Takumi Tsukamoto even yelled at Hiroshi to do better during the grappling exchanges. Hiroshi ended up tapping out to Ryuichi Sekine which only made Tsukamoto even madder. He then lost his temper and attacked Hiroshi after the match.

Fujita played a lot of mind games with SAGAT from calling him a cat so fans would chant “SAGA-nyan” to forcing him to wear his old mask. He also asked SAGAT to take it easy on him because tomorrow is Mother’s Day in Japan and he just wants to see his mom again. SAGAT agreed to wear the mask and even tried to hide his face when Fujita later pulled the mask off. The confusion worked and SAGAT was able to pin SAGAT with a School Boy while placing one of his foots on the rope for leverage.

After the show Kodaka told reporters that he wants BASARA to start holding two “~UTAGE~” events a month beginning in August. The roster has grown big enough that he had to start leaving regulars off of recent shows. On the other hand there has also been a freshness to recent events because of the young wrestlers from elsewhere working on the undercard. He does not want to cut down on either so his solution is to increase the schedule. That way whoever misses the first “~UTAGE~” event of the month can be booked for the second. The “~UTAGE~” brand will be split into Red shows and Blue shows but BASARA is not doing a brand split. Some wrestlers will be appearing on both and if anyone only ever gets booked for one particular side it will be a coincidence.


BASARA “BASARA 247 ~AKATSUKA ROKKAMURA 2~” Results

May 5, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 247 ~AKATSUKA ROKKAMURA 2~”, 05/05/2024
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Ryuichi Sekine & Chicharito Shoki defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster when Sekine submitted Tsukamoto with the Let’s Combine (9:33).
2. 3 Way Match: Ryota Nakatsu defeated FUMA and SAGAT when Nakatsu pinned SAGAT with a Back Roll Clutch (11:11).
3. Lil’ Kraken & Gaia Hox defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Kraken pinned Nakano with a School Boy (11:05).
4. Fuminori Abe defeated Daichi Kazato with a Cradle Cutback (12:56).
5. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita defeated KUBITO & Yasu Urano when Kodaka pinned KUBITO with the Long Flight Vertical Drop Brainbuster (22:05).

It was confirmed after the main event that Isami Kodaka and Daichi Kazato will have a No. 1 Contender’s match for the Union MAX Title on 11th May. Kazato had a setback today after he lost to Fuminori Abe after a careless mistake ended with him getting cradled for the three count. But he assured everyone he stepped up by two or three levels despite the result. Kodaka told him it doesn’t matter how high he levels up if he doesn’t win in the end. Kazato assured everyone he has no intentions of losing the match against Kodaka.

Earlier, Abe told Kazato after their match that if he can beat Kodaka then he will have all the momentum to win the MAX Title from Minoru Fujita. When that happens Abe will challenge him for a title shot because he now considers himself the next No. 1 Contender after Kazato or Kodaka!

Things are getting uneasy between Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster. They lost their tag match in the opener and got into an argument afterwards that needed them to be separated. In unrelated news this weekend is the 13th anniversary of Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi’s debut.

Today’s show had free tickets for everyone under 18 year’s old because it is Children’s Day in Japan.


Catching Up On The News I Missed

April 12, 2024

I’m back from holiday. The week both flew by while also feeling like a ton of news items happened while I was gone. I’ll be spending this weekend writing up last week’s show reports so you’ll be getting them eventually. But first I want to get the upcoming lineups out of the way. I’ll leave the King Of DDT and Ganbare☆Pro stuff for their own posts because I want to write about them separately.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 13/04/2024
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Uta Takami
2. Mizuki & Nao Kakuta Vs Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro
3. Rika Tatsumi, Raku & Chika Nanase Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Toga & Kira Summer
4. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
5. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
6. Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Aino, Pom Harajuku & Shino Suzuki

The final matches of Juria Nagano’s career happens tomorrow. For her graduation she will be wrestling twice with her Shinken Kusho partner Moka Miyamoto. One match will be a singles match against each other while the second match is a 6-Woman Tag. Is that going to be the right match order though?

Hyper Misao is out of action with a right ankle fracture. It looked like she suffered the injury during her match against Steph De Lander at last week’s “GCW VS TJPW” show. Her return will be decided based on her doctor’s diagnosis and recovery time. The injury means she will miss her Daikaiju Pro match back in America later this month.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN FUKUOKA”, 13/04/2024
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Naya & To-y Vs Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
3. O-40 Title – 5th O-40 Champion Decision Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Azul Dragon
4. Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, HARASHIMA & Kota Umeda

As always whenever I see Kota Umeda added to a DDT card it makes me wish he never left wrestling as a full time career.

BASARA “GAISEN SAKURA PRO WRESTLING”, 14/04/2024
Okayama Shinjo Village Outdoor Ring

1. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. FUMA & Daichi Kazato Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
4. Isami Kodaka Vs Ryuichi Sekine

This is the BASARA half of the first Gaisen Sakura Pro Wrestling show.

DDT “YAMADA SUISAN CO., LTD. PRESENTS – 4.14 SHIBUSHI MEAT AND FISH BATTLE @ UNAGI STATION”, 14/04/2024
Kagoshima Shibushi City “Unagi Station” Special Venue

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuma Sumi
3. Jun Akiyama & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada & Rukiya
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
5. Yamada Suisan Fish Army Vs Maruto Poultry Chicken Army Final Showdown! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shishamo Power, Unagi Mask & Super Unagi Mask Vs Makoto “Mr. CHICKEN” Oishi, Chris “THE FALCON” Brookes & Shunma “EL TURKEY” Katsumata

This will be the match order for the show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GAISEN SAKURA PRO WRESTLING”, 14/04/2024
Okayama Shinjo Village Outdoor Ring

1. Miu Watanabe Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Mizuki Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Rika Tatsumi & Nao Kakuta Vs Arisu Endo & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Aja Kong & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino

And here is the Tokyo Joshi Pro half of Gaisen Sakura Pro. The card had to be changed around a little bit due to Misao’s injury.

DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT”, 26/04/2024
Tokyo Sumida Ward General Gymnasium

1. 3 Way Match: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Rukiya
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y
4. Keigo Nakamura Return Match: MAO Vs Keigo Nakamura
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Kawamatsu
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Akito

Due to the request of Toru Owashi we are getting a ground breaking second defence by the reigning KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions! None of the previous champion teams have ever stuck together long enough to take part in a second title defence. SCHADENFREUDE International can now become the most successfuly 10-Man Tag Champs ever if they can beat Owashi’s team of scrappy challengers.

Some controversy happened over the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title while Sayaka Unagi was on her tour of America. She unexpectedly lost and then won back the title against an unknown wrestler at some point. No video footage of the title changes exist and Unagi does not know the name of the person who beat her. After having discussions with the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi it was agreed that “Strange Foreigner” will be recognised as the 1,620th champion and when Unagi won it back she became the 1,621st champion. The incident has motivated Sanshiro Takagi even more to reclaim the title for DDT in order to remove any risk of the championship being lost overseas forever.

Keigo Nakamura returns from injury and is immediately being put in the ring against MAO.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 28/04/2024
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza Kanaeda

1. Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki Iino, Keigo Nakamura & To-y Vs Makoto Oishi, Tomoya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya
4. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. Sapporo Specialty Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Noriyuki Yoshida
6. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya

Two days after their KO-D Openweight Title match, Yuki Ueno and Akito will still be wrestling each other in a 6-Man Tag Match.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 29/04/2024
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza Kanaeda

1. Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Noriyuki Yoshida & Rukiya
3. Makoto Oishi & Yoshitatsu Vs Tomoya & To-y
4. Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi
5. Yuki Ueno Vs Keigo Nakamura
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
7. Shunma Katsumata 10th Anniversary Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs MAO

Nakamura is not wasting anytime for his return. A few days after he comes back he will be fighting Ueno one on one!

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 16/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Yuki Ishida Return Match: Yuki Ishida Vs X

Coming up in May’s Beer Garden show, Yuki Ishida returns from injury too.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE ~ MAKING THE SQUARE WORLD INTERESTING”, 19/05/2024
Osaka City Sumiyoshi Civic Center

1. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Single Match: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
2. Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
4. Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
5. Triple Main Event – Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
6. Triple Main Event – Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
7. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki

The next match Yukinori Matsui is adding to his show is all about Dick Togo and the wrestlers who look up to him. Daisuke Sasaki, Yasu Urano and Antonio Honda have all been taken under Togo’s wing at some point during their careers.

So the first match on the lineup caught my attention. Thanomsak Toba will be taking on another martial artist called Bushimasa. The match is sponsored by A-Toys Challenge Fight, or ACF for short. I went looking for clips of Bushimasa and found some not so impressive looking fights of his. He has taken part in a match type called Tire Fights where a tyre is placed in the middle of the ring, both fighters stick a foot into the gap and have to box each other while keeping their foot in the tyre. Most of his fights I could find had him lose and convincingly so. I guess he exists to be a human punching bag?

Some of the other guests on the show include Jinsei Shinzaki, Yuji Hino and Shigehiro Irie. Also Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi has been added to the show lineup but does not have a match yet.


VP Akito Gets The Next Title Shot, DDT USA Full Card, April Shaping Up

March 18, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 244 ~UTAGE~”, 19/03/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Fuminori Abe
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Gouma Ryu Vs Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Judomaster Vs FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato
4. Isami Kosaka Vs Kazusada Higuchi
5. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Masato Kamino

It looks like Judomaster is here to stay for as long as Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi is suffering from that dreaded love sickness. Curse that illness!

DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 21/03/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Makoto Oishi & Yoshitatsu
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
3. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1D: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
4. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1C: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1B: To-y Vs Tsubasa Suzuki
6. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1A: Yuni Vs Ilusion
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Danshoku Dieno, Yoshihiko & Pokotan
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata

We begin the preview tag matches between Yuki Ueno and Akito and also start this year’s D GENERATIONS CUP.

DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz

The headline match for Philadelphia is definitely the craziest one on the list. MAO’s current DDT Universal Title reign is inspiring him to go out and set the world ablaze. Billie Starkz will be waiting for him at Wrestlemania Week and might be tempted to outdo whatever MAO comes up with.

Andrew Everett is already saying what the selling point of his match against Tetsuya Endo will be. Who has the better Shooting Star Press?

Last year we got to see Nick Wayne and Takeshi Masada gel together whenever Wayne appeared in DDT. That relationship started in America as opponents and will continue in America this time as a team against DAMNATION T.A.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024”, 07/04/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. No Gamble FINAL!: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Toru Owashi Vs X
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Final: X Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
3. DDT Extreme Title – Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hi69
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & X
5. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes

BURNING is now a few months into life without Jun Akiyama guiding them. According to Endo the time is now for he and Yuki Iino to face Akiyama head on. They want to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against him and anyone else. Akiyama isn’t going to team with anyone else from D.O.A so who could it be? Another wrestler from BURNING’s history? Somebody Akiyama knows from AEW?

At last NOAH is crossing over into DDT a little bit more. Hi69 from the TEAM NOAH unit is interested in challenging for the DDT Extreme Title and will go through a Hardcore Match in order to win it. Shunma Katsumata is a little annoyed at how little Hi69 knows what the championship is all about. It’s more than just your typical Hardcore Title. Also it’s up to the champion to choose the match stipulation. Katsumata is willing to fight on Hi69’s terms to prove his point.

DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT”, 26/04/2024
Tokyo Sumida Ward General Gymnasium

1. Keigo Nakamura Return Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs X
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Akito

There’s been a specific list of wrestlers Yuki Ueno wanted to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against in order to establish himself as the new ace of the company. He has just one more name to tick off and that is Akito. While the match does not sound like a major contest on paper, Akito is somebody who eats, sleeps and breathes DDT 24/7 while working as the company’s vice president. If beating Ueno for the KO-D Title is what it takes for Akito to prove how much he loves the company more than anyone else then so be it.

D.O.A ended the existence of Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor over the weekend and now find themselves under threat by DAMNATION T.A. Remember, the current KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions made a deal with each other to disband once they lose the titles. It could happen here.

After being out of action with injury for almost a year, Keigo Nakamura will return to the ring a the end of April. Hopefully he got his right knee sorted this time because it’s an injury that has hampered his wrestling career right when it started to pick up.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

There will be a couple more KO-D Title defences going on between April and July so who knows who will be the defending champion when DDT returns to Sumo Hall.

Both Konosuke Takeshita and El Desperado will be on the show.


BASARA “BASARA 243 ~TAKAGARI 23~” Results

March 9, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 243 ~TAKAGARI 23~”, 09/03/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. SAGAT defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Goregrind (8:27).
2. KUBITO & Yasu Urano defeated Gouma Ryu & Banana Senga when KUBITO submitted Ryu with a Crossface Lock (7:24).
3. Tsutomu Oosugi defeated Daichi Kazato with the Tsuki no Ishi (12:42).
4. Masato Kamino & Chicharito Shoki defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster when Kamino pinned Judomaster with the Lariat (14:54).
5. Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita defeated FUMA, Ryota Nakatsu & Fuminori Abe when Kodaka pinned Nakatsu with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (18:52).

2024 could be the year Sento Minzoku is back on top of the BASARA mountain. Minoru Fujita is currently the Union MAX Champion and the result of today’s main event could lead to the Iron Fist Tag Team Titles coming back to him too. Isami Kodaka pinned Ryota Nakatsu to win the match and told Fujita he wants the two of them to challenge Harimao for the titles. Nakatsu complained that Fujita shouldn’t have to be Kodaka’s partner and Ryuichi Sekine should do it instead. However he eventually agreed to put the belts on the line against Fujita & Kodaka. Kazusada Higuchi’s next BASARA appearance is on 19th March but Fujita is already defending the Union MAX Title on 19th March on that show. He refuses to wrestle twice, especially if it is in two championship matches back to back. They all think Higuchi will be available to wrestle in BASARA again on 20th April so they will do the title match there unless they got Higuchi’s schedule wrong.

Sekine announced he will be back to wrestling on a regular schedule with BASARA starting from next month. He made it a goal to work his way into becoming a champion again.

Yesterday BASARA reported that Takato Nakano had a fever but tested negative for covid. They decided to pull him from the show as a precaution and brought in Chicharito Shoki to replace him. If that wasn’t enough, it was announced that the love sickness Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi is suffering from has gotten worse so he couldn’t wrestle today either. The masked Judomaster was suspiciously in the venue again to take his place for the second show in a row. He seemed to have a better understanding of pro wrestling this time but still lost to Masato Kamino.

Today is the first time Gouma Ryu wrestled in Takashimadaira Kumin Center for a BASARA show. He thought he was taking part in another Pro Wrestling Trial but Banana Senga forgot to bring his outfit. They held a court session arguing whether or not injuring your opponent in a pro wrestling match should be a crime. They told KUBITO and Yasu Urano to wrestle each other in order to provide evidence. None of their actions injured either of them so the referee/judge declared them Not Guilty. Ryu did not accept the result and convinced Senga to fight the other two. KUBITO & Urano quickly beat them.


BASARA “BASARA 242 ~UTAGE~” Results

February 20, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 242 ~UTAGE~”, 20/02/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. FUMA, KUBITO & Yasu Urano defeated SAGAT, Masato Kamino & Gouma Ryu when FUMA pinned Ryu with a Middle Kick (0:14).
1a. Rematch: FUMA, KUBITO & Yasu Urano defeated SAGAT, Masato Kamino & Gouma Ryu when FUMA pinned Ryu with a Middle Kick (0:24).
1b. Rematch: FUMA, KUBITO & Yasu Urano defeated SAGAT, Masato Kamino & Gouma Ryu when FUMA pinned Ryu with a Middle Kick (5:58).
2. Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga defeated Daichi Kazato & Chicharito Shoki when Senga pinned Kazato with the Koryu (8:56).
3. Kengo Mashimo defeated Lil’ Kraken by Countout (10:27).
4. Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster when Nakatsu pinned Judomaster with a Brainbuster (0:28).
4a. Rematch: Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster when Kodaka pinned Judomaster with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster (8:53).
5. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) defeated Takato Nakano with the Modified Tombstone Piledriver (18:04).
*V1 for Minoru Fujita.

Takato Nakano had his own cheering section led by Kaori Yoneyama, Cherry, Matsuzawa-san and other people related to the YMZ wrestling promotion during the main event. He was able to kick out of the Samson Clutch but Minoru Fujita eventually pinned him with the Modified Tombstone. After the match Masato Kamino challenged Fujita to a title match. Fujita asked if Kamino can drum up the same level of support as Takano did? Are Yoneyama, Cherry or Matsuzawa-san going to come back and cheer him on too? Fujita has never gotten to lead BASARA until now so he wants to fill up Shin-Kiba 1st RING with people no matter if they support him or his challengers. He agreed to the match for next month.

There was a sudden announcement that Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi missed the show due to a bout of love sickness. His replacement was a masked fighter going by the name Judomaster. He was quickly pinned by Ryota Nakatsu and admitted to Takumi Tsukamoto afterward he does not understand the rules of pro wrestling. The two teams agreed to restart the match and this time Judomaster got the hang of things. He lost again though, this time to Isami Kodaka.

The opening match also had to restart a couple of times because Gouma Ryu kept getting pinned quickly. He kept pleading on the microphone to do rematches and got the fans to side with him.


“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2023 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~” Results

December 31, 2023

“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2023 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
778 Fans

1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino defeated Takeshi Masada, Akira & Koji Iwamoto when HARASHIMA pinned Masada with the Somato (7:06).
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita defeated Soma Takao, Kazumasa Yoshida & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Kinoshita pinned Hiroshi with the Blockbuster Hold (6:51).
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki Vs Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
3a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rules: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki defeated Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka when Suzuki submitted Dieno with the Sleeper Hold (4:45).
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe defeated Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishikawa & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei) when Abe submitted Shu with the Manjigatame (6:03).
5. So Daimonji, Ender Kara, Leyton Buzzard & Tempesta defeated Kazumi Kikuta, Kazuki Hashimoto, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya when Buzzard pinned Rukiya with the Firebird Splash (8:37).
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kohei Kinoshita when Sekifuda pinned Kinoshita with the Ironman (5:48).
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki Vs Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
7a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rules: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe defeated Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Minoru Suzuki when Sekimoto pinned Kamitani with a Lariat (1:20).
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Takuya Nomura, Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino defeated Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Kobayashi pinned Honda with a Modified School Boy (13:32).
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sekimoto & Fuminori Abe defeated HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino when Endo pinned Sekifuda with the Burning Star Press (13:33).

On the final day of 2023 DDT, Big Japan and a scoop of the indies all joined together at Korakuen Hall to take part in the annual New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Team Tournament. This year was the third year in a row the tournament consisted of 6-Man Tag matches. Every team taking part consisted of a DDT wrestler, a BJW wrestler and a wild card independent wrestler. But before any of the matches began, Samurai TV presented the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards for 2023. The full results for those can be found at the bottom of this report.

Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1

Smile Lizard King Kong Vs Lonely Hot College Students

The opening round began with HARASHIMA, Kota Sekifuda & Yuji Hino all joining forces to fight a team that no longer had an accurate team name. Yuya Aoki pulled out sick and had to be replaced with Akira who is not single like Takeshi Masada & Koji Iwamoto are. Although you could still argue he might have been feeling lonely anyway without being near his new friends anyway. They isolated HARASHIMA but Masada could not get the job done. Instead the tables were turned on him and HARASHIMA scored the pin with the Somato.

Team Katagi Returns Vs The Kind People

Style was the name of the game here. Team Katagi Returns all showed up wrestling in sunglasses and flashy shirts looking to boss around their opponents. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi tried to settle them down with some karaoke, buying Soma Takao & Kazumasa Yoshida some time to regroup. Hiroshi tried it again to distract Kohei Kinoshita but ended up getting pinned with the Blockbuster Hold for his troubles.

Big Bombers Kai Vs Anal Destruction Hidaka

The big draw for this year’s tournament made his appearance in the third match. Minoru Suzuki showed up with no concern that Danshoku Dieno, Daichi Hashimoto & Ikuto Hidaka were all plotting to defeat him one way or another. It didn’t matter because whatever they threw at Suzuki, he just countered it and twisted them into submission holds. The match ended in a time limit draw so it went to 1 Count sudden death rules. Hidaka was convinced to settle himself on the top turnbuckle with his tights pulled down so Dieno & Hashimoto could throw their opponents face first into his rear end. The plan worked until it was Suzuki’s turn. He simply stopped in front of Hidaka and spanked him! Hashimoto then force fed Dieno the wasabi paste but the Lip Lock aimed for Suzuki was sent to Hashimoto instead! Suzuki used the Sleeper Hold on Dieno to squeeze the wasabi out of him until he gave up.

Go For It! The Three Inokori Brothers Vs Bati Bati F’N In The Sky

You can always count on The Brahman Brothers to come into this tournament with their partners already brainwashed into acting like them. It happened here with Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishikawa. Together their obscene fighting styles left the opponents doubled over in pain due to where the attacks were targeted. However Fuminori Abe was able to trap Brahman Shu in the Manjigatame so his team could escape to the next round with enough of their collective dignity still intact.

Non-Tournament 8-Man Tag Match

There were two matches outside of the tournament. The first of which focused on PROJECT: HAVOC, the unit of wrestlers currently invading Big Japan led by So Daimonji. Facing them were the collective team of mostly young DDT and BJW wrestlers. Despite the best efforts of the combined home team, HAVOC overwhelmed them and won out in the end.

Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final

Smile Lizard King Kong Vs Team Katagi Returns

Over to the semi finals now where Smile Lizard King Kong continued to show their combined strength. The normally powerful Kazusada Higuchi & Yasufumi Nakanoue were instead powerless to save Kinoshita from getting flattened with Flying Body Press after Flying Body Press from their opponents, ending with Sekifuda folding him over with the Ironman pin for the 3 count.

Big Bombers Kai Vs Bati Bati F’N In The Sky

The other semi finals treated fans to a couple of important matchups. First was a preview of Tetsuya Endo against Yukio Naya in the D-Oh Grand Prix final happening on 3rd January. The other was Suzuki and Daisuke Sekimoto getting the rare chance to fight each other! Their battle ended in a stalemate because the time ran out. When sudden death began the match scrambled into Hideyoshi Kamitani trying to pin Sekimoto only to get defeated instead with Sekimoto’s Lariat. Endo and Naya had a staredown in the middle of the ring after the match.

Non-Tournament Special 6-Man Tag Match

The second non-tournament match was a straightforward DDT Vs Big Japan 6-Man Tag. Well I say straightforward but the match involved Antonio Honda and Abdullah Kobayashi both getting rope burn between their legs, the DDT team all dancing to “What Does The Fox Say”, then the Big Japan team dancing to “Tokyo GO!” until Takuya Nomura stopped them. But that was only because he wanted to lead the dance and use that power to overpower his opponents. Kobayashi ended up using Honda’s Gongitsune against him and rolled him up with a School Boy to get Big Japan the victory.

Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final

Smile Lizard King Kong Vs Bati Bati F’N In The Sky

Sadly the show has not yet returned to running long enough that it reaches up to the clock striking midnight to bring in the new year. But the finalists were still able to take each other on without having to worry about a time limit. Sekimoto and Hino got into a big chop battle while HARASHIMA took out Abe with the Somato. Sekifuda almost pinned Endo with the Ironman but was then flipped upside down with the Tetsuya In the Sky. It was all there for Endo to take it and he finished Sekifuda off with the Burning Star Press, making Bati Bati F’N In The Sky the winners of this year’s tournament!

Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards 2023

MVP

1. Kazuki Hirata (DDT)
2. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (Michinoku Pro)
3. Fuminori Abe (Freelance)
4. Chris Brookes (DDT)
5. HARUKAZE (Ganbare☆Pro)

Best Bout

1. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato Vs Hiromu Takahashi (Michinoku Pro, 15th October)
2. Fuminori Abe Vs Takuya Nomura (Kakuto Tanteidan, 12th October)
3. Yuji Okabayashi Vs Yuya Aoki (Big Japan, 4th May)
4. Hiromu Takahashi Vs Kazuki Hirata (DDT, 12th November)
5. Chris Brookes Vs Yuki Ueno (DDT, 12th November)

Best Unit

1. Astronauts (Freelance/Big Japan)
2. Pheromones (DDT)
3. Lethal Weapon (Ganbare☆Pro)
4. Eruption (DDT)
5. The 37KAMIINA (DDT)

Best Show

1. DDT @ Ryogoku Kokugikan, 12th November
2. Kakuto Tanteidan @ Shinjuku FACE, 12th October
3. Big Japan @ Yokohama Budokan, 4th May
4. Michinoku Pro @ Yahaba Townsmen Gymnasium, 15th October
5. 666 @ Korakuen Hall, 2nd, August

Best Newcomer

1. Munetatsu Nakamura (Ganbare☆Pro)
2. Kazumasa Yoshida (Big Japan)
3. Takeshi Masada (DDT)
4. Yusaki Ito (Dove Pro)
5. Yuki Kanzaki (TTT)