Video – BASARA Steel Hardcore Tag Match

March 1, 2019

BASARA “BASARA 89 ~THREE ARROWS~”, 24/02/2019
Hiroshima Industry Center West Exhibition Hall
301 Fans – No Vacancy

Steel Can Hardcore Tag Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo


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

February 17, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
4,177 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Sekine submitted Nakano with the Let’s Combine (6:14).
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe when Tenma pinned Noa with the Killswitch (11:49).
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey defeated Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura when Ueno pinned Yoshimura with a Frankensteiner (12:55).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Saki Akai defeated Asuka (c), Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi, Keisuke Okuda, Kazuki Hirata, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Hoshitango, Gota Ihashi, Yuni, Yasu Urano, El Lindaman, Scorpio X2, Yuka Sakazaki, Mina Shirakawa, Chinsuke Nakamura and Maku Donaruto (20:23).
2a. Makoto Oishi eliminated Yuri with a Hurricanrana Cutback (2:14).
2b. Hoshitango eliminated Gota Ihashi and Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a Body Press (3:28).
2c. Makoto Oishi eliminated Super Sasadango Machine by Ring Out (4:25).
2d. El Lindaman eliminated Hoshitango by Ring Out (5:18).
2e. Everyone eliminated Scorpio X2 by Ring Out (5:25).
2f. Makoto Oishi eliminated Keisuke Okuda by Ring Out (6:40).
2g. Maku Donaruto eliminated Makoto Oishi with the McShake Bomb (10:17).
2h. Yasu Urano eliminated Maku Donaruto and Gorgeous Matsuno by Ring Out (12:00).
2i. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Mina Shirakawa with the Koromogawa (12:52).
2j. Chinsuke Nakamura eliminated El Lindaman by Ring Out (14:51).
2k. Asuka (c) eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (15:39).
*V? for Asuka.
2l. Asuka (c) eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura with a School Boy (18:82).
*V? for Asuka.
2m. Saki Akai eliminated Yuka Sakazaki by Ring Out (19:03).
2n. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Asuka (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (19:30).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,349th champion.
2o. Saki Akai eliminated Kazki Hirata (c) with the Quetzalcoatl (20:23).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,350th champion.
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino when Higuchi pinned Iino with the Doctor Bomb (13:09).
4. Special Single Match: T-Hawk defeated Akito with the Night Ride (13:50).
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO when Ishii pinned Pokotan with the igh Angle Double Arm DDT (11:28).
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito when Takao pinned Takagi with the Diving Foot Stomp from the Ladder (19:54).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi and CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka when MAO pinned Takanashi with the Cannonball 450 (13:06).
*V3 for The Moonlight Express.
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: HARASHIMA defeated Shinya Aoki (c) with the Somato (12:11).
*Shinya Aoki fails in V2. HARASHIMA becomes the 43rd DDT Extreme Champion!
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion (18:08).
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) with the Cross-Arm German Suplex (32:08).
*Daisuke Sasaki fails in V2. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 69th KO-D Openweight Champion!

Konosuke Takeshita has completed his comeback to the top of DDT! He survived the Super Elbow Drop, a Spear through a table, a Canadian Destroyer and several attempts at chair attacks to beat Daisuke Sasaki and become the new KO-D Openweight Champion. Victory was in Takeshita’s sight when he prevented Sasaki from doing an Avalanche Pedigree. Instead it was turned into the Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! But the top turnbuckle was removed earlier in the match so instead of landing on that, Sasaki instead fell even further and took the impact on the ring canvas! Takeshita followed it up with the Fable but Sasaki still tried to get back up. Sasaki was finished off with the Cross-Arm German Suplex, ending his title reign.

When DAMNATION took Sasaki back to the locker room, Takeshita rubbed it in by pointing out how fast Sasaki was leaving after being defeated. It was a year ago when Takeshita last headlined Sumo Hall. Since then he’s suffered injuries and had what he considers some of the most disappointing moments in his career. But with the support of ALL OUT he was confident he would become the KO-D Champion again. He received 2,000,000 yen in prize money today and will use some of that to pay off the bill DAMNATION left at his mother’s restaurant. As champion Takeshita now wants to have more defences take place outside Tokyo so the fans who cannot go to Korakuen Hall will get to see such matches in their own towns. He also wants to defend the title against wrestlers from all over the wrestling scene. That is how he will make the KO-D Title become more valuable.

Tetsuya Endo and Naomichi Marufuji took part in a battle of wills and Thrust Kicks. Marufuji was able to get one step ahead when Endo missed a Shooting Star Press. Endo landed on his feet but Marufuji’s dodge put him in perfect position to hit the Ko-oh knee kick. Endo thought he stunned Marufuji with a Thrust Kick but Marufuji responded with his around the back Thrust Kick then hit another Ko-oh this time to the back of Endo’s head. From there Marufuji hit the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion to win the match. Marufuji applauded Endo after the match. In the backstage interview, Marufuji joked that the results means Endo has to go to NOAH. But seriously, Marufuji doesn’t understand why Endo isn’t a championship contender right now. Endo was a lot harder on himself and he called himself a loser. His entire career from his debut to teaming with Takeshita to joining DAMNATION was all leading up to this match and he lost.

Pride and the DDT Extreme Title were both on the line when Shinya Aoki and HARASHIMA had a rematch of their October meeting. HARASHIMA was in trouble early thanks to Aoki’s ground game. When a rope break was called for Aoki reaching over while in HARASHIMA’s Cross Armbreaker that was when everyone realised the match was held under normal wrestling moves. Aoki never explained it to anyone beforehand. That was when HARASHIMA got into his groove despite being on defence against Aoki’s submission holds. He countered a Front Neck Lock into a Falcon Arrow only for Aoki to apply a Cross Armbreaker. But when Aoki went for a Back Drop, HARASHIMA countered it into a Piledriver and then hit the Somato to win the title! Aoki was in good spirits after the match despite losing. He gave the new champion a fist bump with a smile.

Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring and congratulated HARASHIMA. He asked for a title match but Hisaya Imabayashi refused to grant it. Sasadango’s PowerPoint presentations are usually longer than his matches so he does not deserve a shot. After hearing this, Sasadango took off his mask and said that Muscle Sakai was now asking for a title match! Sakai successfully promoted a Muscle show in Sumo Hall yesterday and he thinks that is more than enough to earn a championship match. Tetsuya Koda pushed Imabayashi away and granted Sakai’s request. HARASHIMA Vs Sakai for the Extreme Title will take place on 21st March at Korakuen.

The 3 Way Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles saw The Moonlight Express go against teams representing Shuten-dōji and #STRONGHEARTS. A Michinoku Tornado Driver from the champions got rid of CIMA but Shuten-dōji were there to stop the pin. Yukio Sakaguchi took out Seiki Yoshioka with the God’s Right Knee but he too was put to the side. MAO used a Screw Kick to cut off Masahiro Takanashi’s Takatonic to Mike Bailey. From there the Express kept Takanashi down with the Ultima Weapon and then the Cannonball 450. With a third defence completed, the Express now want to defend the KO-D Tag Titles against foreign teams in countries like Germany and England.

DAMNATION’s only high point on the show came from the Hardcore 6-Man Tag. Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha spoiled the reunion of Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito in the craziest looking match of the night. Yes even crazier than the Battle Royal. This one had Takagi’s entire body painted to look like a Gundam for instance. Plastic boxes were smashed to pieces, Ito brought out a barbed wire baseball bat, Iroha used a Marvelous flag to defend herself, Nagayo’s team applied a trio of Scorpion Deathlocks, Paulie was put through a table and the Dream Go fell to its demise once again. Takao won the match for DAMNATION when he placed chairs on top of Takagi and hit a Double Foot Stomp from the top of a ladder. Takao isn’t satisfied with the win though.

Nagayo told Takao he should be persistent like she is. She also praised Iroha for how painful her kicks felt. Her wish after today is to see Takao carry DDT and Iroha carry Marvelous. Nagayo then held hands with Mad Paulie which sparked Takao to swear he will take over DDT so he can take Paulie back from Nagayo!

There were concerns that the Pokotan costume would not be finished before the show took place. I don’t know how he did it but Danshoku Dieno’s creation was completed and ready to go on the day. Pokotan has hidden feature where it pulls up part of its costume to reveal Danshoku underwear! That means it is able to do the Danshoku Nightmare. It did pretty well in the ring, doing a Flying Cross Body and a Shining Wizard. But it all went to Hell when Keisuke Ishii knocked Pokotan’s head off with the Kneel Kick, revealing it was Makoto Oishi wearing the costume. Ishii then hit the High Angle Double Arm DDT to win for his team.

Hisaya Imabayashi was beside himself after the match. He wanted to see Pokotan, not some forty year old man beneath the costume! Dieno promised there will be a change and somebody more suitable will be used to make Pokotan come to life. Oishi put Pokotan’s head back on and Pokotan told everyone (through Dieno’s voice) he will try his best next time so please support him.

#STRONGHEARTS finally have their win over Akito and it is all thanks to T-Hawk. His Chops were an effective way to break out of Akito’s Figure 4 Leg Lock. When T-Hawk gained control of the match he had Akito beaten with the BT Bomb followed by the Night Ride. Akito offered a handshake after the match but T-Hawk rejected him.

Yukio Naya’s first match in Sumo Hall was a successful one. He was on the winning side with Go Shiozaki & Kazusada Higuchi against Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino in a bout that was filled with big lads Chopping and Lariating each other. Iino took the brunt of the offence at the end. Naya gave him a Choke Slam and Higuchi followed with a Diving Body Press but Iino kicked out. Higuchi then put him away with the Doctor Bomb.

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title looked like it was staying with Asuka during the Battle Royal. She eliminated Yasu Urano and Chinsuke Nakamura from the match then made it to the final three with Kazuki Hirata and Saki Akai. Asuka’s momentum was cut short when Hirata pinned her with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the title. Asuka got revenge by Choke Slamming Hirata afterwards. Hirata almost escaped with the win when he used the Miracle One Shot Cradle on Saki Akai. But Akai kicked out and gave Hirata her new finisher the Quetzalcoatl to become Iron Man Champion for the 9th time. Other things of note were Yuka Sakazaki hoping to win so she could bring the belt with her to America, Hirata having not one but two group dance spots, Maku Donaruto being… well, Maku Donaruto and Sasadango Machine using his PowerPoint Presentation to reflect on yesterday’s “MUSCLE MANIA” show. Apparently he did a lot of things without getting permission.

The main show kicked off with the return of Shunma Katsumata. He has a new wild looking appearance that includes facepaint surrounding the part of his orbital area that was injured. He gelled well with his new ALL OUT teammate Space Monkey. He never wrestled with a monkey before. Together they did a Buzzsaw Kick/Tail Whip combo. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid fought back with Bionic Elbows while Naomi Yoshimura took care of Yuki Ueno. He couldn’t hit the Throwaway Power Bomb then got rolled up in a Frankensteiner by Ueno for the surprise three count.

Ueno got Yoshimura’s attention again after the match. He wondered why was Yoshimura ignoring his request to team with him? Ueno asked him one more time. Yoshimura smiled and shook Ueno’s hand. He’s in! He might also be joining DISASTER BOX too because of this. Ueno wants to change his costume to something as bright as Yoshimura’s orange hair.

In the Tokyo Joshi Pro pre-show match, Nodoka Tenma continues to build up momentum for her TOKYO Princess Title Match next week. She won the match for her team by pinning Hikari Noa with the Killswitch.

Sento Minzoku were victorious in the BASARA pre-show match. Ryuichi Sekine made Takato Nakano tap out while Daiki Shimomura wiped out Masato Kamino with a Plancha.

A special 6-Man Tag Match was announced for the 21st March show. Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi is the match. It will be the first time Choshu and Ihashi will be in the same ring since their infamous trios match from January 2018 when Choshu straight up said Ihashi should not be a pro wrestler.


MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER” Results

February 16, 2019

MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER”, 16/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
4,115 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Pedro Takaishi Retirement Match: Pedro Takaishi, Choun-Shiryu & Great Kojika defeated Yasu Urano, Makoto Oishi & Ken Ohka when Kojika pinned Oishi with the Nodowa Otoshi (10:30).
1a. Pedro Takaishi Retirement Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Pedro Takaishi with a Sleeper Hold (8:44).
2. Junretsu New Member Audition 2019 Time Difference Battle Royal: Andreza Giant Panda defeated Kazuyoshi Sakai with the Andreza Press (26:23).
Order Of Elimination: Gorgeous Matsuno, Yuki Ueno, Ken Ohka, Yukio Sakaguchi, Konosuke Takeshita, Makoto Oishi, Saki Akai, Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda, Akito, Tetsu Watanabe, Choun-Shiryu and Kazuyoshi Sakai.
3. Captain’s Fall Anal Explosion Time Difference Web News Posting Tag Death Match: Danshoku Dieno & Ryota Yamazato defeated Muscle Sakai & Kurochan when Dieno pinned Sakai with the Danshoku Driver (16:14).
4. Antonio Honda Vs DJ Nira ended in a Double TKO (23:50).

Where oh where do we begin? Well yeah, from the beginning.

The show began with an introduction from Utamaru. He came out to the theme song from Rocky and talked about how similar Muscle is with the movie series. He asked if Muscle should have come back? When Rocky Balboa’s career ended it was soon replaced by Adonis Creed. Tonight a courageous man named Muscle Sakai is going to prove that Muscle still has life left in it.

After the opening credits the Muscle roster gathered together backstage. Amon Tsurumi announced he has taken office in the Japan Pro Wrestling Committee and with this responsibility he is launching the 2020 Tokyo Wrestlympics! Because the physical burden carried by pro wrestlers is so great, the Wrestlympics can only be held once every 40 years which is why a lot of people have never heard of it. Tokyo will be busy hosting some other sports event in the summer of 2020 so Tsurumi wants to hold the Wrestlympics in January. Tsurumi cannot say where it will take place but he did hint that the Tokyo Dome is booked for two days in January. He didn’t say it was booked by him but the gossip was enough to motivate all of the wrestlers.

Tsurumi wanted the opening match to be a qualifying round for the Wrestlympics. The problem it was also originally planned to be Pedro Takaishi’s retirement match. Takaishi suggested postponing his retirement but Tsurumi rejected the idea. According to Tsurumi pro wrestling retirements must be taken seriously! Muscle Sakai shrugged his shoulders and quietly put on a Super Sasadango Machine mask in response. The retirement match went ahead with Takaishi teaming with Choun-Shiryu & The Great Kojika to take on Yasu Urano, Makoto Oishi & Ken Ohka. Takaishi wanted to go out with a bang and surprised everyone by doing a Flying Hurricanrana to Urano and then a Lionsault onto Oishi. Kojika pinned Ohka with a Choke Slam to win the match.

Takaishi’s retirement ceremony then began. He was presented with a bouquet from Mr. Magic. Next a video message from Choun-Shiryu was shown on the screen. “Wild Thing” played over the speakers but instead of Atsushi Onita coming out we got Naoshi Sano instead. Sano read a letter from Onita specially written for Takaishi. In it Onita said life is a journey and so is retirement. No matter what difficulties lie ahead, Takaishi should overcome it with his capoeira spirit so they can wrestle together!

The ceremony continued until it was interrupted by Amon Tsurumi. He felt Takaishi didn’t do enough in the match to earn his retirement. This is supposed to be serious! But yoy know what, Tsurumi had a back up plan in place for Takaishi to have a proper retirement match. Out came Shinya Aoki! The match began and Takaishi used his capoeira to fight against Aoki’s MMA. Takaishi busted out another Moonsault, this time from the corner to the outside. Aoki pulled out something new as well when he used a Gotch-Style Piledriver. Takaishi was almost counted out but he got back to his feet by nine. Aoki applied a Sleeper Hold and held on until Takaishi was left powerless. Aoki then pinned him for a three count. Takaishi was given a second retirement ceremony with more of his friends and family giving him farewells. One of his friends only came to plug a theatre show he is a part of. When that was done, Tsurumi revealed that Aoki has qualified to represent Japan in the Wrestlympics.

Next up was a contest to qualify for the New TOKYO Rumble that will be held on the Wrestlympics pre-show. The four teams competing were Danshoku Dieno & Ryota Yamazato, Super Sasadango Machine & Kurochan, Kazuyoshi Sakai & Antonio Honda and the trio of Yasu Urano, Makoto Oishi & Ken Ohka.

For Round 1 everyone had to taste two glasses of red wine mixed with protein powder. One glass consists of fresh protein powder belonging to Konosuke Takeshita. The other glass consists of old, stale powder. It was up to the teams to taste both and figure out which was which. Urano, Oishi & Ohka was the only team to pick the wrong answer so they were eliminated.

In Round 2 the contestants were blindfolded and had to guess if the Chops they heard were being done by a first class pro wrestler in his early twenties or a weak former idol in her early twenties. Yamazato, Kurochan and Sakai were held in place by Yuki Iino with their chests bare while Takeshita and Maki Itoh took turns throwing Chops at them. Honda & Sakai got their answer wrong so they were eliminated. Itoh actually screwed up by saying “Here I go” out loud before one of her chops but Honda thought it was a trick so he picked the opposite answer.

For the final round the two teams had to figure out who was responsible for creating the intro video but both teams got the answer right. It was Akinaga Toyomoto. Since there were no tiebreakers ready, Tsurumi decided a wrestling match was needed to determine a winner. However his phone suddenly rang with news that the musical act he booked to perform at the Wrestlympics opening ceremony have split up.

The contest had to be put on hold while Tsurumi solved this problem. Luckily for him Kazuyoshi Sakai is part of a pop band called Junretsu and they were already booked to appear on this show. The group came out on stage, performed a song then asked if they can do the opening ceremony. That’s the good news. The bad news is one of their members left the group last month after it was found out he was involved in a domestic scandal, so they’re one man short. Tsurumi had a solution already prepared and announced that the Junretsu New Member Audition 2019 Battle Royal will begin right now!

A bizarre collection of people entered the match. There was Makoto Oishi, Yuki Ueno, Akito, Gorgeous Matsuno, Kazusada Higuchi, Ken Ohka, Yukio Sakaguchi (he decided to eliminate himself when he was told his tattoos were not suitable for pop idols), Saki Akai, Konosuke Takeshita, Antonio Honda, Andreza Giant Panda, Tetsu Watanabe (dressed as Antonio Honda) and Choun-Shiryu all taking part. Even Kazuyoshi Sakai got in on the action by bringing back his old HG parody gimmick. The match came down to Andreza and Sakai so Sakai got the rest of Junretsu to come in and attack the panda. Andreza had the wind knocked out of him by the train of Lariats but he recovered. Sakai got knocked silly by a Headbutt and was pinned with the Andreza Press.

Andreza is now a member of Junretsu! The group performed another song know that they are a complete act again.

Here is where things went out of control. Tsurumi wants this show to get coverage on popular news sites like YAHOO!, AbemaTimes, and Battle News. So he came up with a bunch of attention grabbing headlines for the sites to post. The websites went ahead and posted these headlines before the described events actually happened on the show itself. Nobody involved in the show wanted to come off as liars so they had to go along with the headlines as they were updated. The first headline? Yamazato and Kurochan were about to take part in an Anal Explosion Match!

Tsurumi decided the match was going to be Dieno & Yamazato against Muscle Sakai (replacing Sasadango) & Kurochan in a Captain’s Fall Anal Explosion Match. Since Yamazato and Kurochan were picked to be the captains that meant only one of them would take the Anal Explosion if their team lost. More headlines were posted online as the match went on. The first headline said Yamazato fainted in the ring in a situation similar to Antonio Inoki swallowing his tongue! Yamazato had to go along with it so he allowed Sakai to choke him out with a Sleeper Hold.

The next headline said Kurochan assaulted an idol and had to be contained by a police officer. Dieno carried a protesting Maki Itoh down to the ring for Kurochan to fight. Shinya Aoki then came down dressed as a cop and he stopped Kurochan with a Triangle Choke.

Headline #3 was breaking news involving suspicious people breaking into Kurochan’s home. Live footage was shown on screen of HARASHIMA and MAO wrestling each other inside Kurochan’s bedroom! It was live because whatever moves were happening inside the wrestling ring were then done inside the bedroom. HARASHIMA gave MAO a Piledriver onto the bed while Dieno gave Sakai the Danshoku Driver in the ring. Dieno pinned Sakai which means Kurochan has to get the Anal Explosion!

Yamazato felt bad for Kurochan. His house is getting wrecked and his ass is about to get wrecked too. The others asked Yamazato if he would take Kurochan’s place. Kurochan said no. That’s when the final headline appeared. It said that Yamazato was so moved by the tearful reactions of the thousands of people in attendance that he volunteered to take the Anal Explosion instead of Kurochan! Yamazato resigned himself to walk up stage and take the blast. Dieno set off the explosion and cried for Yamazato afterwards.

Still with me? Good because it’s time for the main event. Except no main event was planned in advance. Muscle Sakai held a PowerPoint presentation explaining that he brought Muscle back because he has unfinished business with the brand before he inherits his family business. He then talked about how he decided what the main event will be. Sakai wants Antonio Honda to headline a Sumo Hall show so he’s in. They wanted someone Honda could beat so they decided his opponent is DJ Nira!

Nira appeared in the ring accompanied by Rocky Kawamura who was dressed as Rocky Balboa from the movie Creed. Honda had Tetsu Watanabe in his corner. For over twenty minutes Honda and Nira fought their hearts out as dramatically as possible. The Creed soundtrack played as the two fighters threw their final punches in slow motion. The punches struck hit the targets and both men slumped into each other, possibly for a hug as Honda and Nira lost their consciousness. Kawamura and Watanabe had no other choice but to throw in their towels at the same time, meaning the main event was a double knockout.

The Muscle roster revived Honda and Nira so they could celebrate the end of a successful show. Honda introduced Tetsu Watanabe (father of Shoichiro Honda) to Muscle Sakai (“father” of Antonio Honda) and described how much fun his life was today. Sakai thanked everyone in the audience for coming to see the show despite there being no card or special guests advertised in advance.

Everyone went up to the stage to say their goodbyes when Norikazu Fujioka stopped everything with breaking news. This one is for real this time. Tokyo Sports just posted an exposé about Andreza Giant Panda being kissed by Tsukasa Fujimoto at the Tokyo Sports Awards ceremony! Andreza is married and has a kid so this is a big scandal! So big that he is now fired from Junretsu!


MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER” Preview

February 15, 2019

MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER”, 16/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Pedro Takaishi Retirement Match: Pedro Takaishi Vs X

Wrestlers advertised to appear include Muscle Sakai, Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda, Pedro Takaishi, Choun-Shiryu, Yasu Urano, Makoto Oishi, Ken Ohka, Norikazu Fujioka, Amon Tsurumi and Andreza Giant Panda. Over on Twitter Akito has talked about wanting to be on the show. Sasadango publicly said he is welcome to come over as long as he keeps it a secret so he does not spoil the surprise…

Other guests include comedian Ryota Yamasato, actor Kurochan, pop band Junretsu and rapper Utamaru.

Here’s my preview: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Heck if I know what’s going to happen! Muscle shows in the past have been held under many sorts of formats. It might be a wrestling card, it might be a talk show, it might be a talent contest, it might be a school exam, it might be a tag team tournament gone horribly off the rails, it might be the first NXT Japan TakeOver in disguise, it might be anything. What I can say for sure is it will be ridiculous. Also don’t be surprised if a big name or two makes a cameo appearance somewhere. In the past such famous wrestlers as Masahiro Chono, Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Atsushi Onita, Shinjiro Otani, The Great Sasuke and a lot of the Big Japan roster among others have joined in the fun in one way or another.


BASARA “BASARA 84 ~FEAST~” Results

December 18, 2018

BASARA “BASARA 84 ~FEAST~”, 18/12/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
244 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Masato Kamino Return Battle: Fuminori Abe defeated Masato Kamino with a Modified Jujigatame (10:36).
2. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial – Legendary Prosecutor Revival!: Atsushi Maruyama defeated Gouma Ryu and Masato Kamino when Maruyama pinned Kamino with a Buzzsaw Kick (11:01).
3. Best Stretchman V3 & Yasu Urano defeated Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man when Urano pinned Man with a School Boy (7:20).
4. FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT defeated Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Jun Masaoka when FUMA pinned Nakano with the Jawbreaker (13:20).
5. Trans-Am ★ Trans-Am: Trans-Am ★ Ryuji defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi with the Perfect Plex (9:14).
6. Sparky Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ryota Nakatsu, Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizara defeated Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita when Nakatsu pinned Shimomura with the V Slider (16:50).

Sparky won the main event over Sento Minzoku but continued to attack them after the bell. Suddenly a person wearing a bag over his head entered the ring and fought off Ryota Nakatsu. The man then removed his bag and was revealed to be Isami Kodaka! He said he will be ready to return from injury in time for the 6th January BASARA show. Kodaka asked Nakatsu if he’s been having fun as the Union MAX Champion while he was absent. Even though Kodaka hasn’t been at the shows lately he’s still watching them and when he comes back on the 6th he wants to challenge for the championship! Naoki Tanizaki took the microphone and asked Kodaka if he remembers who took the MAX Title from him? It was Tanizaki and he’s not going to let Kodaka come in and get a title match so quickly. If Kodaka wants to challenge Nakatsu, he better get past Tanizaki first! Kodaka accepted Tanizaki’s challenge for 6th January.

Trans-Am ★ Ryuji defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi and looked to have hurt their friendship in the process. Ryuji punched Hiroshi and told him goodbye after the match, leaving Hiroshi alone in the ring. Hiroshi was upset until “Last Christmas” played and Ryuji came back out wearing a Santa hat singing along to the song. Hiroshi joined in, they hugged and then wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

Yasu Urano went through an audition to become a Best Stretchman. He pinned Stretchman Man with a School Boy after Man accidentally struck Best Stretchman Amazon with his hook. After the match it was determined that Urano failed the audition because Best Stretchman V3 felt he acted too stubborn whenever he was asked to do the Best Stretch exercises.

Masato Kamino’s first show as a BASARA wrestler was a busy one. He lost his debut match to Fuminori Abe but left the ring feeling encouraged. He then had to come back out because he was now being put on trial by Gouma Ryu and Atsushi Maruyama! He was accused of fraud and exploitation in regards to fight money. Kamino had to sit through Ryu and Maruyama wrestling each other while they argued over the case. It was during this that information came out about Kamino having a bad history with another wrestling company beginning with the letter K. Ryuichi Sekine was brought out as a witness but Maruyama ignored him so he could talk with a woman in the front row instead. Ryu got Maruyama back into the ring and they both agreed to use wrestling as a way to relax during their lawyer work. They then attacked Kamino and hit him over the head with Ryu’s law book. Maruyama then knocked over Ryu and pinned Kamino with a Buzzsaw Kick. There was a lesson to be learned today. Maruyama wants Kamino to face his past and be honest about it. When he does he will then be able to take a fresh step in a new direction. Kamino agreed and promised to do his best from the ground up in BASARA.


Husband Vs Wife, BASARA’s Christmas Feast, Ito Respect Army’s Gift

December 4, 2018

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN SHINKIBA”, 07/12/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Keisuke Okuda & Yuki Iino Vs Antonio Honda & Veda Scott
2. Husband Vs Wife! Oishi Asahi Vs AvidRival: Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Ryo Mizunami & Misaki Ohata
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (2) Vs Akito (2)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: HARASHIMA (0) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (0)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (0) Vs Masahiro Takanashi (2)
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Tetsuya Endo (4) Vs Soma Takao (0)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Shinya Aoki (2) Vs Mike Bailey (2)

With Misaki Ohata’s retirement coming soon, she wants to leave her career with no regrets. That means before she quits she wants to have a match against her husband Makoto Oishi! Ohata says she only needs 10 minutes with Oishi and originally asked for a singles match. Oishi however wanted to team with Shiori Asahi in DDT again. Struck with inspiration, Oishi asked DDT to bring in Oishi’s friend Ryo Mizunami so they could team up as AvidRival one more time. That way the match will appeal to fans of DDT, K-DOJO and WAVE all at once.

BASARA “BASARA 84 ~FEAST~”, 18/12/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Trans-Am ★ Trans-Am: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Trans-Am ★ Ryuji
2. Best Stretchman V3 & Yasu Urano Vs Best Stretchman Amazaon & Stretchman Man
3. Sparky Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ryota Nakatsu, Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizara Vs Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita

The two new units in BASARA face off. The Nakatsu Gundan renamed themselves to Sparky at the last show.

Best Stretchman V3 thinks Yasu Urano has potential to become the next Best Stretchman. He needs to past the rest of the Best Stretch team to prove V3 right.

Jun Masaoka will also be on the show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WELL, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2018”, 22/12/2018
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Maki Ito & Mizuki Vs Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko

The Ito Respect Army will perform their entrance song live as a Christmas gift for the fans.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Meiko Satomura, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs X, X & X
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

CIMA, El Lindaman & #STRONGHEART’s newest member Seiki Yoshioka will be on the show.


BASARA “BASARA 82 ~FEAST~” Results

November 17, 2018

BASARA “BASARA 82 ~FEAST~”, 17/11/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
243 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano defeated Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man when Urano submitted Stretchman with a Mexican Stretch (9:38).
2. 3 Way Match: Ryuichi Sekine defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi and Jun Masaoka when Sekine submitted Hiroshi with the Lotus Let’s Combine (8:01).
3. Sparky Vs Sakigake!! Iron Family: Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizara defeated FUMA & Yusuke Kubo when Tanizaki pinned Kubo with the Implant (14:59).
4. Tenkaichi Jr. Tournament – Round 1: Fuminori Abe defeated Ikuto Hidaka with a Cradle (14:13).
5. Sento Minzoku Vs Ganbare☆Wrestling: Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shota when Fujita pinned Shota with the Modified Samson Clutch (11:09).
6. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) defeated SAGAT with the Crescent Moon (16:37).
*V2 for Ryota Nakatsu.

The show was focused on establishing the Nakatsu Gundan, who are now going to be called Sparky. With new yellow baseball jerseys being worn by every member and black strips under their eyes, today was the first time Ryota Nakatsu, Naoki Tanizaki and Akiyori Takizara were all together since the unit’s formation. Nakatsu defeated SAGAT in the main event to defend the Union MAX Title. He countered a Perfect Plex from SAGAT into the Crescent Moon modified Crab Hold to make the challenger submit. They shook hands afterwards and Sparky ended the show celebrating by drinking beers with the fans around the ring.

The Sento Minzoku Vs Ganbare☆Wrestling match turned into a brawl early and kept the bad tension all the way through. When the match was over Daiki Shimomura wanted to get Keisuke Ishii’s attention but Ishii ignored him.

Fuminori Abe’s win over Ikuto Hidaka means that he advances to the semi-final of the Tekaichi Jr. Tournament in Zero1. As part of the tournament gimmick, Abe is now in possession of two crystal balls. The tournament winner ends up possessing all of the balls and can use them to make a wish.

The finish of the 3 Way Match had Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi put himself in an upside down lotus position to meditate. Ryuichi Sekine simply grabbed onto Hiroshi from that position and applied the Let’s Combine to make him give up.

Best Stretchman V3 is starting to act like Yasu Urano is the 4th member of the Best Stretch team. He called him Uranoman throughout the opener and asked to team with him the next time BASARA is in Shin-Kiba 1st RING.


BASARA “BASARA 78 ~LUYANG NO HOKO~” Results

September 21, 2018

BASARA “BASARA 78 ~LUYANG NO HOKO~”, 21/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
860 Fans

0. Special Dark Match ~ Shit Boss, Remember To Hurry! Season 2: Yasu Urano defeated Gouma Ryu with a Running Neckbreaker Drop (4:38).
1. Manabu Hara & Jun Masaoka defeated Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT when Hara submitted SAGAT with a Chickenwing Armlock (7:49).
2. Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man defeated Daiki Shimomura, Akiyori Takizawa & Takato Nakano when V3 pinned Nakano after the Double Stretch Kick (7:34).
3. Takumi Tsukamoto 9th Anniversary Memorial Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Toru Sugiura defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Tatsuhiko Yoshino when Tsukamoto pinned Yoshino with the Zudon (10:48).
4. Cielo Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: Don Fujii, Ryuichi Sekine & Fuminori Abe defeated FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Tanaka & Trans-Am ★ Ryuji when Sekine submitted FUMA with the Let’s Combine (13:07).
5. Hardcore Cage Match: Masashi Takeda defeated Isami Kodaka with the Reverse U Crash (11:28).
6. Yoga Vs Aikata! Tag Showdown!: Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Osamu Nishimura when Fujita pinned Hiroshi with the Samson Clutch (11:06).
7. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu defeated Naoki Tanizaki (c) with the V Slider (16:35).
*Naoki Tanizaki fails in V3. Ryota Nakatsu becomes the 11th Union MAX Champion!

BASARA’s return to Korakeun Hall ended in joy because Ryota Nakatsu is now the new Union MAX Champion! It was a challenge for him to dethrone Naoki Tanizaki. He had to kick out of both the Reverse Implant and the regular Implant back to back to stay in the match. Nakatsu shouted out Ryuichi Sekine’s name as he mounted his comeback. This led to Nakatsu putting Tanizaki in the Let’s Combine submission hold. Tanizaki kicked out of the V Slider but was then trapped in the Crescent Moon half crab hold. Nakatsu eventually let go of the hold and wore down Tanizaki with Buzzsaw Kicks before putting him away with another V slider.

Sekine was the first person to congratulate Nakatsu on becoming the champion. He also came to the conclusion that now is the time for Cavalry to split up. There is nothing negative behind this decision, Sekine thinks it should happen because he wants to challenge Nakatsu for the belt. In order to become even stronger, they must fight each other eventually. Nakatsu agreed and accepted the split but he ensured everyone they will still get along as friends. Nakatsu said he was glad to discover pro wrestling and join BASARA and today he has become BASARA’s top wrestler! He cut himself off thinking that Isami Kodaka would give a different opinion but Kodaka communicated to him that he can’t speak and had to go to the hospital. More on that below.

Last May Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Osamu Nishimura were opponents. Today they became tag partners. Meanwhile Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita wrestled in matching black and white gear that they recently debuted in Michinoku Pro. They both puy Hiroshi & Nishimura in Sleeper Holds but the Yoga team peacefully resisted the moves by meditating. The referee wanted them to show movement so he began a ten count. Hiroshi woke up and fought back against Fujita. However Hidaka decided to join in with Nishimura’s meditation. Hiroshi tried to put Fujita in a Cobra Twist but it was countered into the Samson Clutch, giving Fujita the pinfall victory. After the match Fujita was now deeply meditating and wouldn’t budge no matter who kicked him so he had to be carried to the back, still in his yoga pose.

Unfortunately Kodaka didn’t come out of the Hardcore Cage Match in one piece. The chair shots and cage smashes took their toll and left Kodaka with a fractured jaw. Kodaka tried to sneak by with a win with the European Clutch but Masashi Takeda kicked out of it. Takeda then struck Kodaka with a steel can and pinned him with the Reverse U Crash. The two signalled afterwards that they want another match against each other sometime.

Don Fujii enjoyed his time at BASARA today. He described his team with Ryuichi Sekine & Fuminori Abe as if they’ve been friends for 20 years. They were like senior high school students today even though Sekine and Abe went to high school decades after Fujii did. The team were rewarded with alcohol by the match sponsor Cielo.

Takumi Tsukamoto got to celebrate his 9th wrestling anniversary with a few of his friends from Big Japan and FREEDOMS. Tsukamoto teamed with Toru Sugiura to beat Kazuki Hashimoto & Tatsuhiko Yoshino. The four of them reminisced backstage about their early years as rookies after the match. Tsukamoto came out of it feeling blessed that he was strong both mentally and physically to advance past his early career and become what he is today 9 years later. He thinks he might bring back the wrestling class of 2009 for his 10th anniversary.

Daiki Shimomura did what Kodaka asked of him and attached a tail to his costume. Takato Nakano also made his entrance carrying a samurai sword given to him by Kodaka. The Best Stretchmen promoted their new T-shirts then made Stretchman Man remove the hook from his hand for everyone’s safety. He later put the hook back on to do his finisher but Best Stretchman V3 stopped him so they could all do their stretch pose instead. Akiyori Takizawa & Takato Nakano interrupted the pose with Dropkicks but Nakano got singled out and was slashed by Stretchman Man’s hook. He was then pinned with the Double Stretch Kick by the V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon.

Yusuke Kubo entered to a new theme song. He was able to save SAGAT from defeat a couple of times but was taken out by Jun Masaoka’s Thrust Kick. That left SAGAT with no choice but to submit when Manabu Hara put him in a Chickenwing Armlock.

Before the dark match began, Gouma Ryu entered the ring with Sekine for last minute training. Sekine taught Ryu how to do a Wristlock and Ryu was able to use it move against Yasu Urano. Ryu also asked the audience to point at the video screen whenever Ryu spun his finger around so Urano would get distracted. That way Ryu can do his Running Neckbreaker finisher. Urano did fall for the trick but he dodged the Running Neckbreaker and gave Ryu his own version of the move to win.


DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~DANSHOKU DIENO AND SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~” Results

August 2, 2018

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~DANSHOKU DIENO & SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~”, 02/08/2018
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Today’s Gruelling Under Match ~ Terrible Gruesomeness: Tetsuya Koda defeated Hisaya Imabayashi with a Katahajime (7:47).
1. Our Lariat Pro Wrestling ’18: Keisuke Ishii, Antonio Honda & Rekka Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yumehito Imanari ended in a No Contest (11:20).
1a. First Lariat Attack Rule: Keisuke Ishii, Antonio Honda & Rekka defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yumehito Imanari when Honda hit Imanari with a Lariat (2:55).
2. Match To Verify The Theory That Ken Ohka Is Not A Big Deal: Ken Ohka Vs DJ Nira ended in a No Contest.
3. Warming Up Muscle “10,000,000 Yen If You Beat Virtual Pikotaro” First Prize: Virtual Pikotaro (Kazuyoshi Sakai) Vs Norikazu Fujioka ended in a Time Limit Draw (1:00).
4. Warming Up Muscle “10,000,000 Yen If You Beat Virtual Pikotaro” Handicap Match: Virtual Pikotaro (Kazuyoshi Sakai) Vs Pedro Takaishi & Choun-Shiryu ended in a Time Limit Draw (2:00).
5. Warming Up Muscle “10,000,000 Yen If You Beat Virtual Pikotaro” General Battle: Virtual Pikotaro #1 (Kazuyoshi Sakai) & Virtual Pikotaro #2 (Hisaya Imabayashi) defeated Muscle Sakai & Antonio Honda when Pikotaro #1 pinned Honda after Virtual Pikotaro #3 (Kazusada Higuchi) stabbed Honda with a Pen And Anton Muscle Pen (2:24).
6. The Usual Sandman-like Match: Ken Ohka defeated Yuki Ueno, Danshoku Dieno, Mike Bailey, Jason Kincaid, Facade, Antonio Honda, Chinsuke Nakamura, Muscle Sakai, Keisuke Ishii, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Yasu Urano, Yumehito Imanari, Shota, Choun-Shiryu, DJ Nira, MAO, Sumo Rock, Rekka, DT-YUTA and Nonoko when Ohka pinned Ueno with the Fire Spear (16:42).

A recurring theme of the show involved Ken Ohka trying to convince Yuki Ueno that he is a good wrestler. It wasn’t until the end of the main event when Ohka finally got his message across to the rookie. It was a free for all set to the “Enter Sandman” song and everyone was encouraged to drink and throw beer everywhere as if they were all The Sandman. Some of the unexpected people showing up included Mike Bailey, MAO, DT-YUTA, Nonoko, Chinsuke Nakamura (carrying a homemade US Title belt) and Sumo Rock (Kazusada Higuchi imitating The Rock). The ring eventually filled up with empty beer cans and Ohka fought his battle with Ueno while everyone else was outside. Ueno hit Ohka with the Fire Spear for a nearfall. In return Ohka gave Ueno an Avalanche Brainbuster onto the cans then hit the genuine Fire Spear to win the match. When the dust was settled, Ueno told Ohka he still thinks Ohka isn’t physically powerful or mentally serious but Ohka did win the match today thanks to the crowd’s support. Ohka really is a strong wrestler and Ueno will make it his goal to surpass him!

Super Sasadango Machine did not make an appearance on the show. Instead his former alter ego Muscle Sasaki made a return. He held a secret dark PowerPoint Presentation that was only to be seen by the people in attendance. Afterwards the Muscle Producer Amon Tsurumi was invited to come out. Hisaya Imabayashi appeared and said he too busy preparing for his match before the show so he wasn’t going to be Tsurumi today. Instead the role of Tsurumi was played by Konosuke Takeshita!

Tsurumi/Takeshita revealed that if Muscle can draw 4,000 people to Sumo Hall next February then he believes it will attract the attention of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Creative Team. It is Tsurumi’s dream to join that team. The other wrestlers asked how can they achieve the goal of 4,000 fans. Yasu Urano suggested that only pure wrestling will work but everybody in Muscle are middle-aged and not pure wrestlers. Tsurumi/Takeshita revealed his secret plan. They need a big guest to appear on the show. They need… Pikotaro! Yes, the man behind “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen” is just the man they need. Unfortunately booking him is impossible so they’ll have to make do with an impersonator.

Actor and former Muscle wrestler Kazuyoshi Sakai came out dressed as Pikotaro. Tsurumi/Takeshita challenged the wrestlers to face him in a 60 second match. If they can win they will be given 10,000,000 yen! A bunch of wrestlers all tried to chase down Sakai and pin him but he survived the time limit every time. Soon a second Pikotaro appeared and it was Hisaya Imabayashi! The two impersonators agreed to team up and face the final participants, Muscle Sakai and Antonio Honda. When the two sides fought, one more Pikotaro appeared. This time it was Kazusada Higuchi! He stabbed both Sakai and Honda in the head with his Pen And Anton Muscle Pens, allowing the other Pikotaros to win the match.

As already mentioned above, Ueno wasn’t convinced that Ohka is a big deal in wrestling. Danshoku Dieno asked Ueno to watch Ohka fight against DJ Nira so he could change his mind. It was a bad match because Nira was so weak that he couldn’t put up a fight. When Ohka gave him a Snapmare into a rest hold he decided to let it go because it wasn’t worth it. Ohka apologised to everyone and left the ring. Daisuke Kiso didn’t know what was going on so he called off the match.

The Lariat Pro Wrestling match featured the theme songs of many famous Lariat users. The order of songs started off with “Power Hall”, “Sunrise” and “J”. Things then went in a different direction when “Crash” played and everyone performed Kenka Kicks. Then the music changed to “SAMURAI” and everybody did Hip Attacks. Next up was “Beautiful Flight” which made everyone do Leg Lariats. At this point everybody realised they were no longer doing Lariats so they asked for a song to get them back in track. “RAIN MAKER” came on. Suddenly Yukinori Matsui was overwhelmed with enough power to gave the Rainmaker to Keisuke Ishii! He did the post but Ishii got back up and he German Suplexed Matsui. “Miserarete” was the final song to play but at this point everybody was too hurt to continue. Ishii decided to change the rule and made it so the next person to hit a Lariat would win the match for their team. Antonio Honda rallied everyone as he prepared to do the move but he stopped and told a Gongitsune story instead. He poked everybody in the eye and eventually hit Yumehito Imanari with a Lariat to bring the match to an end.

The two authority figures in the DDT family were scheduled to fight each other in the pre-show. However both Hisaya Imabayashi and Tetsuya Koda agreed that they had no reason to do so. Neither were motivated by any dislike of the other so they had to come up with something to add some heat to the match. Imabayashi brought up how their match last year was watched by his two sons on DDT UNIVERSE. They cheered him on until he lost. That made his younger son cry. It also made his older son think he is weak ever since. Imabayashi should win so he can regain his son’s respect. He then brought up Koda’s favourite idol Maria Makino. That set off Koda and the two argued enough that they now had a reason to fight. Imabayashi hit the Backblow because it is the finishing move of his kayfabe uncle Goro Tsurumi. Koda survived it and put Imabayashi in a Katahajime to make him give up. After the match Imabayashi got a phone call from his older son. He said his dad sucks and he shouldn’t come home. He then hung up.


BASARA “VAJRA 73 ~REIGN SUPREME~” Results

July 12, 2018

BASARA “VAJRA 73 ~REIGN SUPREME~”, 12/07/2018
Shinjuku FACE
360 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano defeated Takato Nakano & Akiyori Takizawa when Tsukamoto submitted Nakano with a Crab Hold (10:44).
2. Shit Boss, Remember To Hurry!: Yoshihisa Uto defeated Gouma Ryu with the Reverse Tiger Driver (5:41).
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, SAGAT & Yusuke Kubo defeated Fuminori Abe, Manabu Hara & Takuya Nomura when SAGAT pinned Abe with the Goregrind (12:57).
4. Two Major Renaming Matches – Name Contra Name: Ryuichi Sekine defeated Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi with the Dragon Kick (8:54). (Special Referee: Tsutomu Oosugi)
*Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi must now be renamed Trans-Am ★ Ryuji.
5. Two Major Renaming Matches – Name Contra Name: Best Stretchman V3 defeated Banana Senga with the Explosive Axe Bomber (12:26). (Special Referee: Tsutomu Oosugi)
*Hercules Senga is supposed to be renamed Banana Senga for the rest of his life. Instead he will become a Best Stretchman.
6. Isami Kodaka Debut 16th Anniversary Memorial Match: Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita defeated Isami Kodaka & Naomichi Marufuji when Hidaka pinned Kodaka with the Iwami Ginzan (15:10).
7. Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~ – Final: Ryota Nakatsu defeated FUMA with the V Slider (17:56).

Ryota Nakatsu defeated FUMA in a wild match to win this year’s Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~! The match found its way outside the ring a couple of time with FUMA Double Stomping Nakatsu along one of the rows. FUMA later climbed one of the nearby counters and jumped off so he could do the Heavy Metal Anthem. Nakatsu moved out of the way and FUMA landed on the floor. Both of them narrowly returned to the ring in time to continue fighting. Nakatsu avoided FUMA’s Jawbreaker Kick and blocked a Wrist Clutch Exploder to gain control of the match. Nakatsu then hit several Buzzsaw Kicks, a German Suplex and finished FUMA off with the V Slider to win. He thanked FUMA for the match and told him they will face each other again someday. Nakatsu received the 500,000 yen prize money and passed it over to Ryuichi Sekine. He then told everyone his next plan. He wants to challenge for the Union MAX Title at Korakuen Hall on 21st September! He knows Naoki Tanizaki is out there somewhere listening. He better be ready for him!

Isami Kodaka & Naomichi Marufuji did well teaming together but ultimately couldn’t overcome Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita. Kodaka & Marufuji did sandwich Knee Strikes to their opponents and Kodaka even did a Shirauni. Hidaka recovered to stun Kodaka with a High Kick and got the three count with the Iwami Ginzan Gutbuster. All four wrestlers shook hands after the match. Kodaka also appealed for a singles match with Marufuji. Backstage Kodaka and Marufuji joked about the idea. Marufuji said he doesn’t want to do it. Kodaka’s response was he won’t book Marufuji for his 20th Anniversary show. Marufuji said he will buy a ticket and come anyway. In all seriousness, Marufuji was honored to be chosen by Kodaka to be his partner for this big occasion. He doesn’t know if he will come back but Kodaka can always get in contact with him.

There were two gigantic matches with everything on the line today. Never mind the Heaven Summit Final or Kodaka’s Anniversary, there were wrestling names on the line! Tsutomu Oosugi had a busy day by being the referee for both matches. First up, Ryuichi Sekine got the upset victory over Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi. It took some effort but Sekine kept the former MAX Champion down with the Dragon Kick. The result means that Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi must now be renamed Trans-Am ★ Ryuji. He describes today as Armageddon but accepts his fate. He is already teaching the fans how to pronounce his new name.

The 2nd Name Contra Name bout had the stakes reversed. This time the loser between Best Stretchman V3 and Banana Senga would be forced to keep their name for the rest of their life! At first Oosugi didn’t know what side to take. Both wrestlers tried to make him pose with them only for the other guy to cut them off. When Senga pinned Stretchman with his feet on the ropes for leverage, Oosugi refused to count and told Senga he is judging this match fairly. Stretchman began taking the match so seriously that he stripped out of his costume and fought with even more spirit. He put Senga away with the Explosive Axe Bomber. Hercules Senga must now stay as Banana Senga forever! Senga accepted his fate until Stretchman changed his mind. Senga is no longer going to be a banana. Senga is now going to become a Stretchman! Senga protested but V3 knocked him out with the Trigger Point and carried him out of the ring laughing maniacly. Next month will see the debut of a third Best Stretchman! Backstage Gouma Ryu tried to stop them because without Hercules Senga around, the Pro Wrestling Trials no longer have a prosecutor.

Takuya Nomura’s first visit to BASARA saw him pitted against three of the more colorful characters in the Metal Family. He didn’t know what to think of Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi shrugging off his kicks with the power of yoga. Nomura & Manabu Hara’s kicks were able to leave a mark eventually but their reliance on doing them allowed both Hiroshi & Yusuke Kubo to vitally counter them with Dragon Screws. SAGAT withstood Fuminori Abe’s Octopus Hold and he hit the Goregrind to win one for the Metal Family.

Gouma Ryu relied heavily on Isami Kodaka distracting the referee to have even a slight chance of beating Yoshihisa Uto. The distractions meant the ref missed Ryu tapping out to a Crab Hold. He also missed Ryu hitting Uto with his law book. Ryu thought he had something when he successfully gave Uto the Running Neckbreaker Drop. It all came crashing down though when Uto cut him off with a Lariat. From there Uto picked up the win with the Reverse Tiger Driver.

The opener saw Takato Nakano & Akiyori Takizawa being fired up to take on the veteran team of Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano. The fire was there, the experience was not. Tsukamoto trapped Nakano in a nasty looking Crab Hold to end the match.