DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” Preview

July 13, 2019

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi
1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

For the first time DDT’s annual supershow is being held inside Ota Ward Gymnasium for an ambitious experiment. This year’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN” will be a free show with tickets being given out through DDT’s website. At the time of writing two of the three sections advertised are sold out, the Arena seats and the A Stand seats. The B Stand seats are still available and whatever is left on the day of the show will be given out one way or another so expect a packed venue. Just ignore that there is a 350 yen processing fee, because of course there’s a processing fee. The goal of this event is to spread the name of DDT and the best way to do that is hold a free show inside a big building to attract fans new and old. DDT’s connections with CyberAgent and AbemaTV helped make this happen.

This show also kickstarts DDT’s goal for 2020, to approach the level of New Japan without sacrificing what makes DDT, well, DDT. During an interview with Yahoo Japan/Weekly Playboy, it was mentioned that DDT’s last peak happened five years ago. Seeds have been planted since then with the new generation of DDT wrestlers. If it takes five years for a new boom period to begin then DDT believes now is the time to strike! If it doesn’t work, then no matter. The show must go on and DDT will do what they can to avoid being repetitive.

So what is happening on the card? There is the return of this generation’s biggest feud over the top championship, a heel aims to destroy his babyface past, an MMA superstar faces the heart of DDT, a new championship for senior wrestlers is created, the next No. 1 Contender is being kept busy, the grandson of a famous sumo wrestler takes on one of the most skillful wrestlers around, a wacky Battle Royal will happen, only one lighttube will get smashed, a joshi rivalry is reignited and a class reunion leads to a farewell.

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura

Kota Umeda is pulling double duty. His match on the main card is more important but DDT wants to give their newest trainee Keigo Nakamura some ring time so Umeda gets to wrestle twice. Also DDT has sponsored pre-show matches that need to be filled. Nakamura has had two previous exhibition matches and played minor roles in a few street wrestling matches this year so he is quickly getting the DDT experience.

0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi

The Tokyo Joshi Pro midcard get the Ota Ward spotlight this time around. Seems fair since the main eventers have now reached the level where they are getting bookings in America and Europe. While they are out flying the flag abroad, they are plenty of others around to represent TJPW at DDT’s biggest show. Rika Tatsumi is still finding her footing since coming back from an arm injury back in February. Her efforts to get into the title scene had been disrupted by drama over her former friend Hyper Misao joining the dark side. She also has her hands full wrestling the HiSPC class girls that came after her. The Bakuretsu Sisters may be going into Ota Ward as the new Tokyo Princess Tag Team Champions if things work out for them. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino have a title shot two days before “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. Natsumi Maki’s time in Tokyo Joshi has been free of the controversy that followed her when she debuted for the company in January. She formed the Pandemic Boo-Boo tag team with Hikari Noa and rarely takes the fall in losses. Yuna Manase is fresh out of reaching the Tokyo Princess Cup final. Her performance in that tournament seems to have breathed new life into her career so now the world is her oyster. Himawari Unagi won a fan vote to get into the Princess Cup and has gathered a following online over her love of bubble tea. She also teams with Manase a fair bit whenever she isn’t put with the rest of her classmates.

1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani

The redundant DNA brand has its fingerprints all over the first two matches on the main card. Shunma Katsumata returned from his cheek bone fracture and with Yuki Iino got deep into the feud between ALL OUT and the Sendai Girls. Both of them are heading into this match as two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Joining them is Mizuki Watase who is still struggling to find a higher place on cards without Shigehiro Irie being there to prop him up. There is talent in Watase but a lot is still missing for him to step up. I don’t know if a move to BASARA or Ganbare☆Wrestling is needed to solve this problem but he looks like a man without a country right now. The other team is an unholy mix of DISASTER BOX and DAMNATION. The pair of Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura have to team with Nobuhiro Shimatani after they failed to become tag champions. Other than that things have been working out swimmingly for the two ever since Yoshimura joined DISASTER BOX. Shimatani has the most important job out of all the DAMNATION wrestlers on this show and that is to carry around the DAMNATION signboard.

2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki

The other DNA match involves multiple brands and is the last time Kota Umeda will wrestle in a big venue before he leaves the profession. Umeda is quitting DDT on 21st July to work for his family’s business in Kumamoto. Family has always been important to Umeda and he was going to go as far as retire from pro wrestling for them despite only being 24 years old. However DDT convinced him just to quit the company so if he ever wants to come back, he won’t be breaking any retirement vows. Umeda’s partner for his second last match is Kouki Iwasaki. He hasn’t looked back since joining Ganpro and spreading out to other promotions. Their opponents are probably the two top graduates from DNA. Kazusada Higuchi has now firmly found his balance between heavyweight wrestling and wacky comedy behavior. Ryota Nakatsu is coming off of a strong Union MAX Title run in BASARA. He won’t have his Sparky stablemates with him but he never really needed to rely on them either.

3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko

Throughout Saki Akai’s wrestling career there has been one figure who she thinks has played an important role as a rival. That’s Yoshiko. She was one of Akai’s debut opponents and Akai was her first challenger when she was the World Of Stardom Champion. In another world the two could have been childhood friends like Sakisama and Yoshiko-sama are. But whenever Akai gets the opportunity to make her own match, Yoshiko’s name usually pops up as an opponent. This is what’s happening here. Akai wanted a singles joshi match on DDT’s biggest show of the year and decided now is the chance for her to surpass Yoshiko. Maybe it’s possible because the match is happening a few days after Yoshiko was in a big Beyond The Sea Tag Team Titles defence in SEAdLINNNG. Her entire focus was on that match and she admits she didn’t have much time to think about Akai. But what she can promise is she will show everyone in Ota Ward how harsh and pitiful Akai really is. Akai on the other hand has had time to plan and think about this match. She will use her feelings as a pro wrestler to power her way to victory!

4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka

Akito is the DDT Extreme Champion but he is also fighting to answer a simple question that’s been bothering him lately. Is he boring? He has the skills for sure but his challenger Asuka thinks he is dull as dirt (it could be worse, he could be as boring as the current WWE or ROH main event scenes). Asuka thinks the Extreme Title would be a much better fit for her than Akito. She wanted a death match with hundreds of lighttubes involved to prove it but Akito turned it around by making her fight in an IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match instead. There is only one lighttube and whoever breaks it is the loser. Akito explains that the fear of only breaking one lighttube rather than smashing through hundreds of them is what makes this match type more thrilling. Plus with no pinfalls needed to win, Akito can feel more relaxed in the ring and not worry about getting rolled up. See, he put a lot of thought into this. Would a boring man act that way? Asuka is at a disadvantage because she is struggling to understand the point of the match even after watching videos of the previous times the rule was used.

5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title has had a little bit of a quiet 2019 so far. Don’t get me wrong there was some eventful title changes that happened. The belt swapped hands a bunch of times in New York, the Governor Of Ehime became champion and a chair held the title. But other than that it’s been the usual stories about the championship. Maybe there’s not much to do because it’s been overshadowed by the new WWE 24/7 Title. But like I said at the start, the show must go on. Toru Owashi is the champion as this is being written and DDT is selling a rubber mask of his face at the show. Kurochan is the comedian from the Muscle show at Sumo Hall back in February. Shiro Koshinaka celebrated his 40th anniversary in wrestling at the start of the year. Other than an office pro wrestling cameo this is his first proper match in DDT since November 2017. Furitsuke Kamen is the pro wrestling alter ego of celebrity choreographer Lucky Ikeda. He showed up in DDT for a dance match back in March. Joey Ryan is back in DDT and is in a new stage of his career where he has no contracts to worry about. His matches still gives Jim Cornette material for his podcast. Yukio Sakaguchi went through a roaring rampage of revenge against DAMNATION in the early summer but wound up empty handed. Makoto Oishi had a little time in the spotlight in April when he was chosen for a title match. He was supposed to be an easy defence but proved to be anything but. Antonio Honda won the Extreme Title in a Panty☆Hunt Tiger Cub Rope Death Match but lost the belt to Akito in his first defence. Kazuki Hirata continues to dance and feud with an 11 year old. Mad Paulie has been trusted by the rest of DAMNATION to win the Iron Man Title so the unit will sweep all of their title matches on the show. Tomomitsu Matsunaga’s highlight of the year has been… I don’t know, losing to Bull James or something? Gorgeous Matsuno has taken a step back from his gatekeeping duties and only appeared in DDT for special occasions. Hiroshi Yamato has begun to proudly talk about the amount of different promotions he wrestles in. If you don’t see him wrestling, you’ll see him singing or shilling his erotic fiction instead. The DDT mascot Pokotan hasn’t been perfect since its debut. It often loses its head during matches which makes it violently malfunction. Last but not least there is Yuki Kamifuku. She was added to the match when Kurochan asked for a woman to be included. Kamifuku agreed to take part but got cold feet when she figured out Kurochan only wanted a woman included so he could act the pervert. He wants to hit three birds with one stone: win the Iron Man Title, kiss Kamifuku and then go get married together.

6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya

Yukio Naya made his DDT debut at “JUDGEMENT 2019” in Sumo Hall. He liked the experience so much that he signed with the company three months later! The grandson of sumo yokozuna Taiho Koki didn’t waste any time picking his targets. He wants to be the best heavyweight in DDT so he immediately set his sights on the big boys like Higuchi and Mad Paulie. A lack of experience lets him down but Naya has been picking up wins against smaller competition. His next big match is against Hideki Suzuki, a frustratingly talented veteran. He hasn’t watched any of Naya’s matches, only saw pictures of his bout with Higuchi and has no special thoughts about his opponent. He does have some criticism though. Naya has said in interviews that he does not expect to beat Suzuki but wants to do his best to at least make the match enjoyable. Suzuki thinks if Naya is not wrestling to win then he shouldn’t be wrestling at all. Otherwise this match is just a waste of time. If Suzuki has to teach him that lesson in the ring then so be it.

7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

At first this match seemed a little throwaway and was positioned further down the card. But when Chris Brookes instantly became DDT’s new favourite adopted son things changed. The English wrestler has only been in DDT for a month but he has taken the company by storm in ways I have not seen since El Generico’s run in the company seven years ago. He took to the street wrestling matches like a duck to water (partly because one of those matches was in a pool )and in his spare time lived a dream puroresu holiday that would leave even the most hardcore wrestling fan green with envy (shhh, don’t tell Will Ospreay that). The crowning achievement of this tour may not have happened yet. On 21st July Brookes will be challenging for the company’s main championship so he will definitely keep a close eye on the main event. Masahiro Takanashi’s profile has dropped a little bit ever since Shuten-dōji split up in April but he hasn’t been keeping quiet. There’s been times this year when Takanashi brought in his friends Shota, Yumehito Imanari and Baliyan Akki to disguise themselves as him and distract opponents. It’s been a winning tactic for the most part but not used as often as its success rate would suggest. Brookes & Takanashi have tagged together only once so far but they already have a team name: Calamari Drunken Kings! Facing them is The Moonlight Express, one of DDT’s top tag teams in recent years. MAO & Mike Bailey were at their strongest in the springtime when they held the KO-D Tag Team Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles at the same time. MAO continues to do fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world, which crosses the big boss sometimes. Speedball has been the nice boy he always is but he’s starting to get lost in the crowd with no clear direction for now. Maybe his shot at putting together a Beer Garden show with MAO next month can spark some inspiration.

8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine

Things were looking rough for Sanshiro Takagi on the road to “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. His failure to convert a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet into a championship victory left him absent from the card and frozen out of the show. So imagine how random his luck is when of all things a tweet from TAJIRI not only leads to Takagi getting a match but a rather significant one too. When TAJIRI tweeted about how pro wrestling as an art is split into different tiers with comedy wrestling being in Tier 3, Super Sasadango Machine took offence to that opinion. Particularly, he took offence on behalf of Takagi thinking the tweet was directly aimed at the Big Boss. Takagi doesn’t believe for a second that TAJIRI was talking about him but if Sasadango is demanding to wrestle Takagi in a Weapon Rumble to prove TAJIRI wrong then he may as well go along with it.

It doesn’t end there. Sasadango also asked for a new championship to be on the line for the match. He noticed that there are now many pro wrestlers competing into their forties and that can be inspiring for the DDT fanbase in the same age group. So he has created the O-40 Title (O-40 meaning “Over Forty” of course) with the hopes it will be defended across the wrestling industry. Takagi accepted the proposal and thinks it is a nice parallel to the main event being between two wrestlers in their twenties. Both men have their weapons prepared to be at their most devastating, both physically and mentally. But what of TAJIRI? Will he be there? Sasadango had been expecting to get an apology from him but has heard nothing since the match was announced. He knows TAJIRI is touring Europe at the moment so maybe he got lost somewhere in Malta.

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno

What can Danshoku Dieno do to prepare for Shinya Aoki? Putting himself through a gauntlet of different martial arts gave him some experience of what to expect. Although when some of the representation included swimming and kabbadi then maybe the results are a little suspect. It doesn’t help that Dieno isn’t entirely sure what kind of match he is having with Aoki. It can’t be MMA because everyone knows he’ll get slaughtered. Maybe there’s a chance if it is just a regular pro wrestling match but who the hell would expect DDT to go that direction? Dieno’s tactic should be to bring out the most ridiculous shenanigans he can think of. Aoki can only go along so much with it before he starts losing his mind. But it would be unfair to assume Aoki’s tolerance for wackiness is limited. He had no problem disguising himself as Pokotan to sneak attack Dieno a few weeks ago. Who knows what silly ideas of his own will be brought to life here.

10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano

What was once happy memories for Soma Takao are now nothing more than horrible nightmares. There was a time when he was in a unit called Smile Squash with HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano. The group fell apart when Urano left DDT to go freelance and Takao stabbed HARASHIMA in the back to join DAMNATION. But if you take Takao’s word for it, his time in Smile Squash was terrible to the point where even saying the unit name out loud makes him cry. It was Takao’s dream to have a championship match in his hometown but Smile Squash just had to come back and ruin the moment for him. But luckily for Takao he has Daisuke Sasaki looking out for him with a solution. When they successfully defend the KO-D Tag Team Champions, Sasaki & Takao will become the newborn Smile Squash! Of course, DAMNATION’s comments should be taken with a lot of salt. HARASHIMA & Urano are the same good nurtured wrestlers they always are. Urano is extremely happy to compete for a DDT championship again which is something he did not expect when he left the company two years ago. Sasaki made fun of Urano at the contract signing for looking like he hadn’t changed a bit since he left. Urano thinks he doesn’t need to change because he’s always been himself. If he does change anything, it will be him winning the tag titles with HARASHIMA!

11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Two years ago this match main evented Sumo Hall with Konosuke Takeshita defending the KO-D Openweight Title against Tetsuya Endo. This time around the positions are reversed and what a road it took to get here. When DDT went to New York in April, Takeshita lost the KO-D Title to Daisuke Sasaki. That by itself would be one of the biggest DDT stories of the year but another title change happened minutes later when Endo fell to temptation and cashed in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet to become the champion at his leader’s expense. Endo came back to Japan as a newly reborn New Yorker and has defended the title four times. His reign has brought stability to the championship after a crazy eight months of title changes. Meanwhile Takeshita earned his spot by winning the King Of DDT tournament and closing out an inter-promotional feud with the Sendai Girls.

This isn’t a rivalry because according to Takeshita rivals are meant to motivate each other to do their best against each other. What he has with Endo is more of a grudge or in Endo’s case outright hatred. The two have not been in each other’s good books ever since Endo joined DAMNATION back in the summer of 2016. In their singles matches Takeshita has usually gotten the better of Endo but they have only had two singles bouts since “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017” and Takeshita won neither of them. Endo has also gotten over on Takeshita with some mind games during the build up. An ankle injury prevented Endo from competing in a 3 Way with Takeshita and Endo at the last Korakuen Hall show. But when the match was over Endo attacked Takeshita and showed his injury wasn’t as bad as it seemed. He’s also gotten into the habit of throwing Takeshita out of the ring from a Torture Rack to the floor. Whoever wins they won’t have much time to recover. In a week’s time the KO-D Champion will be defending against Chris Brookes and he doesn’t care who he faces. Whatever happens after that is anyone’s guess!

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Posted by JamieOD

Princess Cup Round 2, Brookes Put In KO-D 3 Way Preview, Wrestle Peter Pan Update

June 4, 2019

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 08/06/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. 3 Way Match: Nodoka Tenma Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku
2. Miyu Yamashita, Himawari Unagi & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Miu Watanabe, Pom Harajuku & Mirai Maiumi
3. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Hikari Noa & Mina Shirakawa
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Natsumi Maki Vs Maki Itoh
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuna Manase
6. Tokyo Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Sakisama & Misao

Here is what to look out for during this show. NEO Biishiki-gun are just as interested in acquiring Mizuki as they are for winning the Tokyo Princess Tag Team Titles. Also the previous time Yuka Sakazaki lost the belts it was to Sakisama and her stable.

In the Tokyo Princess Cup quarter finals we begin with the return of Natsumi Maki and Maki Itoh’s idol wrestling rivalry. Rika Tatsumi is climbing back up the ladder since returning from injury while Yuna Manase fights to prove she belongs in the high tier of the Tokyo Joshi Pro roster.

DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2019 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TOCHIOTOME~”, 08/06/2019
Tochigi Ashikaga Citizen Plaza Small Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Mizuki Watase
3. Kazusada Higuchi & MAO Vs Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
5. Tomomitsu Matsunaga Marunage Match ~ Matsunaga Style Costume Change Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno
6. I Really Like The Sunset Seen At Watarase Bridge! Ashikaga Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata

Since it is now confirmed that Tetsuya Endo and Konosuke Takeshita will headline “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” it’s time to build up their match.

DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2019 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAKAASHIGANI~”, 09/06/2019
Shizuoka Kira Messe Numazu

1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Antonio Honda
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Yukio Naya
3. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno
4. MAO Marunage Match ~ Falls Count Anywhere Tag Match: MAO & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hiroshi Yamato & Shunma Katsumata
5. Hero Of Shizuoka, 40 Year Old Makoto Oishi! Trial Single Match!: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi
6. The World’s Most Healthy Numazu Specialty! Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Akito

DAMNATION has their hands full with ALL OUT one side and DISASTER BOX on another. Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao currently do not have a KO-D Tag Team Titles defence lined up for “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. The serious side of the DISASTER BOX unit are also currently absent from the card so the tag match i Shizuoka might set something up along the way.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “N.O. 2019”, 16/06/2019
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Australian Single Match! First Time Visiting Japan Vs Living In Japan: Champ Phoenix Vs Choun-Shiryu
2. Aim For First Victory! Young Warrior Vs Song Writer!: Shuhei Washida Vs Mitomi Masayuki
3. Flying To Saitama Vs Flying Cross Armbreaker!: Keisuke Ishii & Moeka Haruhi Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & HARUKAZE
4. Oji Chief Rivals! Ganpro & PochaJo Allied Forces Vs Real GUTS Army & Yoshimura Pro Wrestling Allied Forces: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol Vs Guts Ishijima, Masked Mystery & Shota
5. Grasp The Best WONDERFUL LIFE! Iwasaki’s Greatest: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shigehiro Irie

Shigehiro Irie’s presence at Ganbare☆Wrestling this past weekend has lit a fire under Kouki Iwasaki. He asked for a singles match and he will get it.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 22/06/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Shoko Nakajima Vs Mizuki
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Miu Watanabe

Both of The Magical Sugar Rabbits made it to Round 2 of the Princess Cup but are facing very different opponents. Sakazaki is facing Miu Watanabe who is flying high after her upset win over Nodoka Tenma. Mizuki made a statement by beating Miyu Yamashita but her opponent Shoko Nakajima is historically at her strongest when she competes in this tournament.

DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2019”, 30/06/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Kota Umeda
2. DDT Megaton Class One Match: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
3. HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
4. Road To Wrestle Peter Pan! Special 3 Way Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs Chris Brookes

Here’s an intriguing scenario. The KO-D Openweight Champion and his next contender are put in the ring with the person who will be challenging for the belt one week later. What kind of a wild card will Chris Brookes be here?

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Under Match: X Vs X
1. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs X
3. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
4. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko
5. Windmill Suplex 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya
6. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. DDT Extreme Title: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

New matches featuring Saki Akai, Yoshiko, The Moonlight Express, Shiro Koshinaka and more have been added.

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Posted by JamieOD

Injury Replacements, Mirai Debut, SHINE Title Rematch In TJPW

April 19, 2019

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2019 ~SATSUKI~”, 20/04/2019
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Masahiro Takanashi, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Shunsuke Sayama Vs Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Ueno
2. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi Vs Hiroshi Yamato, Asuka & Ricky Starks
3. HARASHIMA & Mike Bailey Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
4. DDT Megaton Class One Match: Mad Paulie Vs Naomi Yoshimura
5. Saki Akai Marunage Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Keisuke Okuda & Rina Yamashita
6. Hama Special 4 Way Match: Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs MAO Vs Mike Rollins
7. Hama Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Makoto Oishi

Yoshiko has a left knee injury so she will not be at the show. Instead Rina Yamashita takes her place in Saki Akai’s Marunage match.

DDT “SHIN SYU VERY MUCH! 2019”, 21/04/2019
Nagano Art Center Pavilion

1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Iino
2. Saki Akai & Kota Umeda Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mike Rollins & Ricky Starks
4. Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Makoto Oishi
5. HARASHIMA Marunage Match ~ Generation Struggle 5 Vs 5 Elimination Match: HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi, Masahiro Takanashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda
6. DDT Nagano Sales Manager, Toru Owashi (Free) Local Triumph! Pre-Performance Failure & Job Neglect 15th Anniversary! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko Vs Mike Bailey, MAO & Asuka

The current Right To Challenge Gauntlet holders are Hiroshi Yamato (blue) and Keisuke Ishii (yellow).

DDT “SOUKEN HOLDINGS PRESENTS MAX BUMP 2019”, 28/04/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Pokotan (w/ Danshoku Dieno)
2. Keisuke Okuda Farewell Match: Keisuke Okuda, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Iino
3. Saki Akai & Asuka Vs Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Legendary Wrestler Yoshiaki Yatsu First Match In DDT: Yoshiaki Yatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Akito, Kazusada Higuchi & Hiroshi Yamato
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) & Soma Takao Vs MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Ricky Starks & Mike Rollins
6. DDT Extreme Title – Panty☆Hunt Tiger Cub Rope Death Match: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Antonio Honda
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shinya Aoki
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Makoto Oishi

With Shunma Katsumata being injured it was decided that ALL OUT will be removed from the KO-D Tag Team Titles Match, reducing it from four teams to three. DDT got Konosuke Takeshita’s permission to put him in a different match on the show. His opponent is now Shinya Aoki!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND 2019 ~OPPORTUNITY IS THERE~”, 03/05/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Mirai Debut Match: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs YUMI & Mirai
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Thunder Rosa
3. Yuna Manase, Mina Shirakawa & Himawari Unagi Vs Haruna Neko, Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Reika Saiki & Marika Kobashi Vs Riho & Raku
5. Sakisama & Misao Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
6. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Maki Itoh
7. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Natsumi Maki & Hikari Noa
8. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

Mirai is the first of three new trainees ready to debut. Her official ring name will be revealed at the show.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “MIRACLE EARTH 2019”, 06/05/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. GOLDEN GANBARE 2019: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyako Matsumoto & Makoto
2. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Team Irootoko: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Mitomi Masayuki & Shota Nakagawa
3. Shota The Brutal Wind That Blows: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Shuhei Washida Vs Shota, Guts Ishijima & Masked Mystery
4. Dangan Senshi, Attack On Ganpro!: Yumehito Imanari Vs Masato Tanaka

The Bullet is coming to Ganbare☆Wrestling! Also some other indies are being represented here. We have the Guts World tribute team of Guts Ishijima & Masked Mystery joining Shota for a match. Shota Nakagawa is a freelancer previously from ASUKA PROJECT before it closed down a month ago.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GIRLS SHINING, I WILL FLY TO SAPPORO!”, 06/05/2019
Hokkaido Sapporo Susukino Mars Gym

1. SHINE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Allysin Kay

When Miyu Yamashita won the SHINE Title in New York earlier this month, she invited the former champion Allysin Kay to come to Japan for a championship rematch. Yamashita won the title by referee stoppage when she put Kay in a Modified Cobra Clutch. Kay thinks she was robbed of the title because she never gave up. So she is taking up Yamashita’s offer to have the rematch in Japan. She promises that this time there won’t be any funny business over the result.

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Dieno’s Threat, Rika Vs Rookies, Marunage Matches, Ohka Vs Everybody

March 26, 2019

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN ABEMA TOWERS”, 29/03/2019
Tokyo Abema Towers

1. X Vs X

DDT received a threatening message from Danshoku Dieno about the wrestling match at Abema Towers later this week. Dieno message is that President Fujita’s lips will belong to him! DDT has promised to do what they can to protect President Fujita from Dieno during the show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SPRING TOUR ’19 ~ READY SET, GO!”, 30/03/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Shoko Nakajima Vs Pinano Pipipipi
2. Handicap Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku
3. Yuki Kamifuku, Mina Shirakawa & Raku Vs YUMI, Himawari Unagi & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Maki Ito & Mizuki Vs Natsumi Maki & Hikari Noa
5. Sakisama & Misao Vs Yuna Manase & Miu Watanabe
6. Miyu Yamashita, Reika Saiki & Marika Kobashi Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino

This show is happening the day before the TOKYO Princess Title Match.

Ever since she came back from injury, Rika Tatsumi has been having her hands full with the new crop of wrestlers. Experience wise she has them beat but she’s keeps getting into situations where she gets outnumbered by them. This trend continues with a Handicap Match against Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku.

DDT “I DO NOT WANT TO ADMIT, THAT I CAN’T GO TO AMERICA 2019”, 04/04/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Hiroshi Yamato Vs Gota Ihashi
2. DISASTER BOX Vs Sparky!: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Naoki Tanizaki
3. Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Gunso
4. No No DQ Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Super Sasadango Machine
5. Gran MilliMeters Vs Speed Of Sounds: Daiki Shimomura & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
6. DDT Pro Wrestling Vs Ganbare☆Wrestling!: Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Keisuke Ishii
7. Yuki Iino Knock On Series Round 7 – Final Round: Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Yuki Iino

Yuki Iino feels ecstatic that he gets to end his trial series against Daisuke Sekimoto.

We’re supposed to be getting a Gran MilliMeters reunion but Nobuhiro Shimatani does not want to take part in it. He would rather fight against his old partner Daiki Shimomura than team with him again. Negotiations are currently in place with those two along with the Speed Of Sounds to find a solution.

DDT “DRAMATIC STAR STREET CORNERS”, 13/04/2019
Tottori Yonago Industrial Gymnasium Sub Arena

1. Konosuke Takeshita Marunage Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Gaina Tiger & G Vs Yuki Ueno, Takuya Fujiwara & COW Saeki

DDT has been so pleased by the wrestler booked show on 4th April that they want to adapt the concept on its upcoming shows in April and May. Each show will have a “Marunage” match booked by a chosen wrestler and so far the results are unlike anything we would see from DDT’s regular matchmaking.

Konosuke Takeshita kicks off the Marunage series with a match involving local wrestlers from Tottori Darazu Pro. The group began working with DDT last year with Lowther wrestling on shows whenever DDT went to Yonago. Takeshita wanted to put together a unique dream match between the two groups that DDT would have never booked otherwise. Yuki Ueno is also involved as a challenge to catch up with Takeshita.

Asuka and Lowther will also be on the show.

DDT “DRAMATIC TENJINBASHI! 2019”, 14/04/2019
Osaka City Ozo Community Center

1. Keisuke Okuda Marunage Match: Magnitude Kishiawada & Yuki Iino Vs Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda

Keisuke Okuda’s match is happening in Osaka so he sees this as the perfect chance to take on Magnitude Kishiwada! He was scared of him when he was a kid so now as an adult Okuda gets to face his fear.

Asuka and Maku Donaruto will also be on the show.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KEISUKE ISHII PRODUCE ENTERTAINMENT – MOMOIRO KNEEL KICK 2019”, 14/04/2019
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. 90’s Style Joshi Pro Wrestling Tag Match: Cherry & HARUKAZE Vs Moeka Haruhi & X
2. LariPro Came Back: Yumehito Imanari & Shota Vs Chikara & Yuna Manase
3. Ishii’s Friend Ihashi Long Time Ganpro Participation Match: Gota Ihashi Vs Shuhei Washida
4. Fresh Ariyama Cup Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shuichiro Katsumata & X
5. Special Bonus Track: Ken Ohka Vs Everybody

Don’t know what Ken Ohka did to get put in a match against everyone else on the card all at once but he probably deserves it.

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2019 ~SATSUKI~”, 20/04/2019
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Saki Akai Marunage Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Keisuke Okuda & Yoshiko

Saki Akai wants DDT to continue to bring in women from other promotions so she can wrestle against them and also to mix it up with the men. Her rivalry with Yoshiko is coming back with this match. Akai also wanted to put Yukio Sakaguchi in the ring against Okuda. The two men haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately.

Hiroshi Yamato, Asuka and Shunsuke Sayama will all be on the show.

DDT “SHIN SYU VERY MUCH! 2019”, 21/04/2019
Nagano Art Center Pavilion

1. HARASHIMA Marunage Match ~ Generation Struggle 5 Vs 5 Elimination Match: HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi, Masahiro Takanashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda

Normally HARASHIMA is not into feuds or matches where one generation is pitted against another. But given the current state of DDT he thinks a 5 Vs 5 Elimination match between the veterans and the current gen would be interesting to do.

Hiroshi Yamato and Asuka will also be on the show.

DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2019 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAREKATSU BOWL~”, 11/05/2019
Nishi Niigata City Hall (Kobari Aoyama Public Hall)

1. Danshoku Dieno Marunage Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs X
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Meiko Satomura, Chihiro Hashimoto & DASH Chisako (c) Vs Saki Akai, X & X

The Sendai Girls want to make it known that they are the best trios team out there regardless of gender. Saki Akai is the first person to challenge them. The only problem is she doesn’t have a team. Normally she could rely on Shuten-dōji to help out but that unit will be gone by the time this show takes place. If Akai cannot find a team before the show takes place then she will lose her title shot. Meiko Satomura wants the match to happen because she thinks she can bring out the best in Akai that’s never seen before.

The rest of the card will be decided once Dieno comes up with his match. That way DDT will know who they can use.

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DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~SHUTEN-DOJI AND HARASHIMA DAY~” Results

August 1, 2018

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~SHUTEN-DOJI & HARASHIMA DAY~”, 01/08/2018
Shinjuku FACE
546 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. HARASHIMA, KUDO & Danshoku Dieno (Gorgeous Matsuno) defeated Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Gorgeous Matsuno (Danshoku Dieno) when HARASHIMA pinned Matsuno with the Somato (8:13).
2. NEO Biishiki-gun Vs Gatoh Move: Sakisama, Martha & Yoshikosama defeated Emi Sakura, Riho & Mei Suruga when Martha pinned Suruga with a Cradle (16:20).
-. Secret Match: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated DJ Nira by Disqualification when Nira attacked the referee (6:13).
3. Shuten-dōji Vs Hebikai Tensai!: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated JARASHIMA, Hoshihebi & Kazusada Jaguchi (w/ Poison Sawada JULIE) when KUDO pinned Hoshihebi with the Diving Double Knee Drop (11:39).

Poison Sawada JULIE made his presence felt throughout the show by poisoning several wrestlers with his Snake Magic. After every match some of the wrestlers would raise a toast and drink a beer then they could collapse because the beer was spiked! JULIE would then send his minions Hoshihebi and Kazusada Jaguchi out to grab the unconscious people and carry them backstage so they would be transformed into JULIE’s snake warriors. What was JULIE’s ultimate goal? Why, to perform a big song and dance number in the main event of course! Shuten-dōji came to the rescue and fought against JULIE’s team with a special No Tag Rule added at the last minute. JULIE interfered by using his Snake Magic until a mistaken Clothesline from Jaguchi knocked him off the apron. From there the Shuten-dōji team fought back and grabbed the victory. JULIE accepted defeat and promised to give everyone the antidote to turn them back to normal. KUDO appreciated JULIE’s decision and he thanked him for his role in making DDT bigger by adding a fantasy element to the promotion. Masahiro Takanashi also said it was fun to hear the rattles of the snake magic again. Everyone turned back to normal except for Sayaka Obihiro because there was none left for her. Nobody was bothered by that.

Yukio Sakaguchi was surprised to learn there was a secret match prepared for him against DJ Nira. Some of the antics Nira used included attacking Sakaguchi with an umbrella and sitting down everytime Sakaguchi went for the God’s Right Knee. Nira then used a bizarre submission hold that involved making Sakaguchi fall down on one knee so Nira can put all of his weight on the other knee by standing on it. When Yukinori Matsui moved in to check if Sakaguchi would give up, Sakaguchi lifted Nira off of his knee and onto Matsui’s knee. This put Matsui in so much pain that he ended the match without a winner.

As usual NEO Biishiki-gun thought their opponents were a bunch of garbage, except for Riho. Sakisama sees something special in her that is different from everyone else. Emi Sakura told the rest of the Gatoh Move team how frustrating it is to lose. She put the blame entirely on Mei Suruga and said if she is garbage then she better get cleaned up.

Danshoku Dieno and Gorgeous Matsuno bumped heads and swapped bodies at the start of the show. So for the opener we had Dieno wrestling as Matsuno and Matsuno wrestling as Dieno. This is happening along with the usual Brahman Brothers shenanigans by the way. They hit heads again after the match and returned to normal after HARASHIMA pinned Matsuno (Dieno) with the Somato.

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First Matches Announced For Beer Garden 2018

July 20, 2018

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~DAMNATION DAY~”, 30/07/2018
Shinjuku FACE

0. Under Match ~ Crocodile Death Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Masahiro Takanashi
1. DAMNATION Vs Metal Family!: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT
2. DAMNATION Vs NOBUNATION!: X Vx X

Nobuhiro Shimatani has had enough with trying to join DAMNATION so he is making his own! Now might be his perfect chance because apparently Daisuke Sasaki might get mauled to death by a crocodile on the pre-show.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~SHUTEN-DOJI & HARASHIMA DAY~”, 01/08/2018
Shinjuku FACE

1. NEO Biishiki-gun Vs Gatoh Move: Sakisama, Martha & Yoshikosama Vs Emi Sakura, Riho & Mei Suruga

Sakisama’s childhood friend Yoshikosama returns after her successful debut back at “JUDGEMENT 2018”. Maybe she will be more friendly towards the Gatoh Move girls.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~DANSHOKU DIENO & SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~”, 02/08/2018
Shinjuku FACE

1. The Usual Sandman Match: X Vs X
2. Our Lariat Pro Wrestling ’18: Keisuke Ishii, Antonio Honda & Rekka Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yumehito Imanari

A match dedicated to Lariats and a match dedicated to The Sandman’s entrance. Two staples of Beer Garden week.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2018 ~ALL OUT DAY~”, 03/08/2018
Shinjuku FACE

0. Under Match ~ Trans-Am ★ Yoga Classroom: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs X
1. Matsunaga Formula Drunk Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kuishinbo Kamen

The main event is a rematch from January 2015.

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DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TOGETSU BRIDGE~” Results

June 30, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TOGETSU BRIDGE~”, 30/06/2018
Kyoto KBS Hall
360 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Keisuke Ishii defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Kneel Kick (6:46).
2. Lucha Libre Rules: Takatimo Dragon, Washitimo Dragon & Hiratimo Dragon defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata by Disqualification when Takeshita unmasked Hiratimo (9:51).
3. 4 Way Match: Naomi Yoshimura defeated KUDO, Mad Paulie and Mizuki Watase when Yoshimura pinned Watase with the Shonenba (8:31).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo defeated Kota Umeda, MAO & Yuki Ueno when Takao pinned Ueno with the Diving Foot Stomp (11:22).
5. P Playful Series: Danshoku Dieno defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the Danshoku Driver (9:58).
6. Shigehiro Irie & Sammy Guevara defeated HARASHIMA & Makoto Oishi when Guevara pinned Oishi with the 630 Splash (10:52).
7. Saki Akai 3rd Local Triumph! Kyoto Specialty 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda & Yoshiko when Sakaguchi pinned Honda with the Right Knee Of God (17:37).

Saki Akai was pitted against her rival Yoshiko for her return to Kyoto. When they weren’t paired together inside the ring, Yoshiko joined in with Antonio Honda’s schtick by doing the Bionic Elbow with him and putting Yukio Sakaguchi in a chokehold while he had Honda in a chokehold. Sakaguchi pinned Honda to win the match but he gave the end of show spotlight to Akai because according to him, she was the leading role today. Akai thanked everyone for coming and promised to give it her all for DDT and Kyoto.

HARASHIMA already knows that Shigehiro Irie is very strong. But today he discovered that Irie has become faster too since they last fought each other. HARASHIMA hopes he can be in full condition for Irie when the KO-D Openweight Title match is held on 22nd July.

A determined Nobuhiro Shimatani declared that today, the 30th June is the beginning of his rebellion! He then lost to Danshoku Dieno. Shimatani refused to shake Dieno’s hand after the match and tried to convince everyone again that his rebellion begins today.

Even though he was on the losing team today, MAO thinks he is on the right track towards the KO-D Tag Team Titles. All he is trying to do right now is put pressure on Tetsuya Endo. The new tag champion isn’t convinced. Endo said he and Mad Paulie won the titles from Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi so what chance do MAO & Mike Bailey have?

Konosuke Takeshita is the latest victim of the Timo Timo Timo Dragons cheating, although he almost avoided it. He didn’t fall for Hiratimo Dragon’s attempt to frame him for unmasking him. However the mask accidentally slipped off when Takeshita tried to do a Brainbuster so he was DQ’ed for that. After the match Takeshita told the rest of ALL OUT that he is now concerned. If they can’t beat the Dragons then how can they beat the Sendai Girls? Suddenly Sanshiro Takagi came out. He said he was watching the match from backstage (wearing blue tights for some reason) and he wants to help ALL OUT prepare for their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence. ALL OUT’s problem is they aren’t used to wrestling against joshi. Takagi’s solution is to give ALL OUT a tune up match against the returning T2HiJoshi! It was then brought up that every member of ALL OUT has a female cousin that could wrestle in the match. So on 22nd July we will see the debuts of Keiko Takeshita Jr., Akiko & Carousel❤Shun, the ALL OUT Joshi!

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What Are You Doing This Sunday, DDT Prepares For The Best Ever, Heaven Summit Semi-Finals

June 22, 2018

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2018”, 24/06/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Mizuki Watase & Aaron Anders
1. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Takatimo Dragon, Hiratimo Dragon & Toru Owashi Vs Keisuke Ishii, Antonio Honda & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Worldwide Match: Mike Bailey Vs Sammy Guevara
3. “KUDO” 15th Anniversary Memorial Match: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata
5. DDT Extreme Title – 3 Way Match: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Soma Takao Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

It’s been a month since he won it but Shigehiro Irie is ready for his first KO-D Openweight Title defence. Kazusada Higuchi has been a thorn in his side in the build up to this match. Power Vs Power is to be expected here but some words from Higuchi suggests that something more will be needed to determine who wins.

How much can you take DAMNATION at their word? They promise not to cheat or interfere in the DDT Extreme Title Match for the sake of sportsmanship but other than that there hasn’t really been anything else put in place to enforce the stipulation.

KUDO is celebrating 15 years of being a pro wrestler but everyone else involved in the match have their own accomplishments from 15 years ago to celebrate from company debuts to tournament wins.

DDT’s website has given a run down on Sammy Guevara in preparation for his debut. He’s being put in the ring against Mike Bailey because he might go through the same road Bailey has been on during his DDT career so far. Guevara’s nickname of “The Best Ever” has DDT wondering if he can prove it. Whatever happens, this could be the start of a new Japanese dream for a foreign wrestler. I think they have high hopes for this lad.

BASARA “TAKATO NAKANO LOCAL TRIUMPH BOX OFFICE ~PUSHING FORWARD~”, 24/06/2018
Okayama Saint Inn Kurashiki

1. Daichi Kazato Vs Yuki Aoki
2. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Gunso & Kabuki Kid
3. Takumi Tsukamoto, Akiyori Takizawa & Daiki Shimomura Vs Gouma Ryu, Minoru Fujita & Yasu Urano
4. Fuminori Abe Vs Manabu Hara
5. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT
6. Isami Kodaka Vs Takato Nakano
7. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Cup Struggle Battle Royal: X Vs X

Dove Pro are coming back in to BASARA to renew last year’s inter-promotional rivalry.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #9”, 26/06/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takatimo Dragon, Hiratimo Dragon & Toru Owashi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 41 Year Old Danshoku Dieno Is A Senior Who Follows Two Young People Aged 25 And 22 And Is Fighting Three People Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Tanomusaku Toba & MAO
3. Mr. Maji Manji Battle: Makoto Oishi Vs Kota Umeda
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie

Tenshin Nasukawa suffered a wrist injury from his recent kickboxing match in RISE and is taking four weeks of rest to recover. His role on this show to kick Ken Ohka a lot has been postponed until he is back in his best condition. However he will still be in attendance to do some commentary for the episode.

Meiko Satomura will be on the show for her first DDT appearance since winning her Right To Challenge Gauntlet.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP TOKYO JOSHI ~ALL UPPER KICK TOGETHER!~”, 27/06/2018
Shinjuku FACE

1. Maki Ito & Mizuki Vs Yuu & Reika Saiki
2. Saki-sama & Azusa Christie Vs Yuna Manase & Yuki Aino
3. Up Up Girls (Fake) Shinjuku Super Battleball: Nodoka-oneesan Vs Yuki Kamifuku (w/ Makoto Oishi & Hyper Misao)
4. Continue To Challenge, FIGHTING GIRLS! Challenge Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Raku
5. Continue To Challenge, FIGHTING GIRLS! Challenge Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Hikari
6. Continue To Challenge, FIGHTING GIRLS! Challenge Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Hinano
7. Continue To Challenge, FIGHTING GIRLS! Challenge Match: Miyu Yamashita Vs Miu

NEO Biishiki-gun and Yuna Manase are all back after a brief absence.

BASARA “VAJRA 72 ~FEAST~”, 28/06/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Takato Nakano & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Manabu Hara & Fuminori Abe
2. Takumi Tsukamoto & Gouma Ryu Vs Aaron Anders & Daiki Shimomura
3. Best Stretchman V3 This Is The Real Final Chapter “Banana Senga’s Last Day”: Best Stretchman V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon Vs Banana Senga & Ryuichi Sekine
4. Isami Kodaka, Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Trans-Am ★ Tomato, SAGAT & Yusuke Kubo
5. Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~ – Semi-Final: Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yasu Urano
6. Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~ – Semi-Final: FUMA Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi

The two leading figures of the Metal Family face off in the Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~ semi-final. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi is the first winner of the tournament while FUMA made it to the final last year. On the other side Ryota Nakatsu can climb a big wall in the form of veteran Yasu Urano and establish himself in a bigger position on the BASARA roster.

Takumi Tsukamoto and Gouma Ryu were originally supposed to face each other but instead they will team up to take on Aaron Anders & Daiki Shimomura. Anders is getting more bookings across the DDT family while he is in Japan.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TOGETSU BRIDGE~”, 30/06/2018
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Takatimo Dragon, Hiratimo Dragon & Toru Owashi Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata
2. P Playful Series: Danshoku Dieno Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Saki Akai Local Triumph! Kyoto Specialty 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda & Yoshiko

The Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko rivalry is brought back for Akai’s homecoming show.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM DEBASAKI~”, 01/07/2018
Nagoya City Rokushima Sports Center

1. Soma Takao Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata
3. 3 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Sammy Guevara Vs Daiki Shimomura

No time is being wasted in putting Guevara in the ring with Konosuke Takeshita.

DDT “MASAHIRO TAKANASHI DEBUT 15th ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL ~IN THE WORLD THERE IS NO STOREHOUSE~”, 08/07/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Ryogoku Style Gauntlet Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yasu Urano Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi & Cherry Vs Antonio Honda & Riho Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Keisuke Ishii Vs Hoshitango & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Rekka
2. Takatimo Dragon, Hiratimo Dragon, Toru Owashi, Saki Akai & Gota Ihashi Vs Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, Gorgeous Matsuno, Emi Sakura & Chupacabra (w/ Miyako Haru)
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Manjimaru Vs Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno
4. KUDO, HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka Vs X, X & X
5. DAMNATION Vs Irie-gun: X & X Vs X & X
6. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Isami Kodaka

The gauntlet match will consist of five minute matches. In the case of a draw in any of the matches both teams will be eliminated.

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DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~” Results

March 25, 2018

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 25/03/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
5,796 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi & Cherry defeated Mizuki Watase, Rekka, Daiki Shimomura, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Takato Nakano when Paulie pinned Shimatani with the Paulie Buster (7:26).
0. Under Match: Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo defeated Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga when Chikano pinned Tominaga with the Leg Lariat (8:10).
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima defeated Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone when Sakazaki pinned Kurone with the Magical Girl Splash (8:45).
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi, Reika Saiki & Lady Beard, Akito & Shunma Katsumata, Antonio Honda & Ethan Page and Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda.
1a. Antonio Honda & Ethan Page eliminated Reika Saiki & Lady Beard by Ring Out when Beard was knocked out by a Missed Saiki Attack (3:26).
1b. Antonio Honda & Ethan Page eliminated Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda by Ring Out when Page knocked Yoshimura out of the ring with a Big Boot (5:01).
1c. Akito & Shunma Katsumata eliminated Antonio Honda & Ethan Page when Katsumata pinned Honda with the Katsumata Guillotine (1:00).
1d. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata eliminated Akito & Shunma Katsumata when Hirata pinned Katsumata with the One Shot Miracle Cradle (2:04).
1e. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata eliminated LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi when Hirata pinned LiLiCo with the One Shot Miracle Cradle (3:20).
2. World Crazy Wrestler No. 1 Decision Battle In DDT: Colt Cabana defeated Joey Ryan with the Billy Goat’s Curse (10:11).
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Saki-sama, Yoshiko-sama & Azusa Christie defeated Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Mizuki when Saki-sama pinned Mizuki with the Academy Award (11:55).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) defeated Jiro Kuroshio with a School Boy (9:12).
*V? for Super Sasadango Machine.
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda defeated KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) when Umeda pinned Sakaguchi with the Umeda Driver (12:28).
*Shuten-dōji fails in V3. Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda become the 33rd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. Weapon Rumble 5 Way Tag Loser Gets Anal Blast Match: Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa, Yuko Miyamoto & Soma Takao, Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe and Michael Nakazawa & Chinsuke Nakamura when MAO pinned Nakazawa with the Cannonball 450 (17:43).
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Great Muta, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Ken Ohka when Muta pinned Ishii with the Moonsault (20:09).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) when Higuchi pinned HARASHIMA with the Goten (17:49).
*HarashiMarufuji fails in V6. Sekiguchi becomes the 63rd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Shuji Ishikawa with the German Suplex (23:31).
*V11 for Konosuke Takeshita.

In the main event Konosuke Takeshita defeated Shuji Ishikawa once and for all to continue his dominant KO-D Openweight Title reign. Takeshita took everything that Ishikawa threw at him from the Knee Lifts to the Fire Thunders to the Splash Mountain and survived. He was even put through a table outside the ring with the Fire Thunder from the apron. In return Takeshita fired back with Lariats and German Suplexes until his big rival couldn’t take any more. Takeshita gave him the Cross Arm German Suplex but couldn’t keep his grip for the pin. He was able to reposition himself to give Ishikawa another German Suplex and this time pin him to win.

Takeshita thanked the fans for coming to Sumo Hall. A year and a half ago he defended his title against Ishikawa in this building and lost. Since then the support from the fans kept him going while he grew as a wrestler and a person. Time passes by so quickly but day after day he is still the champion. He loves that DDT is growing while he is becoming stronger. Takeshita then went to climb the turnbuckle and celebrate but he slipped and fell. Everyone laughed including him and the show was over…

…except that wasn’t the ending. When the ring was emptied and the ending music was playing, Shigehiro Irie appeared and climbed into the ring! Irie had disappeared from DDT right at the end of 2017 and was allegedly on another one of his overseas expeditions. This was his first appearance in a DDT ring for 2018. He called for Takeshita to come back out and face him. He congratulated him for the victory then challenged him to a title match. Takeshita said he always knew Irie would come back but is he ready for such a match? Takeshita carried DDT while Irie was gone. Akito entered the stand off and was full of criticism towards Irie. Everyone in DDT has responsibilities and Irie runs away whenever he doesn’t get what he wants. Akito does not accept Irie just coming back and demanding a title match. Irie threatened to shut up Akito and left the ring. Takeshita apologised for letting the argument happen. However his final words were about how he would like to see Akito and Irie settle their differences in the ring.

At last Kazusada Higuchi has taken down HARASHIMA! The KO-D Tag Team Titles changed hands after a back and forth match. Naomichi Marufuji used his strike combos to cut down the opposition as much as he could. HARASHIMA kept Higuchi & Daisuke Sekimoto on edge with the Somato. The final moments of the match were down to HARASHIMA and Higuchi. HARASHIMA hit a Buzzsaw Kick but Higuchi woke up out of it and Headbutted his rival. Higuchi had the win in his sights when he hit the Doctor Bomb but Marufuji broke the pin. Sekimoto German Suplexed Marufuji away and Higuchi finished off HARASHIMA with the Goten to win the titles. Higuchi thanked Sekimoto backstage and said he felt amazing after he finally defeated HARASHIMA. On the other side, Marufuji took the blame for his team’s loss. HARASHIMA said he enjoyed teaming with Marufuji for the last several months. They don’t need the titles to team again but they will stick to messaging each other on LINE for the time being.

The Great Muta entered DDT in an alien looking form to take part in his most bizarre wrestling match since the first time he was in HUSTLE. You know the one I’m talking about. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Ken Ohka and Keisuke Ishii were all there to play second fiddle to Muta and Danshoku Dino locking horns. Dino’s typical moves didn’t work on Muta at first. It wasn’t until Muta accidentally struck his partners with a chair when Dino grabbed him by the crotch again and the action slowly took its effect on the demon. Seeing his chance, Dino set himself up for the Hell Gate on the turnbuckle. Muta was thrown into Dino’s ass but Muta stopped himself and sprayed the Poison Mist into Dino’s ass! However much to everyone’s shock, Dino’s ass sprayed the Mist back into Muta’s face! Ohka hit the Fire Spear on Muta but it wasn’t enough to win. Ohka hit Sasaki & Endo with the Double Fire Spear but Muta was back up giving everyone Dragon Screws. Dino gave Muta and DAMNATION the Lip Lock but Muta stopped him and gave him the Lip Lock right back. Then all three of them spat red Poison Mist at Dino. Endo hit Dino with the Handspring Leg Lariat, Sasaki followed up with a Pedigree and Muta ended the match with the Moonsault. Quite possibly the final Moonsault Muta will ever do. The match was over but Dino had the last word. Dino wants Muta to tell Keiji Muto that this isn’t the end. Dino wants a singles match against either The Great Muta or Keiji Muto!

After intermission Sanshiro Takagi and Hisaya Imabayashi came out for a few big announcements. First, DDT will return to Sumo Hall later this year on 21st October for “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Second, there will be two Sumo Hall shows during the same weekend next February. The shows, nicknamed “2 DAYS Of Hell”, will be held on the 16th and 17th February, 2019. However, only the second show is a DDT show. The first show will be a MUSCLE show hosted by Super Sasadango Machine! The show is called “MUSCLE MANIA 2018 ~I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL 2030 SP~” referencing the humorous return date in the year 2030 for the MUSCLE spin off brand. Sasadango wants the official return show in 2030 to be held in the Tokyo Dome.

The Weapons Rumble was the crazy spectacle it promised to be. Chinsuke Nakamura was accompanied by a violin player for his entrance. He and Michael Nakazawa were attacked while they finished their ring entrance. The first weapon to enter was Soma Takao’s steel basin. He whacked Takagi over the head with it. Next was Nakamura’s surfboard. He swung it down at Takao. Takao tried to block it with his basin but it only made the impact worse. Takagi & Munenori Sawa wanted to do the Golden Shower but they were cut off. The dreaded locker was brought into the match by MAO & Mike Bailey. They trapped Takagi inside and kicked the sides of the locker. The next weapon were the T2HiJoshi girls: Margaret★Owashi, Kazuko Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuko. MAO got rid of them by snapping the back of Matsuko’s bra, knocking her out of the ring. Fuminori Abe knocked out Sawa with a Rabbit Punch which brought out the next weapon, three monks. Abe and the monks prayed for Sawa to wake up and it worked. The next weapon was a special rule. No laughing allowed. Takagi then came out with his Combat Bicycle and cycled over to his opponents to Lariat them. MAO & Bailey countered the bicycle by bringing in a Dramatic Road Roller. MAO and Takagi crashed into each other, wrecking the Roller. A massive barbed wire board was thrown into the ring by Takao & Yuko Miyamoto, taking out everyone else. Isami Kodaka’s weapon was next, the Giga Ladder. Isami struck Miyamoto with the ladder and sent him crashing through the barbed wire board outside the ring. The final weapon was Shinjiro Otani dressed in a black bodysuit! Every laughed, breaking the No Laughing rule from earlier. The punishment was Otani hitting everyone in the ass with a baseball bat. When Otani was finished, he did the Fire Festival Sword pose with the bat. The match reached its end when Bailey gave Nakazawa the Ultima Weapon and MAO got the pin with the Cannonball 450.

As part of the match stipulation, Nakazawa must now take an Anal Explosion. However Nakazawa couldn’t take another explosion after taking so many over the years. He shouted about going back to Thailand and ran away from ringside. This left the others with a problem. An explosion was promised and DDT cannot continue the show without doing it. One by one, different wrestlers volunteered to sacrifice themselves until Takagi offered to do it. Everyone else immediately accepted his request. “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith played over the speakers as Takagi walked up to the stage, stripped down to his underwear and prepared to take the explosion which was 100 times more powerful than he thought when it was prepared. Takagi hesitated to push the button next to him. The tension was so unbearable that Sawa couldn’t take it any more. He approached Takagi and told him that they will take the explosion together. Sawa leapt on top of Takagi, they joined hands and they both pressed the button, causing a tremendous explosion inside Sumo Hall and also their backsides.

Youth beat liquor in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. But it almost didn’t end that way. Yukio Sakaguchi hit Kota Umeda with the Right Knee Of God and tried to choke him out with a Sleeper Hold. Umeda was only saved by Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda hitting double Missile Dropkicks to Sakaguchi. The DNA team kept KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi away while Umeda and Sakaguchi slugged it out with a kickfest. Umeda got the upper hand and dropped Sakaguchi with the Umeda Driver for the victory. Sakaguchi handed the titles over to Umeda and told him “Well done”. The new champions bowed when Shuten-dōji left the ring.

Super Sasadango Machine got his wish and successfully defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against Jiro Kuroshio. Sasadango began with his PowerPoint presentation and promised it wouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes, the same amount of time as Kuroshio’s entrance. Sasadango’s plan was to make Makoto Oishi lay a bear trap around Sumo Hall for Kuroshio to fall into during his long entrance. The first trap was placed on the ring apron. The second trap was planted near a group of women in the audience. They were given custom Kuroshio signs to lure Kuroshio over to the trap. The signs were hand made by Kazusada Higuchi. The third and final trap was placed beneath the balcony next to Kuroshio’s father where two other Sasadango Machines would hold him hostage. This trap was delayed because Oishi and the Machines were looking for him on the wrong side of the arena.

Kuroshio came out and nonchalantly avoided most of the traps. He vaulted over the first one, cartwheeled over the second and easily stepped over the third. The plan looked to be ruined until Sasadango grabbed the trap and placed it into the ring at the right moment. Kuroshio somersaulted over the ropes and landed head first into the trap! Sasadango hit the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock for the quick finish but Kuroshio barely kicked out! Kuroshio retreated outside to get his bearings then sent Sasadango flying outside with a Hurricanrana. He then followed up with a big Moonsault off the top rope to Sasadango and Oishi outside. Sasadango tried to defend himself with the trap but Kuroshio kicked it away. He applied the Ikemen Clutch for the pin but time slowed down to a halt and a video of both wrestlers’ inner monologues played while they fought in slow motion. Ikemen grabbed the trap and threw it out of the ring (still in slow motion). He knocked down Sasadango and was ready to finish him off when another video played. This time it was his father’s inner monologue. It turns out his father is actually an omnipatent god here to offer his son a choice. He can choose either a Gold Trap or a Silver Trap. Kuroshio chose the Gold Trap. Oishi came out and placed the Gold Trap on top of Sasadango. Kuroshio didn’t noticed and Moonsaulted onto the trap! Sasadango got back up and pinned Kuroshio with a School Boy to win the match. Backstage Kuroshio was shocked to learn he is a son of a god. He then snapped back into reality and talked about wanting to challenge Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Title if Takeshita wins in the main event.

Maki Itoh made the grave mistake of throwing down Yoshiko-sama’s teddy bear in the Tokyo Joshi Pro match. This made Yoshiko-sama so angry that she beat up Itoh with the bear. Miyu Yamashita went toe to toe with Yoshiko-sama and Azusa Christie until she and Itoh were taken out with a Double Lariat. An outnumbered Mizuki was then picked apart by NEO Biishiki-gun with Saki-sama winning with her finisher. The Two Step Face Kick she uses is now called the Academy Award.

In the battle of the crazy gaijin, Colt Cabana outwitted Joey Ryan. Cabana blocked Ryan’s attempt to stick a lollipop into his mouth by redirecting it into Yukinori Matsui’s mouth. Ryan pulled out more lollipops and every time the lollipop ended up in Matsui’s mouth. Ryan’s plan finally worked when he pulled the lollipop out of Matsui’s mouth and into Cabana’s. Colt grabbed one of the lollipops from Matsui and shoved it into Ryan’s mouth. Cabana then forced Ryan to grab his own crotch and make him flip himself over. Ryan was helpless and tapped out to the Billy Goat’s Curse afterwards. Cabana tried to give a celebratory speech but the microphone cut out from him. When it finally worked he called himself the craziest gaijin in DDT.

An over the top rope rule was added to the Tag Gauntlet at the last minute. It was this addition that led to the eliminations of DEADLIFT LOLITA and Naomi Kingdom. The pace of the match changed when ALL OUT eliminated Antonio Honda & Ethan Page. The last two eliminations were caused by Kazuki Hirata. First he pinned Shunma Katsumata with the Miracle Cradle. LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi caused him some problems but Hirata caught LiLiCo in another Miracle Cradle to win the match. Toru Owashi handed him a pair of Hirata GO! glasses and he got to do his full dance celebration.

The Miraclians beat the Dragon Bombers in the Tokyo Joshi pre-show match. Rika Tatsumi did her best with her Hip Attacks and Maho Kurone tried to eat Shoko Nakajima’s tail. The Apricots hit Kurone with a Double 619 and Yuka Sakazaki landed the Magical Girl Splash for the three count.

Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo were victorious over Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga in the second pre-show match. Yep.

The very first match of the day saw the DDT Veteran team defeat Team DNA. Poor little Nobuhiro Shimatani was given the Cherryton Bomb from Cherry, the Midnight Buenos Aires from Hoshitango and the Reverse Splash from Mad Paulie all in a row. The pin was cut off but Paulie just gave Shimatani the Paulie Buster to end it.

DDT unveiled a brand new logo designed by NIGO, the creator of the A Bathing Ape fashion line. The logo resembles a wrestling ring on top of a cube. The intention was to create something that was not your typical pro wrestling logo but still has an element of pro wrestling associated with it.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

March 24, 2018

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 25/03/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase, Rekka, Daiki Shimomura, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Takato Nakano Vs Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi & Cherry
0. Under Match: Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima Va Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi Vs Reika Saiki & Lady Beard Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Ethan Page Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda
2. World Crazy Wrestler No. 1 Decision Battle In DDT: Joey Ryan Vs Colt Cabana
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Mizuki Vs Saki-sama, Yoshiko-sama & Azusa Christie
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda
6. Weapon Rumble 5 Way Tag Loser Gets Anal Blast Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa Vs Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Soma Takao Vs Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe Vs Michael Nakazawa & Chinsuke Nakamura
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Ken Ohka Vs Great Muta, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

For an audio preview I appeared on an episode of the Wrestling Omakase podcast to talk about the show. We also review the “SAKI AKAI PRODUCE ~ DDT COLLECTION” show on the same episode. You can listen to it here.

The DDT UNIVERSE live broadcast begins on 1:30pm JST with the first pre-show match beginning at 2:00pm JST and the main show beginning at 3:00pm JST. So for other time zones the main show begins at 7:00am GMT (remember the clocks will have gone forward one hour in this time zone), 2:00am ET and (Saturday) 11:00pm PT. For those with access to AbemaTV the event will also air live for free on the DDT channel (VPN needed for those outside Japan). There will be either muted audio or replacement music for the entrances and video packages because of this.

———————————————————————–

DDT is back in Sumo Hall once again for its biggest event of the year. “JUDGEMENT 2018” is being held to mark DDT’s 21st anniversary and is providing a stacked card to celebrate. The headline match is a rematch of a 2016 Sumo Hall main event but there is plenty to talk about from top to bottom. We have grudge matches, we have generational battles, we have wrestling demons, we have anal explosions, we have title matches, we have joshi, we have crazy foreign wrestlers and we have the other sub-brands jumping in to get involved. The only way this show gets any more insane is if DDT goes the Pop Team Epic route and holds an identical 5 hour show immediately after this 5 hour show ends but with different a commentary team.

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase, Rekka, Daiki Shimomura, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Takato Nakano Vs Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi & Cherry

The first match of the day is between rookies and veterans. The rookie team consists of DNA and BASARA wrestlers. Mizuki Watase’s big matches in DNA for the last few months have been against wrestlers like Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka. Taiwanese wrestler Rekka recently formed a short lived team with Chinese wrestler Choun-Shiryu that fell apart over their national differences. Daiki Shimomura has been bottom of the pile and taking loss after loss on most shows. His Gran MilliMeters partner Nobuhiro Shimatani has been the same except he has spent his time trying to win over DAMNATION so he can join their group. BASARA’s Takato Nakano is approaching the first anniversary of his debut match in April.

On the veteran team Mad Paulie has become a little bit calmer ever since he discovered dancing. He loves to dance along to Shuji Ishikawa’s karaoke. Because of this he acts a little bit nicer to his opponents but he is still dangerous to wrestle. Gota Ihashi embarrassed himself on the big stage when he got to team with Kota Ibushi and Riki Choshu on a show produced by Choshu. They won their match but Choshu ripped apart Ihashi with criticism during a post show interview. Ever since then Ihashi has been trying to regain his confidence and even wants to discover if the power of Choshu is inside of him. It isn’t. The real power is the friends you make along the way and Choshu has been friends with Ibushi for years so the entire journey is a waste of time in the first place. Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Cherry have been filling up the DDT pre-show matches throughout the year.

0. Under Match: Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo

The focus of this match is between Kouki Iwasaki and Akira Jo. The two are feuding against each other in DNA where the homegrown wrestlers are defending themselves against the Naomi Kingdom, which Jo is a part of. Shinichiro Tominaga comes over from Ganbare☆Wrestling as a proud “amateur” pro wrestling card carrier. Kenshin Chikano has a DDT appearance here and there. He had a little more of a presence in BASARA last year when BASARA had a summer long rivalry with Dove Pro Wrestling.

0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima Va Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone

Tokyo Joshi Pro gets fully represented with two matches this time around. The pre-show match is between two of their long standing tag teams the Miraclians and the Dragon Bombers. The Apricots have been teaming together for as long as Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima have been around. They have a few achievements between them but the one they share together is becoming the first ever TOKYO Princess Tag Team Champions. On the surface the Dragon Bombers look like an odd pairing but Rika Tatsumi and Maho Kurone have won over fans with their personalities. Kurone’s entire zombie character is immediately eye catching and her behaviour at shows is often fun to follow. Tatsumi got some media attention when she admitted to fancying another Tokyo Joshi wrestler Mizuki and openly questioned the No Relationships rule used by the promotion because it only refers to having boyfriends and not girlfriends. She is currently preparing for the biggest match of her life in May when she main events Korakuen Hall. She recently pinned Nakajima to build up her momentum. Either repeating it or pinning Sakazaki would only increase it further.

1. Gauntlet Tag Match: LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi Vs Reika Saiki & Lady Beard Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Ethan Page Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda

The show kicks off proper with a wacky Gauntlet Match for Tag Teams. When LiLiCo was last in DDT she was defending the now forgotten KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles with Makoto Oishi and three others. That was in November. Now she’s back in training with Oishi to enter the gauntlet. Oishi has planning his next steps ever since NωA split up. He demanded to join T2Hide so he could take over the group and even won the right to be a member. But he instead turned it down so he could go do literally anything else. Reika Saiki & Lady Beard are connected together outside of wrestling as the idol duo DEADLIFT LOLITA. This is their first time teaming together for a wrestling match. Shunma Katsumata became the breakout wrestler from NωA when he joined ALL OUT and went through a crazy Hardcore Match where he used thumbtacks. Akito has been by Katsumata’s side during this encouraging him to come out of his shell. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata are still the same except for the times when Hirata gets deported and replaced by a suspiciously similar looking foreign substitute. They might still be feeling burned by Oishi rejecting them. Ethan Page has been loving his stay in Japan which probably explains why he acts different here compared to how he normally elsewhere. DDT brought him in with big hopes that he will be their next big Canadian star. Antonio Honda is with him to make sure that happens. Finally, Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda have been terrorising DNA with their Naomi Kingdom unit. Their troublemaking is now spreading to DDT and they are very interested to be in the same ring as LiLiCo and Saiki.

2. World Crazy Wrestler No. 1 Decision Battle In DDT: Joey Ryan Vs Colt Cabana

Everything about this match is a little funny. Two of America’s most known and successful comedy wrestlers will face off one on one inside one of Japan’s most prestigious wrestling arenas… and there’s been zero build up for it. That’s not to say either of them have done nothing in DDT at all. In January Joey Ryan competed at the D-Oh Grand Prix. He seemed to be more concerned about convincing the audience to throw paper tape at him for his entrances than he was with winning matches. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana challenged for the KO-D Openweight Title on Christmas Day but failed to win it. He then spent New Year’s Eve pretending to be Abdullah The Butcher. Both are fighting for the right to be called the DDT’s craziest gaijin wrestler.

3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Mizuki Vs Saki-sama, Yoshiko-sama & Azusa Christie

For the first time Tokyo Joshi gets a main card spot on a Sumo Hall show. Miyu Yamashita has regained her position as the ace of the promotion when she won back the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title on 4th January. Since then she has been fighting off challengers like Veda Scott, Yuna Manase and Maho Kurone. Teaming with her is one of the scariest egos ever to grace a DDT ring. Pop idol turned pro wrestler Maki Itoh often becomes intense when she wrestles. Her petite figure doesn’t stop her from throwing headbutts and giving her opponents the middle finger. She also formed her own team/fan club called the Itoh Respect Army and brought in Mizuki as Member #001. Mizuki doesn’t mind and is happy to make a friend. They even recorded a music video together. It’s just that this friend can act like a psychopath when she doesn’t get her way.

Their opponents are NEO Biishiki-gun, the snooty aristocratic unit led by the snootier and even more aristocratic Saki-sama. Her biggest move over the last year was abducting one of the weakest wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, Azusa Takigawa and brainwashing her into becoming Azusa Christie. Azusa is now a devoted nun who worships Saki-sama as if she was God. This change has seen her gain more success than she ever had previously and she along with Saki now holds the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Championships. Ever since her inclusion, NEO Biishiki-gun have been the dominant force in Tokyo Joshi and now they have a new girl joining them for this show. In February Saki-sama brought out a shy woman who was hiding her face behind a teddy bear and introduced her as an old friend from her childhood. Maki Itoh confronted this girl and threatened her until the bear was lowered and the face was revealed. The girl is Yoshiko-sama and she isn’t afraid to fight back! Her teddy bear is named Charlotte by the way.

4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio

I’ve had trouble trying to keep up with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title this year. Super Sasadango Machine won it the first week of January and asked to defend the belt against Jiro Kuroshio at Sumo Hall. His wish was granted but on one condition. Sasadango would need to defend the title at least twice a week every week up until the show takes place. Sasadango quickly found a solution to this problem. He set up an office in Nagoya and invited celebrities, spokesmen and other various business people to try and win the belt from him. In return they would get to promote their projects on DDT’s social media. It worked for the most part but there were some title changes I missed from people I don’t know and from there I lost track. As of writing I think he is still the champion and his title match with Kuroshio is all set.

But things are never just normal with this championship. There are always people hunting after the belt and I’ll be shocked if this match just stays between Sasadango and Kuroshio. Heck I’ll be shocked if a title change does not happen right before the match takes place! Also I don’t think Kuroshio would be just satisfied with doing just this match. Remember, he has a pinfall victory over Konosuke Takeshita from the D-Oh Grand Prix. There has to be some sort of follow up to that.

5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda

On the one hand Shuten-dōji finds themselves in the familiar position of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on DDT’s big supercard. On the other hand their opponents this time includes what used to be one of their own! Kota Umeda returned from a long injury absence last November and is making up for lost time in both DDT and DNA. He built up a quick but intense rivalry with another rookie Yuki Ueno. He also joined the rest of DNA in their feud with the Naomi Kingdom. It was during this time that Umeda started to figure something out. As the fourth member of Shuten-dōji he was often left out of their 6-Man Tag Title matches. The only times he got to step in was to cover for one of the other wrestlers if they were hurt. This had to change.

Shuten-dōji reached the point where they were disappointed by their current position. They wanted to face the best trios DDT could throw at them but in the end it is they who are the best trio. That was when Umeda stepped up to them. He wanted to challenge his brothers for the titles and to do so he is teaming with his rival Ueno as well as another rookie Koji Takeda. The response from Shuten-dōji was mixed. Masahiro Takanashi found it funny. He thought Umeda’s new unit looks so bad that they should be called Pigging 2018 after the consistently worst unit to compete in the DDT General Elections year after year. But KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi took this seriously. They would allow Umeda to challenge them but he would no longer be a part of Shuten-dōji if he does so. Umeda was willing to pay that price. Now Umeda is leading his generation team against his former family and in the process became a fierce enemy to Sakaguchi in particular. It might get worse when the title match takes place.

6. Weapon Rumble 5 Way Tag Loser Gets Anal Blast Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa Vs Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Soma Takao Vs Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe Vs Michael Nakazawa & Chinsuke Nakamura

Well this has been crazy. Originally DDT was going to hold its Falls Count Anywhere specialty match but Sumo Hall management and the Japan Sumo Association finally put their foot down and told them no. The potential risk of audience injuries and building damage is too high for them to accept. Unfortunately for them they weren’t prepared for DDT’s Plan B. Sure DDT will keep it in the ring but now there are explosives involved. At least it’s still safer than Sami Callihan playing with a pinata.

It all begun when Sanshiro Takagi was reunited with an old friend. In a moment that they absolutely swear was not like anything else that happened that same week involving former DDT talent, Munenori Sawa returned to DDT to save Takagi from a beatdown. They embraced, tears were shed and one of DDT’s wackiest tag teams from the last decade were back in business. Although Sawa had retired from pro wrestling to become a salaryman, he would still show up near a wrestling ring every now and then. Takagi threw out a challenge. He and Sawa would face anyone in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Sumo Hall. They attracted a lot of offers. Yuko Miyamoto wanted to get involved and as the current DDT Extreme Champion he surely qualifies. Soma Takao joins Miyamoto as part of Smile Squash. The call was also answered by Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe from BASARA. Kodaka is a hardcore wrestler and Abe is pretty much Munenori Sawa Jr. so the stipulation suits them fine.

The challenge led to an old enemy of Takagi’s resurfacing. Michael Nakazawa sent a video saying he would enter with a friend from “New York”. That friend is Chinsuke Nakamura! The Pauper Of Strong Style made his presence felt when he threw Takagi over the top rope and out of the ring. He celebrated this accomplishment by pointing to the RyogokuMania sign held above Korakuen Hall. The loudest response of all was from MAO fresh off of his split from NωA. MAO thinks now is the time DDT gets a new face for Street Wrestling and it should be him. He’s bringing Speedball Mike Bailey back to team with him. However MAO may be too crazy judging by that time he ran over Takagi with a van to win a Falls Count Anywhere match. He then threatened to blow up Shin-Kiba 1st RING with fireworks.

So the match was set and tensions grew to a dangerous level between Takagi and MAO. Takagi’s response to getting hit by a vehicle was to start shoving fireworks into other wrestlers’ butts to give them an Anal Explosion. MAO responded in kind until it was the major focus by everyone involved in the upcoming match. That was when the ban came and the match had to be cancelled. During that announcement all of the teams came together and threw together a replacement match. The BASARA team wanted to use weapons. MAO demanded that someone should get an Anal Blast. Everyone agreed to a Weapons Rumble match. As the match progresses, new weapons would be brought out Royal Rumble style. Plus whoever loses the match must subject themselves to an Anal Explosion! This means everybody is happy except for the Japan Sumo Association. Serves them right.

7. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Ken Ohka Vs Great Muta, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo

One of the first announcements for this show made back in January was the involvement of The Great Muta. DDT eventually announced that he would be teaming with DAMNATION to take on Danshoku Dino and his friends. Daisuke Sasaki would use the news to announce that he is in charge and Muta would be fighting under his leadership. There was no response from Muta about this. Sasaki then started taunting Dino by spitting cola and coffee at him Poison Mist style. Again there was no response from Muta. But Sasaki’s actions did bring Dino to his breaking point. The attacks made Dino transform into The Great Homo! Under his own Muta-style personality, Dino would constantly attack Sasaki and Tetsuya Endo. Endo moreso than Sasaki. He would spit Poison Milk Mist at them and attack their backsides with a spike. The only way he could be stopped was when Sasaki transformed into Nerima Sting to combat him. This finally made Muta stir. The demon was not pleased by this nonsense especially from Dino.

A threatening message was sent to DDT HQ. Dino has been given the Poison Curse! No matter where Dino goes, Muta would possess everyone around him and make them spit the Poison Mist in Dino’s face. Nowhere was Dino safe. Employees, trainees, referees, wrestlers, fans, models, TV hosts. All of them spat the Mist at Dino under Muta’s power. Dino would get attacked again and again and again and again and again! Has Muta’s plan brought Dino back to the brink enough to summon The Great Homo? Keisuke Ishii and Ken Ohka are there to help Dino but the three of them are clearly outmatched. The only thing they don’t have to worry about is Muta doing a Moonsault but that’s what Endo is there for.

8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi

For many in DDT there is one task that seems impossible and that is beating HARASHIMA. The backbone of DDT is often the biggest mountain to climb and some wrestlers have become obsessed with doing it. The latest wrestler in this position is Kazusada Higuchi. HARASHIMA has been a thorn in his side ever since Higuchi’s first year in DDT. HARASHIMA gave Higuchi his first loss, beat him twice in KO-D Title matches and also won the KO-D Tag Team Titles from him with Naomichi Marufuji. The team known as HarashiMarufuji have held the titles ever since. They even survived a title defence held inside a factory! If they were ever to be beaten, Higuchi would have to find somebody really strong to team with him.

Oh crap. Daisuke Sekimoto wants to get involved.

Sekimoto & Higuchi joined forces for the annual New Year’s Eve cross promotion Tag Team Tournament and made it all the way to the final. They made such a good impression together that they are reuniting to go after HARASHIMA & Marufuji. Sekimoto and HARASHIMA have a history together but there is respect between them. HARASHIMA and Higuchi however do not like each other ever since HARASHIMA knocked out Higuchi during a singles match earlier this month. When Higuchi came to he went on a rampage chasing after HARASHIMA. A defeat to Marufuji too in the run-up to this match hasn’t helped. Higuchi will have to keep his emotions in check against these two.

9. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

This is the rematch 19 months in the making. Konosuke Takeshita and Shuji Ishikawa main evented “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016” with the KO-D Openweight Title on the line. Ishikawa came out on top that night and held onto the belt for almost the rest of 2016. HARASHIMA won the title from him in December that year but the championship made its way back to Takeshita at “JUDGEMENT 2017” just over one year ago. Since then Takeshita has firmly kept the belt in his grasp and fought all-comers, breaking the DDT record for most title defences in a single reign with 10 successful defences at this time. Freshly graduated from college, Takeshita has been having a great year as the champion. It’s getting tough though. A lower back injury has plagued Takeshita throughout February and gave him a big target that can be exploited. So it’s been a tough year but a great year none the less.

However you can argue Shuji Ishikawa’s last 12 months have been just as good if not better. He goes on a tear in All Japan and wins the Champion Carnival, then the Triple Crown, then the Real World Tag League with Suwama and then AJPW World Tag Team Titles also with Suwama. When he refocused his efforts in DDT at the beginning of 2018, Ishikawa ends up winning the first ever D-Oh Grand Prix tournament almost unbeaten. His only loss in the competition was against his DAMNATION leader Daisuke Sasaki. The goal of the Grand Prix was to establish DDT’s leading star for the rest of the year and Ishikawa proved there is no one more deserving of it than him.

Ishikawa has gone out to prove he has a range of other talents too. Ever since he won the Grand Prix, Ishikawa has performed karaoke in the ring to celebrate his big victories in DDT. Mad Paulie has joined in the fun by dancing along to his songs. Sasaki & Endo aren’t as eager to join in so they just grin and bare it while he sings. With the big title match on the horizon, Sasaki gave Ishikawa a serious order. Ishikawa cannot sing karaoke and Paulie cannot dance again until Ishikawa beats Takeshita at Sumo Hall to become the KO-D Champion. This gave Ishikawa an idea. Takeshita is injured. If he gets so injured that he cannot defend the title at Sumo Hall then Ishikawa will become the champion by default. Then for the main event Ishikawa can sing karaoke inside the ring all night long! So for the last month Ishikawa has intentionally tried to injure Takeshita in their preview matches. It briefly worked when Takeshita had to miss a show to recover but he came back and in their most recent match together pinned Ishikawa.

So there you have it. The strongest champion in DDT’s history is hurt but still capable of beating whatever is being thrown at him. DDT’s strongest challenger is almost unstoppable and is powered by the desire to show off his vocal talents. Their 2016 match is well worth the watch in preparation for this.

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