Dramatic DDT

DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN KORAKUEN ~LET’S SHOUT!~”, 14/08/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
556 Fans

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Soma Takao when Takeda pinned Takagi with the Shining Driver (8:55).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, MAO & Yuki Ishida when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (8:00).
3. Takeshi Masada Debut Match: HARASHIMA defeated Takeshi Masada with the Somato (10:28).
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Shinya Aoki defeated Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata, Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata, Yusuke Okada, Yukio Naya, Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku (16:15).
4a. Yukio Naya eliminated Yusuke Okada with the Back Drop (6:16).
4b. Yuji Hino eliminated Yuya Koroku with the Fuckin’ BOMB (7:35).
4c. Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi eliminated Hideki Okatani by Ring Out (7:44).
4d. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya eliminated Chris Brookes by Ring Out (12:05).
4e. Shunma Katsumata & Makoto Oishi eliminated Yuji Hino by Ring Out (12:32).
4f. Shinya Aoki eliminated Makoto Oishi with an Ankle Hold (13:26).
4g. Kazuki Hirata was eliminated by Disqualification when he grabbed the wrong envelope (13:40).
4h. Shinya Aoki & Shunma Katsumata eliminated Yukio Naya by Ring Out (14:57).
4i. Shinya Aoki grabbed the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere envelope (16:15).
*Shinya Aoki wins the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere NFT.
5. Special Single Match: Asuka defeated Saki Akai with the Shiranui (7:22).
6. Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when Ueno pinned Honda with the BME (8:45).
7. DDT Extreme Title – Fluorescent Lighttube IPPON Death Match: Joey Janela defeated Akito (c) by IPPON when Akito stepped on the Lighttube (13:45).
*Akito fails in V1. Joey Janela becomes the 55th DDT Extreme Champion!
8. Road To WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022! Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama when Yoshimura pinned Akiyama with the Harai Goshi (22:55).

Next week Kazusada Higuchi and Tetsuya Endo will headline Ota Ward Gymnasium for a big KO-D Openweight Title match. Today was their last preview match, a tag bout pitting Harimao against the two strongest members of BURNING. The two cancelled each other out so the match instead came down to Naomi Yoshimura standing up to Jun Akiyama. In a massive statement made to the vocal crowd, Yoshimura flipped Akiyama over with the Harai Goshi and pinned him for the three count! He declared afterward that Harimao is the strongest tag team in DDT, which suddenly caught the attention of an unexpected trio.

DISASTER BOX heard what Yoshimura said and entered the ring to give their opinion on it. Kazuki Hirata praised Yoshimura for getting stronger but reminded him it is because he grew up in their unit. He wants DISASTER BOX to get a shot at the KO-D Tag Team Titles with HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi as the challengers. Yoshimura joked that Owashi only has a decent match in him once every four years so his next one is due. Owashi snapped back by saying he is currently a double crown champion just like Higuchi! He’ll tear the KO-D Tag Titles from Harimao so he can add them to the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and the O-40 Title. Then he will become a triple crown champion! Yoshimura accepted the challenge then asked why Hirata came out with them when he’s not involved in the match? Everyone agreed to do the title match on 4th September in Nagoya.

Before the show ended, Higuchi was interrupted by Shinya Aoki. The new holder of the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere title shot simply climbed into the ring, walked past Higuchi and climbed back out. Higuchi shrugged him off and said he is ready to fight Aoki whenever he wants. Endo then entered the ring for one last faceoff with Higuchi. He said no matter how strong Higuchi gets, Endo will still be standing in front of him on 20th August. He pointed out that nobody from DDT was included in TV Asahi’s recent Pro Wrestling General Election poll to determine the most popular wrestlers in Japan. Both Endo and Higuchi agreed it is up to them to spread DDT to the world at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”!

The first appearance of Joey Janela in DDT turned out to be a smashing success for the American. He outsmarted Akito in the IPPON Lighttube Death Match to become the new DDT Extreme Champion! The goal of the match was to avoid breaking the lone lighttube involved in the match. That led to both Akito and Janela doing whatever they could to prevent themselves from landing on the lighttube or tricking each other into damaging it. The climactic rush of antics led to Janela sliding the lighttube across the ring while Akito charged towards him, causing Akito to step on it and break the glass everywhere. The former champion congratulated Janela and later said his sense for “Extreme” wrestling is outstanding. Janela described the finish to the media like it was something from the movie “Home Alone”.

Janela’s next scheduled match in DDT is against Shunma Katsumata on 20th August. While Janela was in the middle of a foul mouthed victory speech where he revealed his goal is to become the best foreign wrestler in DDT history, Katsumata came out to interrupt him. Neither person speaks the other’s language so a lot was lost in translation. Janela eventually figured out that Katsumata wants their match next week to have the Extreme Title on the line. Once Janela understood that Hisaya Imabayashi is the one in charge of making decisions, the challenge was accepted for 20th August. Katsumata then told “The Bad Boy” that he is “The Happy Boy”! That only confused Janela further.

Another preview match for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” was built around Yuki Ueno’s challenge for the DDT Universal Title held by Masahiro Takanashi. With Toi Kojima on his team, Ueno got the better of Takanashi & Antonio Honda on this day. He countered the Takatonic with the Gin And Tonic and then pinned Honda with the BME. While a beaten Takanashi was being carried out of the arena by Chris Brookes, Ueno got on the microphone. He said Takanashi always climbs up from the bottom but he needs to understand that DDT is no longer at the bottom! Ueno promised the fans he will win the Universal Title from Takanashi and make DDT even more lively. Backstage Kojima described how different wrestling in front of a cheering crowd is like for him. He feels completely different than usual in a good way and hopes the fans will get to continue making noise soon.

The singles match between Saki Akai and Asuka was a big meeting for both of them before their Mixed Tag Match with Akiyama and Brookes next week. The Big Boots went flying from both. Akai went for the Quetzalcoatl but Asuka avoided it and went on to win after hitting the Shiranui to her opponent. She only previously used that move as part of a double team attack with MAO. The move works so well for her she decided to adopt the regular version of it as a new finisher. Afterwards Asuka bragged about never losing to Akai and predicts the result of the Mixed Tag Match will be the same. However she also encouraged Akai to do her best when teaming with Akiyama. Akai said if she felt discouraged after today’s results then the last nine years she spent wrestling would have be in vain. She will move forward and get ready to team with Akiyama.

The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere gimmick was brought back after being absent for a while. This year’s match was a combination Battle Royal/Ladder match, which is the usual choice for this prize. However the twist this time involved three envelopes hanging above the ring. Only one of the envelopes was the real prize that needed to be grabbed to win the match. The other two were dummy prizes that disqualified whoever would grab them. Hirata found that out the hard way when he was the first to pick a wrong envelope. As other wrestlers got knocked out of the match through normal means, Aoki and Katsumata ended up as the final two. Aoki used the ladder to pin Katsumata down to the canvas so he could climb it and grab the real prize, winning the match. Katsumata didn’t believe it so he grabbed the last envelope, just to confirm it wasn’t the right one.

It was promoted before the show that the actual prize representing the Right To Challenge title shot this year is something that has never been used before in pro wrestling. Imabayashi handed Aoki an iPad with an image loaded up on the screen. He then explained that Aoki’s prize is the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere NFT! DDT decided to create one in order to prevent the title shot from being forged or stolen. Aoki will have to create an account to claim the NFT but the rules for the title shot are the same as always. He has one year to claim his KO-D Title shot at any DDT show he wants. But if Aoki directly loses any wrestling match, the NFT and the title shot is given to whoever beats him. This continues until the title match is cashed in or the year long timeframe expires. Imabayashi asked Aoki if he has an idea of when to use his title shot. Aoki simply smiled and walked off.

The anticipated debut of Takeshi Masada lived up to expectations. With only three months of training, Masada is already receiving high praise for his performance against the backbone of DDT, HARASHIMA. A lot of his moveset in the match was kick heavy because of his Shorinji Kempo background but he also pulled out a Falcon Arrow, using one of HARASHIMA’s own moves against him. The rookie was grounded with a Crab Hold which gave him a chance to show determination by fighting for a rope break. He got back into the swing of things with a kicking exchange until HARASHIMA swept his legs from under him and smashed him with the Somato to win the match. HARASHIMA congratulated him for making his debut and said it was amazing to hear the crowd cheer for the newcomer. He also said the debut match is the weakest point of a pro wrestler’s life so Masada will only get stronger from here. Masada said the match was a great experience. He got to fight HARASHIMA so now his next goal is to pin him for the three count! He also explained his ring gear is inspired by “Saturday Night Fever” because he likes old things.

DAMNATION T.A used their match to rub it in Yukio Sakaguchi’s face that they hold the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Sakaguchi made it literal when he pressed his face into the belt KANON held up to him to build up more tension between the two. Daisuke Sasaki got a cheap shot in by throwing a chair at Sakaguchi while he was leaning over the middle rope. MAO got one back by sucker punching MJ Paul on the ring apron. Yuki Ishida ended up getting worked on by DAMNATION T.A. He made a small comeback but fell to the numbers disadvantage and got pinned by KANON’s Sleepy Hollow. Sasaki said it is about time for KANON to give old man Sakaguchi some guidance and lead him into retirement.

The big reveal of the show was the identity of White Briefs Man. The masked man who’s been following Pheromones around showed up still wearing the costume and wrestled as such. Pheromones were without Yumehito Imanari today because he is still recovering from yesterday’s Ganbare☆Pro show. That meant nobody was there to throw opponents into Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino’s exposed backsides. That gave Owashi & Soma Takao the chance to clear the ring and leave White Briefs Man with Sanshiro Takagi. The mask was pulled off and the identity was revealed. It’s Koju Takeda from Triple Six! Takeda pinned Takagi with the Shining Driver and was welcomed into Pheromones as Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda! Dieno said the unit is now complete with this addition. Takagi couldn’t believe it. He remembers Takeda used to wrestle in DNA and is a former KO-D 6-Man Tag Champion. This means Pheromones is getting stronger and he does not know how to stop it!

The 30th Anniversary of Jun Akiyama’s debut match will be celebrated on 18th September. Akiyama will team with Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru to take on Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Katsumata. Akiyama said Nagata and Kanemaru are two people who were indespensible to him over the last 30 years. Endo and Takeshita are in the match because Akiyama has passed down his techniques to both of them. Finally Katsumata is involved because Akiyama predicts he will become like Kanemaru in the future.

Kenta Kobashi will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” to be the special witness for the Higuchi Vs Endo main event.