DDT In NOAH Limit Break 2 Results

May 29, 2024

NOAH “THE LEAVE PRESENTS LIMIT BREAK. 2”, 29/05/2024
Shinjuku FACE
403 Fans

3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Hi69 & Harutoki when Endo pinned Harutoki with the Burning Star Press (12:38).
4. Jun Akiyama defeated Atsushi Kotoge with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder (18:14).
5. Kazuyuki Fujita, Yoshitatsu & Genta Yubari defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Fujita pinned Matsunaga with a Kick To The Face (21:42).

More DDT involvement happened in NOAH this month with the latest “LIMIT BREAK” show. NOAH has developed two separate sub-brands this year. There is “MONDAY MAGIC”, an episodic series of wrestling events that is put together by NOSAWA Rongai. There is also “LIMIT BREAK” which is attached to Go Shiozaki and his Team NOAH unit. The unusual thing is DDT find themselves in the serious and straightforward Limit Break shows rather than the wacky Monday Magic events that are full of surprises. One of the big matches Limit Break has been building up with this turn of events is NOAH’s Kazuyuki Fujita against DDT’s Kazusada Higuchi. They have a singles match taking place next month so today they had a preview 6-Man Tag. Higuchi had Yukio Naya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga on his side and they put up a good fight. But Fujita cut off Matsunaga with a Lariat and taunted Higuchi before kicking Matsunaga in the face for the finish. Yoshitatsu praised Genta Yubari for putting in a passionate effort. Higuchi apologised to Matsunaga for not being able to help him. He knows he won’t get any help himself against Fujita on 19th June so he his fired up to fight him one on one. Naya said he came to this show looking for something that does not exist in DDT. He wants to keep wrestling on these shows.

An important singles match had Jun Akiyama taking on the underdog Atsushi Kotoge based on negative comments Kotoge made about him at the last show. Akiyama kept control for most of the match but when Kotoge got the upper hand he made sure his opponent knew about it. Things went south when Akiyama lured him out of the ring to beat him up in a ringside brawl. Back in the ring Akiyama kept hitting Knee Strikes with his kneepad pulled down. Kotoge countered the Exploder Suplex but ended up taking more Knee Strikes. He kicked out at two so Akiyama gave him the Wrist-Clutch Exploder, finishing him off. Akiyama had a message for Kotoge backstage after the match. There is no one place where a wrestler can develop everything. Instead there are many places to go wrestle in and DDT is one of them. If Kotoge wants to learn what he is lacking, he should come over to DDT and maybe Akiyama can teach him a little of what he is missing. Kotoge must have accepted the invitiation because a few hours later DDT announced he will be on their 5th June show in Shinjuku FACE teaming with Akiyama & Matsunaga.

DDT’s version of BURNING is becoming a regular part of the Limit Break shows. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino were on the card and won their match against Hi69 and Osaka wrestler Harutoki. Iino hit Hi69 with the Spear allowing Endo to give Harutoki the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and Burning Star Press combo for the victory. Endo bragged about winning three matches in a row at Limit Break now. He is again demanding a singles match against Shiozaki. Iino wants to fight Shiozaki again too.

NOAH “THE LEAVE PRESENTS LIMIT BREAK. 3 GO! ~GO SHIOZAKI 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOURNAMENT~”, 19/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

4. Atsushi Kotoge, Black Menso-re & Yuto Kikuchi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
5. Beast Vs Harimao: Kazuyuki Fujita Vs Kazusada Higuchi
7. Go Shiozaki 20th Anniversary Match -DEPARTURE 2024-: Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama Vs Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura


DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ FINAL!!” Results

May 26, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ FINAL!!”, 26/05/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,005 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Yuni & Keigo Nakamura defeated Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (8:51).
1. KANON & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA & Akito when KANON pinned Akito with the Ground Cobra Twist (7:59).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final: MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi with the Iai Kick (11:43).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final – No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Chris Brookes with the El Es Culero (13:48).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Hirata with a Rock Bottom (0:05).
4a. Rematch: Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada defeated Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi and Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Naya pinned Hirata and Oishi with the Double Choke Slam (6:42).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuya Koroku defeated Poison Sawada JULIE, Tetsumamushi Endo & Yuki “Anaconda” Iino when Koroku pinned JULIE with a Moonsault Press (9:01).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ueno pinned Matsunaga with the WR (11:45).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Final: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the 450 Cannonball (23:45).

On the 20th Anniversary a new King Of DDT has been crowned and it is MAO! He reached all the way to the final where Daisuke Sasaki was there standing in his way. MAO wanted to win quickly and busted out the Hollywood Star Press for a nearfall. Sasaki then started targeting MAO’s knees before taking him outside to do a Super Diving Elbow Drop while MAO was sitting in the front row. MAO fought back by biting his way out of the Crossface Lock, turning Sasaki over with the Michinoku Driver I and then applying the Just Face Lock. Sasaki took a big risk to get back into the fight by giving MAO a Superplex out of the ring onto members of The 37KAMIINA and DAMNATION T.A below. He then tried using flash pins including the Hurricanrana but MAO wore him down with Palm Strikes, the Iai Kick and the Cannonball 450 to win.

With this victory MAO thinks he now has a spot in the main event of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. He called Yuki Ueno into the ring to tell him it could be those two fighting for the KO-D Openweight Title at Sumo Hall. However Ueno told everyone that he has to beat Sanshiro Takagi first on 5th June. Takagi entered the ring to congratulate MAO and tell him that he too is fighting to achieve his dream of being in a KO-D Title match at Sumo Hall. The closest he’s been to that position was the King Of DDT 2009 final but he lost to Kota Ibushi. MAO reminded Takagi he still had the Weapon Rumble match against The Great Sasuke that year and that match captured MAO’s heart. So much so that if Takagi becomes his opponent at Sumo Hall then they should have a Weapon Rumble match! But if he faces Ueno the match will just be held under normal rules. Ueno was relieved to hear that. The three of them all agreed by sharing a toast together in the ring.

Sasaki went through a war with Chris Brookes in the semi-finals. The two agreed to have a No DQ Match over expectations that both could cheat against each other. Instead it became a full blown hardcore match with tables, plastic boxes, chairs, a ladder, a stapler and even a fork board laid against the corner with “Fuck You Sasaki” painted on it. Brookes also had backup in the form of Mecha Mummy but Sasaki used a taser to make it short circuit and play no further part in the match. Sasaki was thrown from the ladder through a table and Brookes followed up by hitting a Diving Double Knee Drop onto the remains. Sasaki kicked out and then countered the Praying Mantis Bomb into El Es Culero cradle to steal the win from out of nowhere. A bloody Brookes threw everything he could get his hands on around the ring out of anger after the match.

The other semi-final had MAO beating a previous King Of DDT winner Kazusada Higuchi. He had to use Middle Kicks and Palm Strikes to try and match Higuchi’s Chops and Headbutt. The Doctor Bomb Higuchi used was kicked out of but so was the Green Tea Plunge that MAO pulled out. The match came down to duel between the two. Higuchi charged in looking to do the Buchikamashi but MAO blocked it with a Thrust Kick, stunned Higuchi with a Palm Strike, cut off a Lariat with a Hurricane Kick and finally put his opponent down with the Iai Kick. Higuchi had no problem admitting backstage that MAO is a really, really strong wrestler.

Ueno and Takagi used their 6-Man Tag as a preview for what to expect in the KO-D Title bout by brawling with each other in the crowd with the Dramatic Dream bike involved before taking the fight up to the balcony. They had more to offer back in the ring with Ueno doing a Dropkick and Takagi firing back with the Stunner. Tomomitsu Matsunaga used the opening to hit Ueno with the Tommy Bomber for a nearfall. Ueno recovered and Dropkicked Matsunaga in the face before pinning him with the WR. After the match Takagi said he does not care if Ueno is ready or not for the title match. Takagi is now free from responsibility and will be at his most immature on 5th June! Meanwhile To-y told Shunma Katsumata they will be enemies on 21st June because he wants to win the DDT Extreme Title from him in the 5 Way Sauna match. In fact, To-y accused Katsumata of not helping him during today’s match so they may already be enemies!

Plans for Match #4 changed when before the match Poison Sawada JULIE looking for his teammates to brainwash them with his Snake Magic. While this was going on, Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino asked Yuya Koroku in a nearby locker room to go find them something to drink. Koroku found some cans labelled “Modification Drink” in the room where JULIE was just in and gave them to his BURNING partners. What happened when they drank it scared Koroku out of the room while a returning JULIE was pleased with the results. It all became clear what happened when JULIE entered the ring with Endo & Iino both brainwashed into becoming Tetsumamushi Endo & Yuki “Anaconda” Iino! Koroku now had to team with JULIE’s original partners Shuji Ishikawa & Masahiro Takanashi in order to win the antidotes that would turn Endo & Iino back to normal. It was a tough challenge but a well timed dodge from Kuroku caused Iino to Spear Endo by accident. Koroku then gave JULIE a Back Drop and pinned him with the Moonsault Press. He then quickly fed his friends the cans of antidote to free them from JULIE’s snake magic. Whenever JULIE returns to DDT he promises to get revenge on Koroku for stopping him from turning BURNING into his new Snake Magic army.

The 3 Way Tag Match ended too quickly thanks to Makoto Oishi immediately pinning Kazuki Hirata with a Rock Bottom before one of the other teams even made it to the ring. It required a restart and the same result almost happened. Yukio Naya made it in time to break it up so the match could continue. A noticable trend then happened where Takeshi Masada became left out of all of the multi-man spots. Somehow Yukinori Matsui took his place! When Masada became upset over it, Hisaya Imabayashi paused the match and ordered everyone to let Masada be more involved because he is already a lonely college student. Most of them although Danshoku Dieno wasn’t really interested. Naya instructed Masada to climb the top turnbuckle and wait for the opportunity to do a big move while Naya took care of Dieno and Toru Owashi. Oishi and Hirata tried to give Naya the Double Miracle Ecstasy but it was countered into a Double Choke Slam. Naya decided to pin the both of them while Masada was still waiting on the top turnbuckle. The match ended with them as the winners but a sad and lonely Masada took his time to leave the ring.

DAMNATION T.A halted some of Smile Squash’s momentum in the opening match. HARASHIMA & Akito were doing well against KANON & MJ Paul until KANON caught Akito in the Cobra Twist. He then grounded the move and rolled Akito over to pin his shoulders to the mat for a 3 count. KANON bragged about beating Akito with a roll up style move, something that Akito is meant to be a master of. Fans like it when teams from the past reunite but he hates it and for that reason hates Smile Squash too. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano weren’t angry over the result. They assured Akito that they now all learned KANON is capable of winning that way and they will have to be careful of it in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match.

In the dark match Yuni hit Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi with a top rope Moonsault out of the ring. He then gave Sumi a Spinning DDT in the ring and Keigo Nakamura followed up with the John Woo Dropkick for a nearfall. Nakamura didn’t waste anytime and landed the Diving Headbutt to get the win.

A new singles match was announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Konosuke Takeshita will face Masato Tanaka in a rematch from March 2020!

There was an announcement during the show that DDT and GCW will be co-promoting a show together in Korakuen Hall on 12th August as part of GCW’s next tour of Japan. The show is called “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER” and Effy sent in a video message to promote it. GCW talent currently announced for the show include Joey Janela, Effy, Allie Katch, Masha Slamovich, Mance Warner, Jordan Oliver, Dark Sheik, Alex Zayne and Rina Yamashita.

Before any of the matches began there was a special presentation held by Saki Akai. One of her first projects with DDT since retiring from pro wrestling last year was to set up a crowdfunding campaign to buy new training equipment for the company. The campaign succeeded and today Akai donated the new equipment to Takagi and DDT.

DDT will be launching a new photobook with Leslie Kee on 21st July. They previously worked together for a photobook called “Super DDT” back in 2013.


Kakuta Gets To Team With SAKI One Last Time

May 22, 2024

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

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

With Shinchiro Tominaga out of action with a ruptured Achilles tendon the main event of the Saitama Boat Race show has to be changed. Mizuki Watase and Kouki Iwasaki are swapping sides and Tsuyoshi Okada is coming in to even things out.

The Ganbare☆Pro debut of Daisuke®️ went off well so the promotion is giving CWP a dark match to show off more of their roster. Sasaki Complete Jr. is nicknamed the “Killing Machine” and has won multiple different CWP championships. Baraki Ueno is an esports athlete who likes to use the techniques he learns from fighting games. TERU Oshima looks up to Tominaga and followed his steps into joining CWP.

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

1. Hartley Jackson Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Time Staggered Battle Royal: Ken Ohka Vs Yuna Manase Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Gabai Ji-chan Vs Baliyan Akki Vs Daisuke®️
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

The rookie Shota Kawakami is getting thrown into the ring with a real heavyweight in the form of Hartley Jackson.

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

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

A rematch of last month’s KO-D Tag Team Titles bout has been added to the show. BURNING will face Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga again but this time the titles are not on the line.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PRISM ’24”, 09/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Nao Kakuta & SAKI Vs X & X
2. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Moka Miyamoto
3. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs LA Taylor
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Vert Vixen

Last month in America Nao Kakuta and SAKI were meant to team up together on the “GCW VS TJPW” show. Plans changed when Kakuta fell ill and was unable to travel to the shows. Tokyo Joshi Pro wanted to make sure she gets to team with SAKI one more time before she retires so it will happen at Korakuen Hall next month. Their opponents will be announced soon.

GANBARE☆PRO “THE☆BAZAAR”, 16/06/2024
Saitama Musashino Bank Shin-Tokorozawa Branch Parking Lot

1. Ken Ohka, Mizuki Watase & Shota Kawakami Vs Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Rekka

An outdoor event in Shin-Tokorozawa has sponsored GanPro to put on a wrestling match for them. It will be free to watch for guests but may get cancelled if there is rainy weather on the day.


DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1” Results

May 16, 2024

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

1. 3 Way Match: Keigo Nakamura defeated Soma Takao and Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Ilusion with a Modified Crucifix Pin (7:49).
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama defeated Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi when Takagi pinned Sumi with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (7:42).
3. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty NG Behaviour Penalty Match: Shunma Katsumata, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Iino was Disqualified for doing 3 NG acts (9:12).
4. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty Doki Doki! Special Rules Match – 1 Count Fall Rules: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Takanashi pinned Hirata with a Cradle (0:39).
4a. Rematch – Falls Count Anywhere 1,000 Count Death Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Brookes pinned Hirata (66:03).
5. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul when Akito pinned KANON with a Stepover Toe Hold (12:52).
6. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida when To-y pinned Ishida with the Kojima Impact (21:00).

Today was the return of Yuki Ishida to the ring after having a lower back injury that took him out for half a year. His team lost and he took the fall in the main event but that did not spoil the big news he announced after the show. Starting on 20th May he will be working for a sumo entertainment company called SUMO Agency and he’ll be relocating to Osaka to be part of a sumo show targeted towards foreign tourists. This new job means he will only be able to wrestle for DDT once or twice a month. He wanted to return to his roots in order to shine brighter and bring whatever momentum he makes back to DDT.

The Smile Squash revival is going to stick around a little while longer. After the trio defeated DAMNATION T.A in a non-title match Akito realized that Smile Squash never held the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles together. He made the challenge for a title shot, HARASHIMA agreed because he never held that championship before and Yasu Urano is joining along so he can get more DDT bookings. During the match itself Smile Squash almost gained a new member. They encouraged KANON to join them because he has a nice smile. He jumped sides until Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul force fed him beer to turn him back to his, er, normal self.

There was a secret special rule applied to Match #4. It took everyone under a minute to discover the rule was 1 Count Pinfalls when Masahiro Takanashi pinned Kazuki Hirata and immediately won the match. Hirata demanded a rematch and this time the winning team would be whichever one scores a combined total of 1,000 counts from pinfalls, countouts and DQ counts! CDK agreed and restarted the match. The total count went up to 34 when both teams fought too far away from the venue to follow so the show continued without them. They reappeared after the main event where the count was somewhere in the late 900s. The main eventers were still in the ring so Danshoku Dieno decided to give Ishida a Lip Lock just because. Ishida remained involved and hit Hirata with the Flame Palm. CDK then piled on top of them to score the 1,000th pin count and win the match.

Match #3 also had a rule built around secret. The referees determined that every wrestler would have one move or action be deemed NG or No Good for the match. If a wrestler performed a No Good action they would be sent off to the penalty area up in the balcony. They would only be allowed back in the match if one of their partners also did a No Good move and had to replace them in the penalty area. But if someone did a No Good move three times their team would be disqualified. The wrestlers were not told what the banned moves were so it was up to them to figure it out as the match went on. Yuki Iino was immediately sent off for shouting “BURNING!”. Shunma Katsumata was sent off for doing the NeppoWER pose. Toru Owashi was sent off for doing a Horizontal Chop. Makoto Oishi was sent off for clapping. Tetsuya Endo was sent off for doing a Swan Dive move. Yuya Koroku was sent off for doing a Brainbuster. In the end Iino was disqualified for saying “BURNING!” three times. He ended up getting confused which caused him to say “BURNING!” and “NeppoWER!” over and over.

Both Sanshiro Takagi and Akito didn’t let their CyberFight demotions ruin their wrestling performances. They both won their matches today. Takagi told the fans he will continue to be in charge of DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro from his new Vice President position. Really the only problem he has to deal with is his Big President merch is now inaccurate and he will need to make a replacement shirt.

Takagi was also challenged to a singles match by Super Sasadango Machine. He was surprised to hear the earlier news about Takagi and felt there is limited time for them to have one more match together before Takagi takes a break from being a wrestler. Takagi’s schedule was full until Sasadango came up with an idea. Their match will be on a one-match show at Shinjuku FACE on 26th June! Fifty unique types of ticket deals for the show will be made available with more to be added if there is demand.


GLEAT X DDT Card Revealed

May 10, 2024

GLEAT/DDT “GLEAT VER. & – GLEAT X DDT PRO WRESTLING”, 06/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata, Takanori Ito & Issei Onitsuka Vs MICHIKO, Keigo Nakamura & Yu Iizuka Vs Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Jun Tonsho
2. Minoru Tanaka Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. CIMA & HARASHIMA Vs Soma Watanabe & Soma Takao
4. Tetsuya Izuchi Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. SBK & TAKUMA Vs To-y & Kazuma Sumi
6. Yuki Ueno, El Lindaman & MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kaz Hayashi & Akito
7. Elimination Tag Match: T-Hawk, Chris Brookes, Takehiro Yamamura, Seiki Yoshioka & Takeshi Masada Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kaito Ishida, KANON, Hartley Jackson & Kotaro Suzuki
8. Hayato Tamura, Ryuichi Kawakami & KAZMA SAKAMOTO Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya

Wrestlers from GLEAT and DDT gathered together for a press conference in Yurakucho, Tokyo yesterday. The two promotions will be holding a show together at Korakuen Hall on 6th June (although by the looks of it everything so far suggests this is a GLEAT produced show with DDT mostly just providing talent). CIMA at the conference said he once told the president of GLEAT that he wants to do something interesting, fierce, stylish, fast and crazy in pro wrestling. He recently bumped into Sanshiro Takagi at a restaurant and the two got talking. CIMA wanted to work with DDT again because he felt like the story of #STRONGHEARTS in DDT ended at the halfway point and he would like to continue the story. He was also frustrated over GLEAT not getting to participate at “ALL TOGETHER” last week.

Takagi said DDT never had much contact with GLEAT in the past. DDT and #STRONGHEARTS worked hard together but their relationship faded away when #STRONGHEARTS joined with GLEAT. But he liked CIMA’s idea and wanted to work on something interesting with him. He believes something that DDT and GLEAT has in common is both companies have a young generation of wrestlers with a lot of momentum behind them. He hopes this show will bring something exciting out of that generation. Takagi also sees this as an opportunity to work with Kaz Hayashi one more time before Hayashi retires from wrestling later this year.

GLEAT’s current top unit BULK ORCHESTRA will face DDT’s three top heavyweight wrestlers in the main event. KAZMA SAKAMOTO remembers Yukio Naya as the pathetic little rookie from Real Japan but admits he ended up in a good place with DDT. He is more interested in fighting Kazusada Higuchi. Naya reminded SAKAMOTO he is not the same person as he was back then and he looks forward to repaying his debt to him. Both Higuchi and Ryuichi Kawakami are excited to be part of a super megaton match between teams exceeding over hundreds and hundreds of kilograms in combined weight. Hayato Tamura is the current G-REX Champion and is eager to fight all three of his opponents. Out of the three wrestlers on the DDT team, Yuki Iino has the biggest problem with the GLEAT side. They’re called BULK ORCHESTRA but they can’t sing and have arms as thin as recorders! His harsh words caused a fight to break out and end the press conference.

Some of the matches on the card will be GLEAT Vs DDT and some will mix the two promotions together. One of the matches taking the latter approach has El Lindaman teaming with Yuki Ueno & MAO to face the combined management trio of Takagi, Hayashi & Akito. Lindaman already teamed with Ueno once before at last year’s “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL”. Ueno has also heard stories about GLEAT from Shinya Aoki in the past. MAO thinks he will fit in with GLEAT because it is a universal company and he is the DDT Universal Champion. Lindaman feels a little out of place because he is the only one on his team who is currently not a champion. So to make up for it he wants to take over the position of whichever wrestler from the other team he beats! Akito pointed out that even though this July Takagi will be taking a break from wrestling and Hayashi will be retiring, both of them are still finding success this late in the game. Hayashi said he’s been booked in a lot of nostalgic matches recently but this match is against first time opponents in Ueno & MAO. He wants to show them how he wants to see them fight and also have a match so exciting everyone will want to see it again.


Loads Of Injury Updates, Ohka To Wrestle 3 Matches In A Row, MMA Vs Tire Boxing, Vert Vixen Gets Princess Title Shot

May 10, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 2ND ROUND”, 11/05/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. 3 Way Tag Match: KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Poison Sawada JULIE, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Sanshiro Takagi
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kazusada Higuchi
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: To-y Vs MAO

Here’s the match order for King Of DDT Round 2. The match pitting two of The 37KAMIINA against each other gets the main event spot. The semi final pairings will be decided with a lottery held at the end of the show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 11/05/2024
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku Vs Uta Takami
2. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Shino Suzuki
4. Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI Vs Maki Itoh, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
6. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Mizuki, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami

A few changes to the undercard because Toga is too unwell to wrestle tomorrow. Yuki Aino is now facing Pom Harajuku. The tag match Harajuku was a part of has been changed into a 3 Way Match.

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

1. Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano Vs Chicharito Shoki & Daiju Wakamatsu
2. Minoru Fujita Vs SAGAT
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Jet Bar Vs Lil’ Kraken, Leo Isaka & Takahiro Katori
4. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster
5. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Daichi Kazato

More injuries to talk about. Takato Nakano dislocated his left shoulder during training this week so he is now out of action. He also tweeted about dealing with knee pain from time to time. He is hoping to recover from everything so and do his best to come back to the ring in perfect condition. Yasu Urano is moved into his spot in the opener of tomorrow’s BASARA show. Jet Bar (an alter ego of Thanomsak Toba) will be taking Urano’s place in the trios bout later in the show.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN MIYAGI”, 12/05/2024
Miyagi Yume Messe West Building Hall

1. Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul
4. Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

No way was Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul going to be the bloody semi-main event!

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi
4. MAO & To-y Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata
6. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match ~ Special 3 Way Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi (Special Referee: Danshoku Dieno)
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Antonio Honda

After getting examined, Rukiya’s injury has been diagnosed as a cervical sprain. He will be out of action for a while. The only change to this card is his removal from Danshoku Dieno’s match.

GANBARE☆PRO “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE 2024”, 18/05/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Ken Ohka, Banny Oikawa & Gabai Ji-chan vs Hartley Jackson, Choun-Shiryu & Yuna Manase
3. Ken Ohka & Baliyan Akki Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
4. Yumehito Imanari Vs Tyson Maeguchi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & Daisuke®️
6. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs YuuRI
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Kouki Iwasaki

It wasn’t meant to be this way but Ken Ohka is going to wrestle three times on this show! Munetatsu Nakamura pulled out because he is sick and HARUKAZE can’t show up because of a scheduling conflict. Apparently Ohka told management he is willing to work twice and step in to fight either Shigehiro Irie or Mizuki Watase. He didn’t expect to be given a tag match against both of them. He also didn’t expect to be put in a third match either! That right there is a lesson in being careful if you offer to do extra work at your job.

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

1. Future Is Here!: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Staggered Entry Tag Battle Royal “Surprise! Tag Rumble”: Keisuke Ishii & Akito Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Soma Takao & Shota Vs KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida Vs Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re Vs X & X
3. An Absolutely Outrageous Tag Match Between The Four Heavenly Kings Of The Variety Team: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Mixed Martial Arts Battle: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
5. THE Non-Stop Action Battle! ~Three High Speed Crows Vs Naniwa Pro Wrestling Three Musketeers~: Naruki Doi, Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuto Kikuchi, Harutoki & Kohei Kinoshita
6. Seisho Kogyo Co., Ltd. Presents Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
7. Tsuji Dental Clinic & Yasuda Dental Clinic Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match – “20 Years Ago THE OSAKA”: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai Vs Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
9. PANTASIA Presents Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
10. Triple Main Event Kagoshima no Dancho Presents Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
11. Triple Main Event Ondo Metal Co., Ltd. Presents Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
12. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki

A disagreement broke out between Bushimasa and Thanomsak Toba over what rules they will use for their match. Toba wanted to use MMA rules but Bushimasa wants the match to be a Tire Boxing fight! They eventually agreed to do one round each of both. Round 1 will be an MMA fight with a 3 minute time limit, submissions allowed and a 10 count for Knockout. Round 2 is Tire Boxing where both fighters keep a foot in the middle of a tire and box each other. Victory is achieved by knocking the opponent out of the tire 3 times or knocking them out with a 5 Count. If there is no winner after both rounds then the fight will be ruled a draw.

Here are the names of each of the tag teams entering the Rumble match. Keisuke Ishii & Akito are “Wakamori Generation!“, Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi are “Team Sneaky People“, Soma Takao & Shota are ROMANCE DAWN of course, KANON & MJ Paul are “DAMNATION T.A Special Attack Team“, Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida are “Dosukoi BURNING ~100% Yuki~” and Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re are “El Dorado Brother Combination?“.

Rukiya’s injury removes him from the opening match. The tag bout is now a 3 Way.

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

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

The event will have these three matches spread out across the day with different activities going on in between them. Saki Akai will be there to do a talk show for example.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PRISM ’24”, 09/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Vert Vixen

A video message was sent by Vert Vixen from America to Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier today. She is coming back to Japan this summer and has levelled up to the point where she wants to challenge Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title!


DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND” Results

May 5, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,025 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Soma Takao, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuni, Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (9:25).
0. Dark Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (0:09).
0a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (4:43).
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: MAO defeated Poison Sawada JULIE with the Iai Kick (9:16).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: To-y defeated KANON with a Frankensteiner (11:09).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Yuki Ueno with the Stone Cold Stunner (11:09).
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Iino with the Standing Crossover Face Lock (11:15).
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya with the Buchikamashi (14:12).
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Shuji Ishikawa defeated HARASHIMA with the Giant Slam (13:58).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Burning Tanetsuke Press (18:26).
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Chris Brookes defeated Takeshi Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb (15:53).

2004 was the year when DDT held its first King Of DDT tournament. It was not held on an annual basis until 2009 but the history of the tournament is filled with winners who have gone on to accomplish many things in DDT and pro wrestling as a whole. This year is the 20th anniversary of the first King Of DDT and the 18th edition of the event. The main show began with all of the 16 participants lining up in the ring for the opening ceremony.

The main event was all about SCHADENFREUDE International as two of its members faced off in the last of the Round 1 matches. Brookes had a special guest with him because Zack Sabre Jr. was there to be in his corner. Takeshi Masada wanted to win badly and tried using the Takatonic and the KOBU Mukimuki. He even tried to withstand the pain from taking an Avalanche Tiger Suplex but at that point Brookes just had to keep up the attack until he won. Masada had one last chance left when he countered the Praying Mantis Bomb but Brookes countered the Mukimuki, hit two Somatos and pinned Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb. After the match Brookes told Masada that any bad things he said about him at the press conference was lies and he really wanted him to do his best today. Backstage Brookes and Sabre talked up the tag match they are having at “ALL TOGETHER” tomorrow.

Meeting Brookes in the next round is Tetsuya Endo. He had to dig in deep to beat Danshoku Dieno because Dieno was ready to avoid the Burning Star Press at any opportunity. One of the counters Dieno pulled off was a top rope Frankensteiner! He also had Makoto Oishi interfering when the two of them gave Endo the 3D after the referee was knocked out with a Lip Lock. Dieno went into the Hell Gate position over the turnbuckles but it was Oishi who got a face full of the Gate. Endo then grabbed Dieno by the crotch and Headbutted his butt! When Endo climbed the top rope to finally hit the Burning Star Press, Dieno had one last idea to defend himself. He rolled over and stuck his butt into the air daring Endo to jump in. Endo did exactly what Dieno wanted except first he pulled off Dieno’s tights and then hit the Burning Star Press! He was able to turn Dieno over and pin him without exposing anything further to the crowd.

After the match El Desperado unexpectedly entered the ring while Oishi was getting Dieno’s trunks back on him. He has a lot to look forward to this summer but he isn’t here to talk about the Best Of The Super Juniors or his next DDT appearance at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Instead he pulled out two invitations for the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” event he is holding at Korakuen Hall on 10th June. The two invitations are for Dieno and a wrestler of his choice. If it was up entirely to Desperado he would have wanted his main event to be Pheromones Vs House Of Torture just so he could see Dieno chase EVIL around the ring. Dieno confirmed to him that Pheromones have disbanded and cannot be brought back. Desperado will give him the invitations anyway and trusts Dieno to find a suitable partner so they can do something similar to Pheromones at the show. Dieno asked if that means his partner does not have to be anybody from DDT? Desperado said yes, the choice is all up to Dieno and no one else.

One of the former King Of DDT winners Shuji Ishikawa returned with a bang by eliminating HARASHIMA in Round 1. HARASHIMA was able to kick out of the Splash Mountain, Running Knee Lift, Fire Thunder and also the Kamigoye. But he was a beaten man at that point and was finally put away with the Giant Slam. He will be facing Kazusada Higuchi in the next round and Higuchi met him in the ring after the match to give him a Headbutt! Backstage Ishikawa admitted he needs to improve his own conditioning. When he fights Higuchi he will either strike out or hit a home run. If the latter happens then nothing will stop Ishikawa from winning the tournament and then the KO-D Openweight Title!

Higuchi already got rid of one big boy to advance into Round 2. He beat Yukio Naya by wearing him down with the Brain Claw inbetween the moments of high impact moves between them. Naya finally went down to a series of Headbutts and struggled to get back to his feet to beat the 10 count. When he did stand back up, Higuchi was already in position to run him over with the Buchikamashi for the victory. As mentioned above, Higuchi is eager to face Ishikawa next.

Yuki Iino was almost unstoppable against Daisuke Sasaki but “Charisma” found a way to beat him eventually. Chair shots over the head and interference from MJ Paul didn’t work. Even trying to Spear Iino just had Sasaki bounce off of him. What did work was countering the Spear into a Pedigree in midair. It wasn’t enough to pin Iino but Sasaki was able to give him La Mistica Crossover Face Lock from there. Iino used his power to stand back up but Sasaki would not let go of the hold, keeping it on tight so Iino had no choice but to give up from the pain he was feeling in his shoulder. Sasaki bragged about showing off his power as the strongest wrestler in DDT.

There were a couple of upsets in Round 1. The biggest of perhaps the entire tournament is the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno losing to Sanshiro Takagi! This year’s King Of DDT looks to be Takagi’s last stand before he takes a break from being a wrestler and he could not have sent out a louder message for everyone to hear. They fought in the crowd so Takagi could knock Ueno down the stairs. Ueno fought back with a Moonsault out of the ring and also a Frog Splash in the ring. But he missed the BME, landing on his feet right there for Takagi to give him the Stunner for the shock three count! Takagi later said if he wins the tournament then he will challenge Ueno for the KO-D Title. Ueno does not want to end this with a loss and thinks Takagi must come challenge him for the title eventually.

The other big upset in the opening round is To-y advancing past KANON. He kept on getting hit with K-Spikes but fought back using the Kojima Wonderland. KANON avoided the Kojima Impace but got caught with a Frankensteiner for the upset loss. He heard KANON’s comments about Hideki Okatani during the week and is sure Okatani was supporting him rather than KANON. All he needs is a 1% chance of winning to turn it into a 100% chance! Meanwhile KANON can’t believe he lost in the first round again. After three years of trying he has never gotten past Round 1 in the King Of DDT.

It was a battle of magic and danger when MAO took on the very first King Of DDT winner Poison Sawada JULIE. The dreaded Snake Magic is Sawada’s main weapon. Using it causes the victim to raise their rattling hand in the air to show that Sawada can then make them do whatever he wants. However it turns out MAO has been learning the same dark magic and used his own version to fight back. The spells ended up knocking out Yukinori Matsui after they were deflected into his direction. MAO then summoned invisible baseball bats rigged with explosives that had its own warning siren to go with it. He and Sawada both hit each other with the bats, causing an invisible explosion every time. Sawada then blinded MAO with Poison Mist but couldn’t get the three count with the Choke Slam or the Maoi Of Easter. MAO had to defend himself from the magic and did so by spitting his own Mist in Sawada’s face. Sawada was then powerless to block the Iai Kick, ending the match and eliminating him from the tournament.

The King Of DDT Round 2 matches on 11th May will be MAO Vs To-y, Sanshiro Takagi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa and Tetsuya Endo Vs Chris Brookes.

One of the dark matches ended before Jun Akiyama could even enter the ring so they had to restart it on his orders. His team did their entrance again and the same thing almost happened a second time. However Akiyama was there to stop Oishi from quickly pinning Kazuki Hirata again so everyone could get a chance to wrestle. Later in the match everyone began to fight over the Hirata GO! Glasses. When Akiyama was the last man standing he decided to put them on. Right when he was about to dance Oishi pinned Hirata to cut the music and end the match.

The other dark match had Keigo Nakamura winning the bout for his team. Yuni & Ilusion both did dives onto Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku outside the ring. But Kazuma Sumi couldn’t follow up for his side and got pinned by Nakamura’s Diving Headbutt.

There were a few announcements for some of DDT’s upcoming shows. Minoru Suzuki will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. There will be a Street Pro Wrestling match held inside a sauna on 21st June with Sayaka Unagi as one of the participants. Unagi will also be at the 20th July Beer Garden show.


King Of DDT 2024 Press Conference

May 3, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuni, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku Vs Ilusion, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
0. Dark Match: Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1A: MAO Vs Poison Sawada JULIE
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1B: KANON Vs To-y
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1C: Yuki Ueno Vs Sanshiro Takagi
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1D: Yuki Iino Vs Daisuke Sasaki
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1E: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1F: HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1G: Tetsuya Endo Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1H: Chris Brookes Vs Takeshi Masada

A press conference was held at yesterday’s DDT fanfest featuring 14 of the 16 entrants in this year’s King Of DDT tournament. Takeshi Masada could not be there due to university commitments but sent in a message. The message said Masada does not want to get knocked out in the first round like he did last year. He will be in the main event against his stablemate Chris Brookes. Masada has learned a lot from being in SCHADENFREUDE International and sees this match as a challenge to surpass his friend. Brookes is last year’s winner and he brought the trophy with him. He is motivated to win the tournament again and go all the way to winning back the KO-D Openweight Title. However he admits he felt a little aimless after he lost the KO-D Title last year. He’s still motivated but felt something was missing.

Elsewhere Tetsuya Endo’s match against Danshoku Dieno has more meaning to it than you would think. Endo’s recent luck in King Of DDT hasn’t been good but he feels he has gotten into shape after winning the New Year’s Eve trios tournament and raching the final of the D-Oh Grand Prix. However Dieno means so much to DDT that Endo admits he is not as good of a pro wrestler as Dieno is. He thinks Dieno does not realize that though and for that reason Endo is confident he will win. Dieno said he is only concentrating on this match and has done a lot of studying for it. His entire game plan is going to be based around Endo using the Burning Star Press. He knows how to avoid it and also how to counter it. The percentage of him succeeding is low but if Dieno can nail the timing of the Burning Star Press being used against him, he can find a way to exploit it and beat Endo.

It’s been a while since a HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa match has happened. HARASHIMA is well aware of his big and strong Ishikawa is. He is also a believer that tomorrow is when a person will reach their peak so he will be stronger too. Both of them are evolving so he does not expect the match to be identical to their previous fights against each other. Ishikawa understands it takes a lot of training at his age to keep fit and HARASHIMA is older than he is. He had seen Yuki Ueno wrestle at Korkauen Hall last month and it made him realise all of DDT’s champions right now are young. He intends to last forever though. He also feels emotional about the tournament because he missed so many of them due to his affiliation with Union Pro at the time. When he finally got to have a proper go it was as an independant wrestler in 2016 and he won it that year. His hope is he will face Poison Sawada JULIE in the final.

An illness prevented Kazusada Higuchi from being at the event but he had a message written out for everyone. His thought process is the same, he will take it one match at a time. His 1st Round opponent is Yukio Naya so he will be focused the most on beating him. Naya is trying to repeat his success from the D-Oh Grand Prix so he can get another shot at the KO-D Title. He believes his momentum began when he beat Higuchi at the 2022 D-Oh GP. He wants to beat him again to take his place as the center of DDT’s heavyweight division.

There is a lot going on is Daisuke Sasaki’s mind. He knows if Yuki Iino hits him with the Spear in Round 1 it will be all over for him. However Sasaki realized some of the best wrestlers in the world right now like Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are all 38 years old. He is 38 years old so that means he is going to win! Iino has never beaten Sasaki in a singles match but is confident he can do it because of the Spear. He doesn’t know what direction it will come from but he will hit it. Also if age is a factor then Iino at 29 is the same as Shohei Ohtani and Yuzuru Hanyu. That means he is going to win, not Sasaki!

Sanshiro Takagi’s entry into the tournament has caught the attention of the wrestling press because of his age and also who he is facing in Round 1. The 54 year old is taking on the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno! He told Ueno that when he was his age it was a year into DDT’s existence and he worked as hard as he could to keep the company from collapsing. He wants to fight Ueno like he is 28 again. In order to do that he is thinking about visiting beauty salons and saunas to build up his stamina for a possible 60 minute long match. He also wants to keep his promise to Konosuke Takeshita. The promise is Takagi wins the KO-D Title one more time, Takeshita wins a singles title in AEW and the two of them will have a champion versus champion match together. Takeshita recently showing intentions to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title has only made Takagi’s wish become stronger. Ueno’s entire reign as champion has been about him proving he is the ace of DDT. Fighting the company president continues that story and will provide a look into DDT’s future. He will be in the main event of next week’s “ALL TOGETHER” show and wants to convey the fun that DDT brings to wrestling at that event.

It is To-y’s dream to win the KO-D Title so he is all revved up to be in the King Of DDT. KANON was unusually serious when he talked about looking forward to the match. He offered a handshake but To-y didn’t trust him. That caused KANON to burst into tears and claim he was told by Hideki Okatani to win the tournament. He then flipped out and attacked To-y putting him in the Cobra Twist. To-y promised to get revenge afterward.

There is a lot of nostalgia surrounding this year’s tournament because it is the 20th anniversary of the first one. The very first winner Poison Sawada JULIE is not feeling that nostalgia. He knows just how clever and tricky MAO is to fight. He is going to be careful but is confident he will win because of his magic spells. MAO said this year’s tournament is the turning point of DDT and he is that turning point. He has a counter for Sawada’s spells and that is to point somewhere so Sawada loses attention and then punch him in the face. Sawada sees the funny side of MAO’s idea and suggested the entire match just be them casting spells at each other.


DDT In NOAH Limit Break Results

May 1, 2024

NOAH “THE LEAVE PRESENTS LIMIT BREAK EX.”, 27/04/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall
314 Fans

2. Atsushi Kotoge & Black Menso-re defeated Jun Akiyama & Rukiya when Kotoge pinned Rukiya with the Killswitch (14:32).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Hi69 with the Burning Star Press (15:24).
4. Go Shiozaki, Kazuyuki Fujita & Mohammed Yone Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
4a. Emergency Decision Match: Go Shiozaki, Kazuyuki Fujita & Mohammed Yone defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when Shiozaki pinned Iino with the Strong Arm Lariat (4:41).

Forgot to write about this last when it happened last week. I have to do a better job keeping track of DDT’s entry into NOAH. The second “LIMIT BREAK” show had more inter-promotional matches between the two companies. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya found themselves teaming with Shuji Ishikawa for a match against TEAM NOAH that lasted the entire 20 minute time limit. The visiting team still wanted to fight and convinced the NOAH wrestlers to restart the match. The home side won the rematch thanks to Go Shiozaki hitting Iino with the Strong Arm Lariat. Even though the end result wasn’t what the DDT wrestlers wanted, they and Ishikawa took a moral victory by getting a time limit draw and restart in the first place. Iino even blamed NOAH for changing the rules even though his team asked for the restart. The three of them said they want to wrestle the NOAH side even more. In fact, Naya thinks DDT is stronger than NOAH and will prove it to Mohammed Yone if he ever comes over to DDT.

Tetsuya Endo had a singles match against Hi69 and beat him with the Burning Star Press. The two did not shake hands afterwards but according to Endo it was not out of spite. He respects Hi69 and didn’t shake his hand because he thinks there is still more in the fight between them. But Endo also has a bigger reason for showing up in NOAH. He wants to beat Go Shiozaki and demands a singles match between them take place as soon as possible!

DDT lost the other tag match on the show when Jun Akiyama & Rukiya were beaten by Atsushi Kotoge & Black Menso-re. After the match Kotoge called out Akiyama for hiding behind younger wrestlers and challenged him to a singles match. Akiyama took offence to the comments and accepted the challenge for the next “LIMIT BREAK” show. He also took his anger out on Rukiya for taking the fall. He ordered Rukiya not to talk because in NOAH you don’t get to make any comments when you lose. Akiyama would have done the same if Kotoge hadn’t challenged him to a match.


DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT” Results

April 26, 2024

DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT”, 26/04/2024
Tokyo Higashin Arena (Sumida City Gymnasium)
687 Fans

0. Dark Match – 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuni and Ilusion when Sumi pinned Yuni with a School Boy (7:39).
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Cannonball 450 (13:26).
*V8 for MAO.
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku defeated Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Higuchi submitted Rukiya with the Canadian Backbreaker (11:41).
3. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) defeated Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Masada pinned Matsunaga with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (7:44).
*V2 for SCHADENFREUDE International & Mecha Mummy.
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Unagi defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with the Stunner (7:46).
*Sanshiro Unagi becomes the 1,626th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi defeated Sanshiro Unagi (c) with a School Boy (6:23 pm).
*Sayaka Unagi becomes the 1,627th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Unagi defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with a School Boy (6:25 pm).
*Sanshiro Unagi becomes the 1,628th champion.
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Shunma Katsumata & To-y when Endo pinned To-y with the Burning Star Press (11:16).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Zeestar defeated Sanshiro Unagi (c) with a Body Press (7:03 pm).
*Zeestar becomes the 1,629th champion.
6. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Kazuki Hirata (w/ Adachi Tamasuke) with the Somato (12:17).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (15:28).
*D.O.A fails in V5. DAMNATION T.A becomes the 54th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Akito with the WR (28:42).
*V4 for Yuki Ueno.

It was a long shot from the beginning over Akito’s chances of winning the KO-D Openweight Title. His plan over time was to wear down Yuki Ueno both physically and then mentally in the prelim matches building up to this bout. Ultimately the plan did not work out but Ueno had to work hard for half an hour to retain his championship. By targeting the knee Akito was able to avoid the WR several times. He also unexpectedly adopted some of Danshoku Dieno’s signature moves to try and win. But Ueno was finally able to land his finisher and get the victory. He was full of praise for Akito after the match and he wants to share his dream of bringing DDT all the way to the Tokyo Dome! Akito thanked Ueno by directly presenting him with the winner’s prize for the main event, since he is also the company vice president.

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles now belong to DAMNATION T.A again and they don’t want to defend it against anybody! KANON in particular had to go through so much to win the belts. He has been the target of Dieno’s affections lately and that continued with Dieno chasing him all the way up to the balcony seats. KANON got some revenge back in the ring when he was thrown towards Dieno’s Hell Gate and he blocked it with a Volleyball Spike to the rear. Jun Akiyama then found himself getting a face full of the Hell Gate. That left Makoto Oishi alone to fight off both Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul but he couldn’t survive. Sasaki put him in the Crossface Lock and he tapped out. Originally D.O.A said they were going to disband as soon as they lost the titles but plans have now changed. Oishi is annoyed that neither Dieno or Akiyama came to save him but he’s not going to break up the unit just yet. He forced the three of them to shake each other’s hands backstage and continue to do their best as Dead Or Alive!

Kazuki Hirata brought out an unknown person to the ring for his match and introduced him as his disciple Adachi Tamasuke. He was allowed by HARASHIMA to stick around at ringside to learn about the business. Whenever HARASHIMA was about to beat Hirata with the Somato, Tamasuke would interrupt the match to ask HARASHIMA questions. That allowed Hirata to recover and try to fight back. HARASHIMA soon lost his temper and slammed him out of frustration. As Tamasuke drifted into unconsciousness he told Hirata all he ever wanted was to see his master do his famous Rainmaker move. Hirata had to tell Tamasuke he confused him for someone else. So instead Tamasuke wished for Hirata and HARASHIMA to dance together. They did but it was all a trap for Tamasuke to grab HARASHIMA and hold him in place. The trap failed and Hirata accidentally knocked out his disciple. He still rolled up HARASHIMA in the Miracle One Shot Cradle but he kicked out and beat Hirata with the Somato. Hirata admitted he hired Tamasuke to become his disciple and he might not have the money to continue training him.

In a non-title match BURNING defeated The 37KAMIINA in a regular tag bout. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino were happy to win their match at the Higashin Arena but both admit they have no emotional connection to the place. They are now turning their attention to the King Of DDT tournament and think they may wind up fighting each other in the final. No matter who wins they want to show the tournament will be about BURNING! It was To-y who took the fall in the match and he is angry over it. He knows it is a single elimination tournament so he cannot afford to lose after working so hard to win the D GENERATIONS CUP and qualify for this. Shunma Katsumata won’t be in the tournament but hearing To-y’s words gave him motivation for the next DDT Extreme Title defence.

Whenever you fight Sanshiro Takagi you can never know what idea he will come up with. You may even find yourself fighting… yourself! Sayaka Unagi was in for a shock when Takagi entered the ring dressed and painted head to toe just like her. He had become Sanshiro Unagi! They fought each other Hardcore style with fire extinguishers, plastic cases and even a castle of chairs getting knocked over outside the ring. Sanshiro kicked out of the Sliding U and suffered a slight wardrobe malfunction when Sayaka accidentally pulled his wig off. The awkward moment left a big enough pause for Sanshiro to give her a Stunner and win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title! He explained after the match that Unagi has become a great wrestler who is also famous among people who are not wrestling fans. Takagi dressing up like her today is proof of that! Unagi said she always thought Dramatic Dream Team was a genius idea for a name and she will continue to work hard so she can one day surpass Takagi. She offered a handshake and then surprised Takagi with a roll up to win back the Iron Man Title! Takagi gave her credit and said since they are both from Toyonaka City they should team up as the Unagi Warriors. They left the ring together but then Takagi rolled up Unagi at the entrance to win the Iron Man Title again!

There was another Iron Man Title change later in the show. After Match #5 had finished, DDT and the Zeekstar Tokyo handball team held a few challenges in the venue. First the mascot Zeestar beat Pokotan in a sumo contest. Then Takagi, still in his Unagi costume was encouraged to play in goal for a game of handball where he was obliterated by shots from the Zeekstar team. He was left beaten and laying on the ground so Zeestar decided to pin him and win the title!

The wacky history of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles can now finally say that a champion team had more than one title defence. SCHADENFREUDE International successfully retained the titles against Toro Owashi and his merry men (he claims there is a secret bond between sumo and parliament which explains his team choices). Mecha Mummy felt left out at some points because it was too heavy to get involved with the tag team moves but it made a big impact using the Mecha Drill on all five opponents. The challengers tried fighting back with Tomomitsu Matsunaga hitting Tommy Bombers and Shinichiro Kawamatsu using the Shitamachi Rocket finisher but Takeshi Masada won the match for his team. Chris Brookes said he loves the 10-Man Tag Titles and wants to defend them in other places like Baka Gaijin + Friends. He will also be fighting Masada in the King Of DDT 1st Round. Both Antonio Honda & Masahiro Takanashi are staying neutral for the match.

More King Of DDT preparation was shown on the undercard with Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Naya facing off in a tag match. Yuya Koroku and Rukiya were there to be thrown around by the heavyweights. Higuchi got the last hit in on Naya by knocking him off the ring apron with a Lariat. He then made Rukiya submit to the Canadian Backbreaker. Higuchi thinks Naya has gotten stronger since their last singles match against each other but he will not lose to him again. Naya said he wants to prove he is better than Higuchi.

The return of Keigo Nakamura from injury had bigger stakes attached to it when MAO agreed to defend the DDT Universal Title against him. Nakamura wrestled in a new costume and showed some HARASHIMA influence by hitting a Reverse Frankensteiner followed by the Somato. A missed Diving Headbutt stopped his momentum and MAO took over, eventually winning with the Cannonball 450. MAO congratulated Nakamura on his return and told it takes more than just winning to become a strong pro wrestler. You get strong by wrestling a hundred matches a year without getting injured. He encouraged Nakamura to continue wrestling so he can grow stronger.

In the pre-show Kazuma Sumi won in a 3 Way Match. Yuni had things in control when he gave Ilusion a Swinging DDT. He then missed the Phoenix Splash aimed for Sumi and Sumi pinned him with a MIKAMI style School Boy.