The annual King Of DDT tournament is back once again for shows in June and July. There will be 16 entrants this year and a lottery will be used in the semi-finals to determine who faces who. The 16 participants are:
DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 1ST ROUND”, 16/06/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
3. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
4. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
5. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
6. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
7. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
8. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: X Vs X
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DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 2ND ROUND”, 19/06/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: X Vs X
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: X Vs X
3. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: X Vs X
4. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: X Vs X
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DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 FINAL!!”, 03/07/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: X Vs X
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: X Vs X
3. King Of DDT 2022 – Final: X Vs X
DDT “AUDIENCE 2022”, 22/05/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 529 Fans
1. Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuki Ishida with the Harai Goshi (5:45).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda when Akito submitted Honda with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (10:52).
3. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazuki Hirata with the WR (9:13).
4. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence Full-Scale Battle ~ Special Hardcore Match: Suzu Suzuki & Akane Fujita defeated Carousel❤️Shun & Elizabeth❤️Toy when Suzuki pinned Toy with the German Suplex (12:18).
5. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Ilusion & El Unicorn when Koroku submitted Unicorn with a Crab Hold (14:38).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Asuka defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) when MAO pinned Brookes with the Osaka Rinkai Upper (14:08). *CDK fails in V3. MAO & Asuka become the 74th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles Tournament – Final: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Sasaki submitted Okatani with the Crossface Lock (20:04). *DAMNATION T.A become the 46th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
An unlikely figure has taken it upon himself to defend DDT against NOAH at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” next month. It’s Daisuke Sasaki! First he led DAMNATION T.A to victory against Eruption, reclaiming the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles that were stripped from them after Minoru Fujita’s injury. This wasn’t the heroic bit because Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON attacked Eruption with chairs. Sasaki even hit Saki Akai with a chairshot when she tried to intervene. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi did what they could to keep Hideki Okatani in the fight but that was blown when Okatani missed the Diving Knee Drop. KANON softened him up more and Sasaki gave him the Blade Runner to set up a Crossface Lock for the submission victory.
Sasaki said his team deserved to win this “stupid” tournament. He recommended Okatani to get rid of his tacky red hair and costume so he can join DAMNATION T.A. He then praised KANON as a million dollar talent. This was when Sasaki stepped up for DDT and declared he will beat Kenoh at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” for the company. He warned the rest of DDT not to stand there and just watch the match. They are the champions now which means DDT revolves around Daisuke Sasaki & DAMNATION T.A! Meanwhile Eruption are licking their wounds. Sakaguchi said they will learn from the loss and adapt because any combination of unit is capable of winning the championship. Higuchi said he will rampage against the NOAH wrestlers as an individual member of Eruption while Sakaguchi said he will take his frustration out on Ganbare☆Pro!
History was made with Asuka becoming the first woman to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles! With MAO as her tag partner, they defeated CDK in a chaotic bout that saw MAO get buried underneath the entrance gate early in the match. MAO escaped and then used the entrance gate to Moonsault onto Chris Brookes below. Asuka did her own risky high flying by delivering a Missile Dropkick to CDK and Antonio Honda outside the ring. More double team moves came quick and fast from both teams until MAO used the Michinoku Driver II on Brookes to get the upper had. Brookes tried to reverse course but MAO pulled out the Osaka Rinkai Upper (a Super Delfin signature move) to create the title change. MAO said he doesn’t now how long this adventure with Asuka can go but he is going to enjoy it. Asuka didn’t expect to cry over this and thinks they can make something amazing together even as an impromptu tag team. MAO will also now be a double champion defending the DDT Universal Title against Masahiro Takanashi on 1st June.
The present and future of DDT in many forms were put together into an 8-Man Tag Match. All of BURNING was on one side and they were victorious against the mixture of heavyweight tag and DDTeeeen!! wrestlers. El Unicorn wanted to be put to the test and targeted both Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama. The latter lost his cool towards Unicorn’s behavior and Yusuke Okada had to stop Akiyama from Piledriving the kid. When that was cleared, Okada had his hands full with fighting Ilusion. If that wasn’t enough, Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya also wanted a piece of Endo when they could. Unicorn took centre stage again by pairing off against Yuya Koroku in the final moments. The youngster showed his toughness by gutting it out for as long as he could but Koroku made him give up in the end. Akiyama was still annoyed afterwards that the others stopped him from giving Unicorn the Piledriver. Both Unicorn and Ilusion were disappointed with the result. Unicorn promised to get more experience. Ilusion reminded him they aren’t friends and he will beat him up on the way to surpassing Endo & Akiyama.
After weeks of teasing from Carousel❤️Shun, her shy friend Elizabeth❤️Toy finally made her first public appearance as the Super Hardcore Girls took on the Prominence pair of Suzu Suzuki & Akane Fujita. Toy entered to “All The Things She Said” by t.A. T.u. and wrestled in clothes that came straight from that act. It was a Hardcore Match featuring tables, Lego blocks, ladders, concrete blocks and more. Shun missed a baseball bat swing aimed for Suzuki and hit Toy instead. Suzuki capitalized and pinned Toy with the German Suplex onto the ring filled with Lego. After the match she demanded to fight Shunma Katsumata instead of an “old hag” like Shun. Shun claimed she is 18 years old and will go get Katsumata. She also wants to do a full Super Hardcore Girls show in the future. Fujita later said she is open to have Prominence involved in that if there really are more Super Hardcore Girls out there. She also told Suzuki to work on her vocabulary because she keeps using the same old insults on Katsumata.
The promise of an exciting match against Yuki Ueno had Kazuki Hirata acting different today. He came out to his old theme song and even threw away his Hirata GO! glasses to show how determined he was to win. He wrestled seriously for five minutes but when it was clear he couldn’t beat Ueno he pulled out another pair of GO! glasses and returned to his normal self. Ueno had a pair of glasses too and they both danced together until Hirata tried to Cradle his opponent. Ueno hit the WR on him instead and won the match. Hirata said he wants the rematch to be a death match but it doesn’t have to happen until 23 years time.
Akito’s plan to infiltrate Pheromones and destroy it from within hit a snag. He reluctantly joined in with their shenanigans against HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda and even picked up the win. However Danshoku Dieno told Akito after the match he didn’t exhibit any pheromones at all. He will need to pass the Excalibur Challenge to join the unit. The challenge involves Akito having to pull a sword sticking out of Yuki Iino’s butt. He tried it there and then but failed. Dieno then explained you can only do the challenge once per day so Akito will have to try again tomorrow. Sanshiro Takagi is holding a promotional event tomorrow so they will do it there.
Naomi Yoshimura’s use of the Harai Goshi judo throw continues to get him wins. This time the move put down Yuki Ishida in the opening match.
The full field of 16 wrestlers were announced for the King Of DDT 2022 tournament beginning next month. They are Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, MAO, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani, Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON and Yuki Iino.
Kota Umeda will return to DDT for the first time in 3 years at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” on 20th August. Umeda was a key part of DNA, DDT’s developmental brand that ran from 2014 to 2018. He briefly left pro wrestling in 2019 to help run his family business but returned on a part-time basis in 2020.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan 835 Fans
0. Dark Match: KANON defeated Yuya Koroku with the Just Cobra Twist (7:22).
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida when Yoshimura pinned Ishida with a Harai Goshi (9:33).
1. Shinya Aoki defeated Toui Kojima with a Leg Lock (5:04).
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi when JULIE submitted Hirata with the Cattle Mutilation (8:45). *V1 for Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba.
3. Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata defeated Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when Katsumata pinned Okatani with the Totonou Splash (10:28).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari when Imabayashi pinned Dieno with a Jackknife Pin (16:55).
5. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao when Sasaki submitted Takao with the Crossface Lock (10:43).
6. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato when Higuchi pinned HARASHIMA with the Brain Claw (14:25).
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Asuka with the Cannonball 450 (13:56). *V2 for MAO.
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Kitai Jisho Group K.O. GYM Presents: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada when Takanashi pinned Okada with a Cradle (21:09). *V2 for CDK.
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) defeated Yuki Ueno with the Burning Star Press (31:17). *V1 for Tetsuya Endo.
Golden Week continued with DDT’s big offering for the holidays held inside Yokohama Budokan. It was Yuki Ueno’s chance to take the top spot and be the one to lead DDT into a new direction. Tetsuya Endo though just claimed the headline role for himself and isn’t going to be giving it up anytime soon. Some vital rope breaks kept the match alive for Endo after Ueno had him beaten, first with the WR and then with a Sleeper Hold. Ueno attempted to set up his Wrist Clutch variation the WR Unlimited but Endo blocked the move. Instead Endo launched the comeback hitting an Exploder Suplex, a Modified One-Winged Angel and then the Burning Star Press to put his opponent away. While Ueno was carried out of the ring by his teammates, Endo said he will deal with him again when Ueno learns how to turn today’s regrets into having fun with his beliefs. Kenta Kobashi then entered the ring to present the KO-D Openweight Title to Endo.
With the KO-D Title successfully defended inside a new venue, Endo said today he engraved his name on a new page of DDT history. He believes the company has potential can grow bigger from here and he is the only one who can make that happen. However he does admit that he cannot achieve this by himself. He made a decision not to choose his next challenger. He does not care who it will be as long as they have confidence and he thinks they are a suitable representative for DDT. Sanshiro Takagi praised the main event and wonders if the sight of young wrestlers doing their best can get the audience emotionally drawn into their matches. He also likes Yokohama Budokan as a venue and hopes to continue running shows there.
Nobody can stop CDK from using the referee as a weapon when they want to! They were able to physically manipulate Yukinori Matsui into Power Bombing Yusuke Okada for an unfair advantage. Jun Akiyama, who has been the strongest critic of this kind of dirty tactics, was quick to respond by giving Chris Brookes the Exploder Suplex. Okada took over from there focusing his attacks on Masahiro Takanashi. But victory slipped out of his fingers when Takanashi countered the Sudden Death into an Inside Cradle for a flash three count. Later backstage Brookes said he respects Akiyama but will not change his wrestling style for him, because his style is the DDT style.
CDK’s future plans were set in stone afterward when MAO & Asuka entered the ring. The two of them decided to team up and challenge CDK for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Takanashi told MAO he will accept the challenge but only if MAO agrees to give him a DDT Universal Title shot. Asuka interrupted MAO and accepted the deal on his behalf. The KO-D Tag Title match will take place on 22nd May and the DDT Universal Title match will happen on 1st June.
MAO and Asuka had just finished fighting each other for the Universal Title before their reappearance later in the show. Even though MAO previously refused Asuka’s request to do a Hardcore Match, he still pulled out a plastic box to use as a weapon. Asuka ended up Choke Slamming him through the box. MAO got the upper hand and almost won with the Michinoku Driver II, a move Asuka had previously pinned him with. That didn’t work here but MAO did get the win once he hit the Cannonball 450. The two shook hands after the match, setting up their return for later. MAO said he wants to defend the Universal Title against a wide range of different challengers and unknown foreigners.
Hikaru Sato returned to DDT and Yukio Sakaguchi was right there waiting for him. Their early exchanges had them giving each other Snapmares followed by a Football Kick to the back. HARASHIMA and Kazusada Higuchi carried the second half of the match. Higuchi countered the Somato with a Power Bomb. HARASHIMA tried to block the Brain Claw Slam but Higuchi persisted and used the Brain Claw to pin his rival for the three count. Sakaguchi said the match felt like he went back in time to nine years ago. Higuchi has confidence to become more aggressive because there were three former KO-D Champions involved but he was the one who got the win.
After weeks of teases and threats of betrayal, it was time for DAMNATION T.A to reveal their newest member. It’s KANON! In the time between his dark match and the DAMNATION T.A match, KANON dyed his hair and changed into a new costume to fit in with his new alignment. The injured Minoru Fujita was also at ringside grabbing Yukio Naya’s leg to give his team the advantage. The other side still had Yuji Hino though so it was still a tough match. Daisuke Sasaki had to distract the referee so KANON could hit Soma Takao with a chair. Sasaki then applied the Crossface Lock on Takao to make him submit. He later said KANON is not in DDT to play games. DAMNATION T.A wants to reach the top in the shortest possible time which is why they recruited KANON. Then when Fujita is cleared to wrestle again their momentum will be unstoppable!
Everyone got a big surprise after that match was over and the ring emptied. Kenoh from NOAH walked out! He got on the microphone and said DDT fans have been watching fake wrestlers but now a real wrestler has arrived. He called DDT an arts and crafts show filled with a pampered roster of people. He blames Sanshiro Takagi for this and demands he leave the pro wrestling business! But first he wants to fight Takagi at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” on 12th June. Suddenly Sasaki got back into the ring and faced off with Kenoh. He said if Kenoh wants a match then he should fight the best wrestler in DDT instead of a third rate wrestler like Takagi. Kenoh said Takagi is not even a fifth rate wrestler. He also thought Sasaki was the only sane person in DDT but it is clear he isn’t if he is standing up for them. Kenoh accepted Sasaki’s challenge for a singles match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”.
Hisaya Imabayashi was put into the fight of his life. His feud with Pheromones reached its climax right here with his children in attendance to see it. The skill gap was still gigantic but the DDT GM fought to his limit while AKIRA and Muscle Sakai did their best to keep their team in the match. Pheromones were up to their usual tricks like Yumehito Imanari spraying his opponents with a fire extinguisher in a lewd manner. Danshoku Dieno put Imabayashi in a Knee Cross that looked to be the finish until Imabayashi’s kids approached ringside cheering for their dad to keep fighting until he reached the ropes. Dieno lifted him up to do a Danshoku Driver in front of the children but AKIRA cut him off and Imabayashi rolled Dieno over into a Jackknife Pin for the upset victory!
Imabayashi thanked his two sons for their help and then told Pheromones this was the end of their conflict. However he has one request. He would like to see AKIRA hold a championship again so he wants him to challenge Yuki Iino for the DDT Extreme Title! AKIRA is happy to take that request and agreed with Iino to have the match on 1st June.
In mixed tag action Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata beat the Eruption duo of Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani. The match briefly brought back the rivalry between Akai and Yukihi since they have been on good terms since their match at “JUDGEMENT 2022”. Yukihi politely interrupted Akai’s post match interview backstage. The match they just had made Yukihi wonder what will happen if they have another singles bout against each other. Akai thought she wanted them to form the only two woman tag team in DDT but Yukihi convinced her to have one more singles match before they do that.
There was another big story coming out of that tag match. Prominence came out after the match and attacked Katsumata! Suzu Suzuki wants to get revenge for him beating her in the King Of Street Wrestling. Every day since then she has only gotten angrier at Katsumata because she lost to him. She will never forgive him until they have a rematch. Katsumata said he already beat Suzuki so he will never fight her again!
The DDT Legend team hold on to the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. Their first title defence was against a collection of undercard DDT wrestlers along with special guest and former champion Yoshiaki Yatsu. There was a moment when Kazuki Hirata almost overpowered Poison Sawada JULIE with his own magic power. JULIE stopped him and made him give up to the Cattle Mutilation. Now DDT has a scheduling problem with the reigning champions. Takashi Sasaki said he doesn’t feel like coming back to DDT unless they bring in big competition. His logic is if the complete team (including Naomi Susan) cannot get together for a title defence then they will be champions forever! However MIKAMI said he can adjust his schedule for future title defences. GENTARO is the same because he’s happy to get the work.
Toui Kojima tried using the Triangle Choke to beat Shinya Aoki but didn’t have the experience to make it work. Aoki stayed patience and found his spot to put Kojima in a Leg Lock, making the young wrestler tap. Backstage Aoki asked if Kojima wants DDT to become the No. 1 wrestling company. Kojima said he does so he can become stronger. Aoki joked they will have to beat the competition one by one so their first target is Stardom.
There were two dark matches before the show. The heavyweight team of Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura were victorious against Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida. Owashi and Honda teased kissing each other. Yoshimura used the Harai Goshi throw from Judo to pin Ishida.
KANON’s earlier appearance with his previous look was when he won against Yuya Koroku. KANON talked about Koroku potentially becoming a rival. As a hint of what was to come later, KANON said he would never have left JTO if he was just going to stop at this level. He told the fans to keep an eye on him.
It was announced that Dick Togo will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” on 20th August.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan
0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuno
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
8. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
A press conference for the show was held at duo MUSIC EXCHANGE in Shibuya earlier today. Yuki Ueno said his motivation is to beat Tetsuya Endo and become an even more wonderful KO-D Openweight Champion than him. Endo thinks Ueno has not yet reached the point where he can be the champ. He has a good face, good body and good movement but is still a flimsy pro wrestler. That is why Endo thinks this match had not caught much attention, because it can’t capture the excitement that Endo versus Konosuke Takeshita had.
Asuka made a point to MAO about presence by showing up to the press conference wearing a gorgeous, sparkling outfit. She pushed her point even further by asking to turn the DDT Universal Title match into a Hardcore match. MAO refused because he does not want the Universal Title to be confused with the DDT Extreme Title. Instead he promised to beat Asuka in 3 minutes and 70 seconds (not a typo)! They posed for a photo together and MAO gave Asuka the middle finger. In return she kicked him below the belt and stomped on him with her high heels.
There was a lot of talk about excitement with the KO-D Tag Team Titles match too. Jun Akiyama heard from Emi Sakura that CDK are making ChocoPro more exciting so he was interested to see what they are like. His opinion on them soured once he saw the ways they get the referee involved in their matches. Masahiro Takanashi explained they do that because they want to win. Akiyama then asked if they would ever dare treat Kyohei Wada that way? Takanashi’s answer is he won’t know unless Wada shows up. Yusuke Okada wants to bring pro wrestling to people who are not wrestling fans but he is worried these kind of antics will turn them off. Chris Brookes defends it because it is the DDT style and that style attracted him over here in the first place. He would be honored if Wada was the referee for this match and it would make him happy to see Wada do a Headscissors. Although Akiyama hates to see referees treated this way, he is interested in seeing different styles clashing against each other and expects to see it more when he and Okada win the belts.
In a blast from the past, Hikaru Sato showed up dressed as a cat maid. He did it thinking he was going to reunite with Michael Nakazawa today. Things are very different from when he was a regular in DDT which both terrifies and excites him. He was born a Pancrase fighter but DDT made him into a pro wrestler so he wants to go on a rampage after being away for so long. HARASHIMA is looking forward to teaming with him because it brings back nostalgic feelings for both himself and old DDT fans. Yukio Sakaguchi said he wouldn’t be here in DDT if it wasn’t for Sato and Nakazawa. He wants Sato to enjoy the DDT that he does not know, which is represented by Kazusada Higuchi.
The press conference ended with Pheromones attacking Hisaya Imabayashi and posing over his prone body.
Kenta Kobashi will be at the show for commentary and to be the witness for the main event.
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao Vs Yuki Ishida
1. KANON Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. Special Tag Match: Shishamo Power & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
5. DAMNATION T.A Vs Eruption!: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
6. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Asuka & Yuji Hino
7. Road To MEGA MAX BUMP 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
A few slight changes was made to the card after Minoru Fujita pulled out with an orbital floor fracture. Yukio Sakaguchi was taken out of Match #5 and moved over to Match #3. Yumehito Imanari is also added to that match to make it an even 6-Man Tag.
The entire show will air live on DDT’s Youtube channel.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 23/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Final – Nagano Kawanakajima Battleground Site: Abdullah Kobayashi Vs Chris Brookes
It is Yokohama Vs United Kingdom in the Sengoku battlefield of Kawanakajima!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 24/04/2022 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Yuki Aino Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Yuki Kamkifuku & Haruna Neko Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
4. Hyper Misao Vs Raku
5. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku
6. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Yuki Arai Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Moka Miyamoto
Shoko Nakajima is absent from the show because she will be in London this weekend wrestling against Alex Windsor at an EVE event.
GANBARE☆PRO “POCCHARI JOSHI PRO WRESTLING 3 ~WAIST SPOOFING SIDE STORY~”, 26/04/2022 Saitama Wrestle Butokan
1. Special Poccha Libre Match ~Fighting Illustrator Vs American Drag Queen From The Philippines~: Yappy Vs Beauty Suzuki (w/ 643 Mangaritsutsua)
2. PocchaJo New Chapter ~Fighting Weather Reporter Vs Former Weightlifting Women’s Triple Crown Champion~: Moeka Haruhi Vs Maika Ozaki
3. PocchaJo 3rd Anniversary Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Yuna Manase
The very first Pocchari Joshi show was built around Yumehito Imanari taking on his muse Yuna Manase. To celebrate the brand’s 3rd anniversary it is time to run that match back!
As mentioned in the match title, Maika Ozaki is an accomplished high school weightlifter turned pro wrestler. She was trained by Manase in Actwres girl’Z and spent most of her wrestling career as a freelancer, although most of her time is spent in Ice Ribbon. Kind of surprising then it took her this long to show up in Ganbare☆Pro given her connection with Manase.
DDT “JUST BEFORE YOKOHAMA BUDOKAN! ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN I-CANAL STREET”, 29/04/2022 Yokohama i-Canal Street
1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
DDT is going to be in Yokohama for a few days at the end of the month so let’s fit in a Falls Count Anywhere match! i-Canal Street, formerly known as Ishikawacho, is located near the Yokohama Budokan so DDT is promoting their big show their on 1st May with a free match along with an autograph session and on-site ticket sales.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO GO DO IT”, 05/05/2022 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Osaka Special 8-Woman Tag Match: Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo Vs Maki Itoh, Princess Of Princess Champion & Princess Tag Team Champions
All four Tokyo Joshi Pro champions will team together for an 8-Woman Tag Match in Osaka. However since the Princess Of Princess Title and the Princess Tag Team Titles are being defended on 3rd May, there may be new champions teaming with Maki Itoh by the time this match happens. TJPW don’t want to tip their hand here. So Itoh will team with Nakajima or Hyper Misao and Magical Sugar Rabbits or Free WiFi.
1. Yuna Manase Triumphant Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari, Kaji Tomato & Yuna Manase Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shota & Ayame Sasamura
Kaji Tomato and Ayame Sasamura are invited along to Yuna Manase’s hometown return.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs X
Just confirmation that the KO-D Openweight Title and DDT Universal Title will both be defended at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” this August. There will be more defences for both titles between now and then so who knows how long Tetsuya Endo and MAO will last as champions.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2022”, 10/04/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 580 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Toui Kojima & El Unicorn when Koroku pinned Kojima with a Hold Down Triangle Choke (6:57).
0. Dark Match – Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata defeated Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi when Hirata pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (6:53).
1. KANON defeated Yuki Ishida with the Modified Cobra Twist (4:34).
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya when Takanashi pinned Naya after the Everclear (13:19). *V1 for CDK.
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) when Fujita pinned Dieno with the Modified Samson Clutch (10:37). *Pheromones fail in V3. DAMNATION T.A become the 45th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
4. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi defeated Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto when Akai pinned Matsumoto with the Rookie Award (7:15).
5. Special Single Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Sudden Death (8:51).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs Eruption!: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani when Ueno pinned Okatani with the BME (10:34).
7. Tetsuya Endo 10th Anniversary Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (20:16).
Here’s to ten years of Tetsuya Endo and here’s to ten years more. Some of the most important faces from his past and present gathered together for a DDT all star trios main event. Endo had Jun Akiyama and Yukio Sakaguchi on his team to take on Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda. It ended up with Endo and Honda exchanging Bionic Elbows until Endo cut him off with an Overhead Kick. Endo couldn’t put Honda away with the Torture Rack Bomb so he busted out the Burning Star Press for the victory.
Endo spoke about having his debut match a few months before Sakaguchi joined the company. He thanked HARASHIMA for supporting him since day one and said Honda was like a father raising him in Happy Motels. Takeshita was leaving ringside when Endo suddenly called out to him. He understands Takeshita going overseas is a big deal and told him not to worry because DDT will remain interesting as long as Endo is the KO-D Openweight Champion. He will prove it when he defends the title against Takeshita’s friend Yuki Ueno on 1st May. Endo also wants everyone to know that he will be the winner of course. Ueno got on the microphone and said he will beat Endo. He is confident he will have more wonderful days as KO-D Champion than Endo, Takeshita and even HARASHIMA! Takeshita told both of them that DDT in Japan is in good hands with either of them as the champion. Endo had one last thing to tell Takeshita. He still hates him. Ueno still loves him though.
Before everyone left the ring to end the show, Yusuke Okada asked Akiyama for his attention. He said he hasn’t been part of DDT long enough to know their history but he wants to do more to support the version of BURNING Endo has built. To do that Okada wants to himself and Akiyama to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles! The two of them were granted permission from Hisaya Imabayashi to make the challenge. CDK emerged at the entrance and both agreed to do the title match on 1st May. Endo encouraged his stablemates to win the belts so all eyes at the Yokohama Budokan will be on BURNING!
Ueno is building up momentum for his title shot. Today he teamed with MAO to beat Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani. MAO cheapshotted Higuchi with a Rock Punch and later got his just desserts when Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw. But the match came down to a back and forth between Ueno and Okatani. The 37KAMIINA hit Shining Wizards and Enzuigiris to the Eruption members to get the upper hand. Ueno then came out on top with the BME onto Okatani.
The 37KAMIINA heat waves from Shunma Katsumata was a challenge for Yusuke Okada to overcome when the two of them faced off. Katsumata targeted his neck which slowed Okada down, even when he was on the attack with a Diving Headbutt. However Okada’s use of a Lariat and the Tricolor DDT did big damage and he was able to win with the Sudden Death. Okada repeated after the show that Endo can’t do all the work in BURNING. Akiyama agrees and also mentioned that he hates how CDK always gets the referee physically involved in their matches. He just as much wants to beat them up for that reason than to win the tag titles.
It’s been a busy weekend of tag team adventuring for Saki Akai. Yesterday she teamed with Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro and today she teamed with Maya Yukihi in DDT. They were victorious over the team of Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto. Akai said she learned a lot about Yukihi by fighting her all the way over to Sumo Hall. She hopes to continue working with her so they can both improve each other. Yukihi was happy to wrestle with Cherry again but thought she was finally done with Matsumoto. She came in as a replacement for Bambi so Yukihi had to deal with her one more time.
Pheromones are no longer the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions which means DDT won’t have to worry about their title matches being banned from Youtube! With that said, this match still tried to cross the line as much as it could. Yuki Iino stripped down to his O-Back even as Daisuke Sasaki kept hitting him in the ass with a chair. Hisaya Imabayashi ran in ordering Pheromones to stop their usual antics and he gave Danshoku Dieno a Stunner. DAMNATION T.A then went on the attack with Sasaki and Iino brawling their way up towards the balcony while the GM chased after them. Meanwhile Dieno, Yumehito Imanari, Minoru Fujita and MJ Paul were still wrestling in the ring while this was going down. Up in the balcony, Sasaki fully stripped Iino naked and threw his O-Back over the balcony! Imabayashi jumped onto Iino to stop him from fully exposing himself to the audience. Back in the ring, Fujita caught Dieno in the Samson Clutch to score the win out of nowhere. After the match Sasaki said that a new member will join DAMNATION T.A on 1st May. He warned the roster that the person standing next to them may be a traitor so everyone should be looking forward to the reveal. However if a reporter wants to go drinking with Sasaki and pay his tab, he will give them a hint in return.
CDK couldn’t beat Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya in a fight because of the size difference, so they had to outsmart them to keep the KO-D Tag Titles. Naya put Masahiro Takanashi in the Cobra Twist when outside the ring, Chris Brookes rang the bell and tricked Naya into thinking he won. While Naya and the referee were distracted, Takanashi grabbed one of the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belts and nailed Naya in the head with it. Hino broke the pin to keep the match going but CDK then used a combined Crucifix and Jackknife Pin on Naya to get the three count and steal a title defence. Takanashi praised Brookes for his strange plan working out but knows they won’t be able to get away with it again. They’re relieved they won’t have to defend the titles against Hino & Naya again but the challengers think otherwise.
The DDT debut of KANON saw him defeat Yuki Ishida. KANON hit Soccer Ball Kicks, Backbreakers and K Spike chops. Ishida fought back with a Brainbuster and his Sumo Chop Rush. KANON recovered from that and put Ishida in the Cobra Twist to make him submit. He praised Ishida for having a strong core because of his sumo background. KANON also said he is looking forward to doing more with DDT in the future.
One of the dark matches went out of control thanks to the addition of Lucha tag rules. Kazuki Hirata ended up knocking out both Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura so he put himself in a 3-on-1 disadvantage. His solution was to give Hirata GO! glasses to all of his opponents. Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi danced with him and then attacked. However Ihashi missed a Moonsault and Hirata rolled him up with La Magistral to escape with the win.
Two young rivalries met in the very first match of the day. El Unicorn and Ilusion continue their back and forth feud. Toui Kojima hit a setback in his rivalry against Yuya Koroku. Kojima had finally beaten him by using a Triangle Choke so he went for it again today. This time though Koroku defended himself and rolled over on top of Kojima to pin him for the three count.
The result caused Kojima to come out during the show opening announcements where Shinya Aoki was already in the ring. Kojima asked him for a singles match on 1st May so Kojima can get stronger and catch up to the rest of The 37KAMIINA. Aoki accepted and wondered if Kojima wasn’t taking things seriously until now.
The full card for the Yokohama Budokan show on 1st May was revealed at the end of the show. One of the new matches is a KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles defence. Also HARASHIMA will team with Hikaru Sato to take on Higuchi & Sakaguchi from Eruption.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan
0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuno
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
8. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2022”, 27/03/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 509 Fans
0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Dark Match: Antonio Honda (c) defeated Pokotan with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (7:16). *V? for Antonio Honda.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Antonio Honda (c) by Pinfall (11:24 am). *Shinichiro Kawamatsu becomes the 1,548th champion.
1. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Diving Knee Drop (6:30).
2. Pheromones Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita (w/ MJ Paul) by Disqualification when Sasaki attacked Dieno with a Chair (7:21).
3. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Akito defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Soma Takao when Naya submitted Takanashi with a Modified Torture Cobra Twist (9:03).
4. Quiz Showdown: Kazuki Hirata defeated Jun Akiyama when Hirata got 3 questions correct (10:18).
5. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Michael Nakazawa with the Super Michinoku Driver II (9:26). *V1 for MAO.
6. DDT Extreme Title – O-Back Ladder Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Pheromone Magic (15:01). *V1 for Yuki “Sexy” Iino.
7. After Judgement 2022 Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Kojima submitted Koroku with a Triangle Choke (22:11).
The 26th year of DDT has gone off to a hot start with plenty to talk about. The main event was the latest tag team battle between The 37KAMIINA and BURNING but this time with a brand new result. For months Toui Kojima has fought to try and beat his classmate Yuya Koroku. Every step of the way was met with failure until today when Kojima finally got his direct win over Koroku! The result didn’t look like it would happen when Koroku hit the Moonsault Press and then applied the Chickenwing Armlock he’s been using to beat his rival. But Kojima used the lessons he learned from Shinya Aoki to counter the move into a Triangle Choke for the tap out. He lived up to his promise of crying tears of joy over finally beating Koroku. Kojima admitted he is still weak and is not ready to be compared to the rest of his stable. He wants to keep training so he can becomes stronger.
Yuki Ueno threw in his support for Kojima along with the rest of The 37KAMIINA. He is so inspired by everyone in the unit doing their best to leave a mark on the world that he wants to do the same in DDT. So he is challenging Tetsuya Endo for the KO-D Openweight Title on 1st May! Endo said if Ueno is confident enough to beat the man who just became champion at Sumo Hall and carry the belt with 25 years of history attached to it then he will accept the challenge. Ueno told him he isn’t just fighting for that but also for the future of DDT. He wants to defeat Endo and lead the company as champion.
As ridiculous as the O-Back Ladder Match was there was a surprising amount of emotion to it. Shunma Katsumata walked out wearing an ALL OUT shirt hoping to remind Yuki Iino of their time together in that group. Iino briefly remembered and did a Haka pose with his old friend but in a flash that memory went away and they had to fight. Katsumata climbed the ladder and grabbed the O-Back but the winner had to wear it. He covered his waist in a towel to put it on but Iino attacked him with Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari’s help. Together they performed “Pheromone Magic” on Katsumata and he suddenly found out he was somehow now wearing nothing underneath his towel! He gave up to avoid further shame, resulting in a successful DDT Extreme Title defence for Iino. Dieno told Katsumata he previously agreed to wear the O-Back by itself if he lost. He is a man of his word so he did just that and shook Iino’s hand. Iino then blindsided him with a Brainbuster to humiliate him even more. Dieno asked who would want to challenge Iino for the Extreme Title after seeing this?
Sometime before the show, a desperate Michael Nakazawa went searching around town for MAO so he could ambush him. He was lured into a counter attack where MAO ran Nakazawa over with a van! Nakazawa did show up to the match wrapped head to toe in bandages. He looked like a physical wreck and couldn’t even stand up by himself. MAO decided to take advantage but it turned out to be a trick! The real Nakazawa ran down to the ring and attacked MAO with a crutch. He then used his signature tricks like rubbing his body in slippery lotion and applying the Ultimate Venom AEW Arm. However MAO fought back and pinned Nakazawa with the Super Michinoku Driver II for the win.
MAO called the DDT Universal Title defence an easy win. He wants to use his champion status to wrestle overseas so asked for his next challenger to be somebody with presence. Out walked Asuka! She just returned from wrestling in Italy and has a UK tour lined up this summer so she matches all of MAO’s requests. Asuka said the “VENY’s” of the world deserve that title. MAO accepted the challenge and wants it to be at the Yokohama Budokan on 1st May.
Kazuki Hirata knew just like everyone else that he has no chance of beating Jun Akiyama in a fair fight. He was moments away from losing easily to the Exploder Suplex when he grabbed the microphone and called a stop to the match. Hirata can’t win a wrestling match but he can beat Akiyama in a quiz! Suddenly the match turned into a trivia contest with chairs in the ring to sit on and a toy hammer to hit each other with when somebody got a question wrong. 1st Question: What tragedy happened to Hirata before a show in Yokohama Raidant Hall? Hirata answered he was bit by a Chihuahua. Correct! Question 2: Who was Hirata’s opponent in a fantasy card Keisuke Ishii once put together? Hirata answered Yuji Okabayashi. Correct! Question 3: On 4th January, 2002 the name of the defending GHC Heavyweight Champion is… Akiyama cut off the question to answer it was himself. That wasn’t the question thought so he was incorrect! The rest of the question asked who was the child who wanted to skip school to go see the match and got angry at his mother? Hirata answered it was himself. Correct! Hirata defeated Akiyama in the Quiz Showdown! Hirata hit Akiyama with the toy hammer to celebrate and Akiyama no sold it. DDT then announced that Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary show will be held in Korakuen Hall on 18th September. Akiyama thinks he will have a proper match against Hirata on that show.
The new KO-D Tag Team Champions are on shaky ground after finding out just how strong their opponents are. Yukio Naya showed off the power he has gained from teaming with Yuji Hino and made Masahiro Takanashi submit for the victory. Chris Brookes was also left in agony from Hino’s chops. Naya told the fans to look forward to them taking the Tag Titles from CDK.
A lesson we learned today is nobody messes with Hisaya Imabayashi except Pheromones! Their match against DAMNATION T.A was going the usual lewd direction with Imabayashi threatening to cancel the match. This time however Daisuke Sasaki came to defend Imabayashi from Pheromones, only to turn on him and attack all of them with a chair. Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul joined in on the beatdown and had to be disqualified. Sasaki complained that Imabayashi doesn’t have the right to cancel their matches. He threatened they will attack him again if he tries to stop the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on 10th April. They will even attack his wife and kids to prove their point! Dieno was in tears over what happened to Imabayashi. He is an innocent person in that doesn’t deserve to get attacked this way. Pheromones claim they are all about justice and swore to get revenge on DAMNATION T.A!
A full force Eruption opened up the main show, beating a foursome made up of DISASTER BOX wrestlers and the rookie Yuki Ishida. Those four were all called “The Pig Brothers” by Hideki Okatani. He even scored the win in the end and told the fans to remember the Red Fight Spirit of Eruption!
On the pre-show Antonio Honda successfully defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against Pokotan. Honda summoned the power of Triple H to aid him on his way to victory. After the match Shinichiro Kawamatsu from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was supposed to hand the belt over to Honda but Pokotan got into another fight with Honda. The two of them knocked each other out and it dawned on Kawamatsu that he could pin Honda. He did so after encouragement from the fans and became the new Iron Man Champion! Kawamatsu joked if this is really what the DDT fans wanted to see and he promised to defend the title for all 24 hours as hard as he can.
Away from all the matches, the biggest news to come from the show was Konosuke Takeshita announcing he is going on an indefinite expedition to the United States where he will wrestle for AEW! His final match in DDT before he leaves will be on 10th April. He is ready to take on the challenge of the world and begin Chapter 2 of his career. He also promised to do his best in DDT before he goes away and hopes when he comes back Ueno will be the KO-D Champion so he can challenge him.
Endo was presented with the brand new redesigned KO-D Openweight Title belt from Sanshiro Takagi at the start of the show. Endo said it is more brilliant looking than the previous belt he is happy to be the one to build up its history.
The next Korakuen Hall show on 10th April will feature Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi against Bambi & Cherry to celebrate DDT’s history with women’s wrestling. Akai is honored to face the two women from DDT’s past and also hopes to create something new with Yukihi.
A mystery wrestler who would like to wrestle in DDT is being promoted to appear at Yokohama Radiant Hall on 1st April.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 2,516 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Toui Kojima, Yuki Ishida when Okada pinned Ishida with the Sudden Death (11:00).
0. Dark Match – Time Admission Tag Battle Royal: Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya defeated Yasu Urano & Shota when Naya pinned Shota with the Back Drop (14:28). Order Of Elimination: Tomohiko Hashimoto & Seiya Morohashi, Gorgeous Matsuno & Gota Ihashi, Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul, Shota & Yasu Urano.
1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) defeated Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) when MIKAMI pinned Honda with the School Boy (8:49). *The DDT Variety Team fails in V2. Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba becomes the 7th KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions!
2. Special Single Match: Saki Akai defeated Maya Yukihi with the Quetzalcoatl (10:40).
3. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match – No DQ “I’m Sorry” Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Michael Nakazawa when Takagi made Nakazawa say “I’m Sorry” (10:20).
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata defeated Isami Kodaka & Yukio Sakaguchi when Ueno pinned Sakaguchi with the WR (11:02).
5. LiLiCo Retirement Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated LiLiCo, Ryohei Odai & Akito (w/ Junretsu) when Dieno submitted LiLiCo with a Cross Knee Lock (16:52).
6. Jun Akiyama 30th Anniversary Match: Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani when Akiyama pinned Okatani with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (12:36).
7. DDT Universal Title – Hardcore 3 Way Match: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) and Jun Kasai when MAO pinned Sasaki with the Super Michinoku Driver II (19:56). *Daisuke Sasaki fails in V5. MAO becomes the 6th DDT Universal Champion!
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura (c) when Brookes submitted Yoshimura with the House Piano Death (18:50). *DISASTER BOX fails in V1. CDK becomes the 73rd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Japan Bakery Marketing Presents: Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with two Burning Star Presses (46:30). *Konosuke Takeshita fails in V2. Tetsuya Endo becomes the 78th KO-D Openweight Champion!
DDT celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a new KO-D Openweight Champion! It was the first singles match between Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo in 2 years and 3 months with both going in at the peak of their abilities. It led to a juggernaut of a match lasting 46 minutes with every move in their arsenal being used. It took Endo using something new to bring the champion to the brink of defeat. As the match reached towards the 45 minute mark, Endo took inspiration from his BURNING teammate and used the Exploder Suplex three times for nearfalls. While that wasn’t enough to get the pin, there was no coming back for Takeshita after those moves. Endo dropped him with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and after another kickout he followed it up with two Burning Star Presses to finally get the career defining victory over his destined enemy.
Endo told Takeshita after the match that this was the first time he was happy to be seen side by side with him in the same company and generation. He still hates him but also thanks him for today. Takeshita refused to shake Endo’s hand but instead raised it into the air before leaving the ring. Kenta Kobashi entered the ring to present Endo with the KO-D Title and BURNING followed to celebrate with him. Endo thanked the audience for coming to see Tokyo Joshi Pro and DDT in Sumo Hall this weekend. Endo has finally defeated Takeshita for the KO-D Title but he believes there is still more to come for these companies. TJPW will be entering its 10th year in existence while DDT enters its 26th. The journey continues and Endo thinks he won’t be able to make them grow by himself. He will lead the way so everyone follow him and keep your eyes on DDT and Tetsuya Endo from now on!
Backstage Endo repeated what he said about the CyberFight promotions, including NOAH. None of them are done yet and whether they all reach 26, 50 or 100 years he will be there standing at the top. He debuted 10 years ago and he feels like everything he worked for was rewarded to him today. His first KO-D Title defence of this reign will be at Yokohama Budokan on 1st May. He thinks any challenger will be find as long as they are prepared to carry DDT on their back. Takeshita echoed some of Endo’s points, also believing they still have a long way to go beyond DDT’s 26th year. He cannot stop at where he is right now. Kobashi compared Takeshita to Jumbo Tsuruta from his physical ability to his stamina recovery. He also said Endo carries a wonderful BURNING soul and is looking forward to seeing what his future title defences will be like.
CDK always said the most dramatic and dreamy tag team in DDT should be the KO-D Tag Team Champions so I guess they proven right. Chris Brookes countered the Osaka Pride from Naomi Yoshimura and instead stretched his body in so many wrong directions with the House Piano Death. HARASHIMA fought to grab onto them and break the hold but Masahiro Takanashi kept him away long enough for Yoshimura to submit. Takanashi lost his voice so he let Brookes do the talking after the match.
However he was interrupted when Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya climbed onto the ring apron demanding a title shot. They agreed to do the match on 10th April at Korakuen Hall. Backstage DISASTER BOX admitted defeat and HARASHIMA told Yoshimura to rest up before they decide on what to do next. Naya said he is really happy because a year ago he wouldn’t have been able to challenge for the KO-D Tag Titles like this. Hino asked if Naya was weak back then because he only knows how big and strong he is now. Brookes in his interview suddenly took another direction when he called out El Desperado from New Japan! He brought up that Desperado wants CDK to go challenge him but CDK has more championships, so he should come over here and challenge them instead. Takanashi said Hino & Naya should fight for the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles instead of the KO-D Tag Titles because he wants to see a team as large as them inside Ichigaya Chocolate Square. He might get in trouble for suggesting that but as double champions they should have the responsibility and freedom to do what they want.
The feud between Daisuke Sasaki and Jun Kasai took up so much of their attention that MAO swooped in and won the DDT Universal Title! Blood was shed, boxes were smashed, tables were broken and chairs were destroyed as the three all fought each other in and out of the ring. Kasai kept complaining that DDT wasn’t violent enough for him which might have spurred the others to turn up the dial. MAO finally got what he wanted, the attention of his opponents, when he smashed a guitar over both of their head. He won the match by giving Sasaki the Michinoku Driver II from a ladder bridge through the table below.
MAO said it’s been a long month and a half but it was worth it to win the championship today. He wants to increase the presence of the Universal Title so he will only defend it against people with presence. For some reason Michael Nakazawa thought that meant him so he came out and challenged MAO. He said it is a championship made for the world so if he wins it, he can bring it to AEW and show it to even more people worldwide. MAO refused because Nakazawa lost earlier and he told him to leave. Nakazawa agreed he is weak but made the argument that beating a wrestler from AEW is a big deal no matter who they are. MAO saw his point and demanded they do the title match in AEW’s home turf… the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium! Hisaya Imabayashi told him that was impossible so he settled to have the match at Korakuen Hall on 27th March instead.
The show also celebrated Jun Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary in pro wrestling. He teamed up with an old partner of his, Takao Omori from All Japan to beat the Eruption duo of Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani. He was quickly provoked by Okatani and put the youngster in his place with a fight up the entrance ramp. Higuchi was a tougher wall to break down but Omori’s solution was to hit him with the Axe Bomber. Akiyama dusted off the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex for the occasion, pinning Okatani with the deadly finisher. Akiyama said Omori has been wrestling for 30 years too so he was the first name he had in mind when the match was presented to him. As for the future, Akiyama will steadily continue on without any hesitation. He hadn’t thought about DDT being the company he celebrated his 30th Anniversary with. Not even he knows where he will be for the 40th and 50th.
DDT gave LiLiCo the platform to say goodbye to her pro wrestling career with a retirement ceremony unlike any other. First she had her retirement match teaming with her husband Ryohei Odai and the CyberFight VP Akito to take on Pheromones. The opponents were determined to humiliate LiLiCo on her big day. Yumehito Imanari threatened to record every moment of what they would do to her and then send the footage to the media. LiLiCo & Odai were successfully able to complete their special double team move the Princess SEXY Chest Kick ♡ on Yuki Iino. However Danshoku Dieno targeted LiLiCo’s injured knees, which proved to be her downfall. Dieno gave her the Danshoku Driver and made her tap out to a Cross Knee Lock.
After the match Dieno encouraged LiLiCo to get up by herself because a pro wrestler’s final duty is to stand up under their own power. However his show of respect was a farce and he attacked her again. Pheromones were about to set LiLiCo up for the ultimate humiliation on the entrance ramp when suddenly Andreza Giant Panda appeared and attacked all of Pheromones with Headbutts! The retirement ceremony went ahead and Odai brought out his pop band Junretsu to sing “Proposal” for her as a show of his love. When the ceremony reached its end, LiLiCo told the fans she is going back to being a normal girl. She then laid down her entrance gown in the middle of the ring and bowed to each side of the venue.
Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata picked up a big win against the wild card pairing of Isami Kodaka & Yukio Sakaguchi. Kodaka thought his team had it in the bag after he gave Katsumata a Brainbuster onto the ring apron. However the God’s Right Knee from Sakaguchi was blocked with a Dropkick by Ueno. He got back to his feet only to get with with a Standing Shining Wizard. Ueno then finished him off with the WR. The 37KAMIINA said they had hot opponents today but they didn’t seem like they wanted to team together. Ueno was happy to beat Sakaguchi again and Katsumata feels the same beating Kodaka. The BASARA wrestler admitted he was too hostile with Sakaguchi but he does not hate him. They are more like rivals and Kodaka is thankful that Sakaguchi invited him to be part of DDT’s 25th Anniversary.
Nakazawa’s wild efforts to make Sanshiro Takagi apologize to him ended in failure. Their No DQ Match spilled over to a nearby restroom where Takagi gave Nakazawa a Piledriver into a toilet. Back in the ring Nakazawa almost made Takagi say “I’m Sorry” when he used the Ultimate Venom AEW Arm on him. But Takagi fought out of it and suddenly gathered the powers of DDT past. He hit Nakazawa with Kenny Omega’s Hadouken and followed it up with Kota Ibushi’s Kamigoye. He started breaking plastic boxes over Nakazawa’s head until Nakazawa pleaded him to stop. He was about to say “I’m Sorry” when Takagi shoved Nakazawa’s pants into his own mouth to keep him quiet. Takagi then lifted him up in the Himawari Bomb ready to put him through more boxes when Nakazawa finally shouted “I’m Sorry!” to end the match. Takagi Power Bombed him into the boxes anyway.
Takagi actually did apologize to Nakazawa after the match but it is too late. Nakazawa now hates him even more! However he likes DDT and remembers that DDT is his home so he has a special present for everyone today. A video message from Christopher Daniels played on the screen. Daniels congratulated DDT for its 25th Anniversary and announced a mutual agreement between DDT and AEW that will bring DDT wrestlers to America in the future! Daniels said he cannot wait to introduce DDT’s wrestlers to the American fans and hopes the company will do their best until that day comes. Nakazawa then explained to Takagi that he and Kenny Omega had negotiated this deal together. Takagi thanked him and promised the fans they will make pro wrestling even more exciting! Backstage Nakazawa added that the deal also includes bringing in wrestlers from Tokyo Joshi Pro.
The jealous grudge Saki Akai and Maya Yukihi held with each other was finally settled in the ring. Akai came out on top thanks to her finishing move, the Quetzalcoatl. Any hatred the two had was gone when the match was over and they both hugged each other. Akai told reporters that it was a match only she and Yukihi could do because they have different backgrounds but travelled in the same direction. Yukihi said she is grateful to DDT and joshi for the match today and she would like to team with Akai if she is interested.
A collective blast from the past have taken the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles! The match brought together many of DDT’s wacky gimmicks from throughout its history. The appearance of Yoshihiko left Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO confused. They were even more confused when the doll outwrestled them. Antonio Honda tried to summon Gongitsune but Poison Sawada JULIE used his magic to make Honda strike Toru Owashi instead. Honda began to withstand the magic when suddenly Kazuki Hirata appeared completely taken over by the snake magic! He fought off Honda then danced with JULIE & Naomi Susan to the song “Hateless Bastard” by Kenji Sawada. Yoshihiko stopped the dancing and went wild on everyone while Owashi hung onto him for dear life. That left Honda along to get hit by every challenger ending with him getting rolled up by MIKAMI’s signature School Boy for the victory. Sasaki said he doesn’t want his team to be called “Legends” because that implies they are all over the hill. He also told DDT to work out how to get them all together again to schedule their title defences otherwise the belts will belong to them forever. JULIE is confident they can defend the belts 100 or 200 times. MIKAMI and Thanomsak Toba are hopeful this team will bring back something that’s been missing from DDT and that it will be interesting for old fans.
There was a last minute change to the Tag Team Rumble. Soma Takao had to pull out before the show for reasons that were not detailed to the public. Yasu Urano took his place to team with Shota. Hino & Naya eliminated them last to win the match, giving them the momentum to make their title challenge later in the show. The match also featured Andreza’s in-ring return to DDT with former opponent Super Sasadango Machine by his side, Tomohiko Hashimoto & Seiya Morohashi reuniting as a team, more trouble making from DAMNATION T.A with Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul entering together and the usual appearances from Gorgeous Matsuno & Gota Ihashi.
The other dark match had Yusuke Okada and Tomomitsu Matsunaga in the ring with DDT’s various rookies. Ilusion put up a good showing for the DDTeeeen!! brand. He carried the mask of his rival El Unicorn down to the ring because covid prevented Unicorn from being in the match. Toui Kojima tried to earn a first direct win over Yuya Koroku but couldn’t make it. It came down to Yuki Ishida firing his Sumo Slaps to Okada but he was taken out with a Diving Headbutt. Ishida kicked out of that but was done for when Okada gave him the Sudden Death. He praised Ilusion and encouraged him to continue doing his best. Ilusion said he had El Unicorn’s mask to let him know they were still able to fight together in Sumo Hall. He wants a singles match with him whenever he is fully recovered.
The main show began with the Anal Explosion ceremony, as is tradition for DDT when they are in a venue as prestigious as this one. Ryota Yamasato was reluctant to take part and called everyone in DDT crazy for thinking this is a normal thing to do. Hisaya Imabayashi calmed him down by getting Super Sasadango Machine to show him a PowerPoint presentation explaining why the ceremony is so important. According to Sasadango, the Anal Explosion was originally a symbol of the “Phoenix” and acts as a ritual for success and prosperity of the company. Yamasato complained until Hoshitango carried him over to the stage and pinned him down for Danshoku Dieno to set up the bomb. A countdown began and a small explosion went off without a hitch. Yamasato was then told a second explosion 25 times more powerful than the first will now happen to celebrate DDT’s 25 years. It went off, Yamasato called for the show to begin and then he went unconscious.
A new tournament called the King Of Street Wrestling will be shown on WRESTLE UNIVERSE this April. Eight fighters from around the world will compete including Sanshiro Takagi, Shunma Katsumata and Chris Brookes as the DDT representatives. Abdullah Kobayashi and Suzu Suzuki will also take part.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 