DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION” Results

December 21, 2022

DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
537 Fans

0. Dark Match – Karma Handicap Match: Akito, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Sanshiro Takagi when Hirata pinned Takagi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (5:43).
*Sanshiro Takagi must purchase 47 copies of “The Eccentric’s Ambition: What I Learnt From Fighting The Invisible Man On How To Increase My Value” with his own money.
1. DDT Wrestlers With Short Career Experience Are Called Young Drama: Anarko Montaña & Hideki Okatani defeated Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Montaña pinned Sumi with the Shooting Star Press (9:27).
2. Untitled Staggered Entrance Rumble: Saki Akai defeated Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada by Double Ring Out (8:09).
Order Of Elimination: Yukio Sakaguchi & Yasu Urano, HARASHIMA, Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda, Yuya Koroku, Yusuke Okada, Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada (8:09).
*Saki Akai is declared the 2022 King Of Pantyhose.
3. In The Present 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Ken Ohka defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima when Takanashi pinned MAO after the Hair Of The Dog (12:20).
4. Novelty Single Match: Naruki Doi defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:48).
5. DDT Tradition 6-Man Tag Match: Tesuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & DJ Nira defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Thanomsak Toba whne Endo pinned Ishida with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (11:12).
6. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino defeated Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari with the Badonkadonk (16:43).
7. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Haku defeated Danshoku Dieno and Muscle Sakai when Haku pinned both Dieno and Sakai (16:08).

In January 2002 a pro wrestler by the name of Danshoku Dieno emerged from the college club scene and took the pro wrestling world by storm. Quickly finding a home in DDT, Dieno shocked audiences with his gimmick as a hyper gay wrestler but gradually built up a rapport with fans alongside a long list of in-ring achievements as the years went by. Now 20 years into his career he has written a book about how he sees the world through the eyes of pro wrestling. The book is titled “The Eccentric’s Ambition: What I Learnt From Fighting The Invisible Man On How To Increase My Value”. Today’s show at Korakuen Hall was the launch event for his book and everyone who attended received a copy as part of their ticket purchase (the ticket prices were adjusted for this reason, he wasn’t giving out the books for free).

Dieno was given full match making power for the show. So he came up with a card of matches that he would personally enjoy as a fan. He also wanted to have a match against one of his closest friends in the business Muscle Sakai in the main event. Sakai took the time before the match to hold a PowerPoint presentation explaining the line that seperates himself from Super Sasadango Machine. He made the speech because last week he received a message from a fan who told him he is more famous for his talking than his wrestling. Sakai also revealed he’s been reading other self-help books to figure out how to beat Dieno today.

In the match itself Sakai focused on using the Headlock. One of the books had a piece of advice saying you should always train the skills you already have. Dieno’s book also explains how low difficulty wrestling moves can determine who will win the match. The Headlock is always the first move a wrestler is taught and Sakai worked out if he uses it long enough he could destroy Dieno’s skull and win. They spent so much of the match doing Headlocks that they started doing other stuff to pass the time, like listen to music or eat chocolate. It got so intense they ended up creating visions of their thoughts for the audience to see. Together they reminisced about MUSCLE, Sakai’s original retirement match and how this was the last time they were wrestling each other in front of Hisaya Imabayashi.

Imabayashi entered the ring to break up the Headlock fest and was given a Brainbuster from Dieno for his troubles. The match heated up with Sakai kicking out of the Homo Ye at one and Dieno being given the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock. Dieno was sure to be beaten until he had a vision of his pet dog Haku flash across the screen. Haku is a rescue dog that Dieno adopted in September and has been the love of his life ever since. Along with the vision came a message that read “Don’t come here and do normal wrestling, do what only you can do.” With a flash of inspiration, Dieno kicked out. Haku then entered the ring and bit Sakai in the crotch. Dieno thought his pet came to rescue him but Haku then attacked him too and jumped on top of both fallen wrestlers. Yukinori Matsui decided to make the three count and declared Haku the winner of the match!

Imabayashi was confused by what he just watched. He asked the fans if that was a good main event and they applauded. Sakai explained this was the last time they could wrestle their match in front of him because Imabayashi is leaving DDT at the end of the year. Imabayashi had to correct them. It’s true he is quitting the company soon in order to spend more time with his family in Fukuoka but he recently agreed to remain the DDT GM as a subcontractor. With this deal he will only be gone from DDT once a month. There wasn’t much time left in the show to explain so Dieno was given the final moments to give his speech and thank everyone for coming. He especially singled out the older generation of DDT wrestlers who were there with the company before him.

The other big idea for a match Dieno had was his two contemporaries from Pheromones facing off against each other. All of the lewd stuff surrounding Pheromones was shoved into this match. Yuki Iino did his sexy poses while Yumehito Imanari tried to take over one of the Samurai TV cameras to film it. There actually was wrestling going on in between the antics, although Dieno told Iino through a video message to bring out the “Sexy” that nobody has seen yet. Iino did just that and finished the match on top. Imanari said there was a lot of conflict in Iino’s heart but he could see the “Sexy” pride inside. Iino just said “Pheromones good, forever.”

There was plenty of nonsense all over the show. A 6-Man Tag had Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida both wrestle in mawashi and fight using sumo techniques. Thanomsak Toba did not join in, preferring to stick to the kickboxing he knows. The match was briefly interrupted by the announcement that one of Jun Akiyama’s friends was here to celebrate his 30th anniversary. Antonio Honda entered the ring in a diaper and Toru Owashi put a home made Ultimo Dragon mask over his head. Meanwhile it took DJ Nira several attempts to pull off a successful double team move with Akiyama. When it finally worked, Tetsuya Endo took over and got the win for his team. Honda then returned in his diaper with several other wrestlers wearing the same costume to dance around Akiyama. None of the wrestlers in the match knew what was going on except for Toba. He explained to the others backstage that this kind of match used to happen all the time in DDT back when he was around. Now it only happens once every ten years.

Naruki Doi beat Shunma Katsumata in a first time singles meeting. Katsumata hit a dive to the outside onto Doi and a bunch of other wrestlers seconding at ringside. Doi almost won with the Avalanche Doi 555 but got the victory with the Bakatare Sliding Kick afterwards. Katsumata asked for a handshake at ringside and Doi gave him the NeppoWER pose instead. He’d like to have another match with him either as partners or opponents. Doi also promised to read Dieno’s new book instead of sleeping tonight.

6-Man Tag action saw CDK & Ken Ohka get the better of The 37KAMIINA. Ohka kept taunting Toi Kojima by saying his moves didn’t hurt at all after every bump. Everyone ended up forming a group pyramid submission with Ohka posing on top until Yuki Ueno made it all collapse with a Dropkick. Ohka returned with the Spear Of Fire to both MAO & Kojima before taking out Ueno with a Death Valley Bomb. That left CDK to pin MAO with the Hair Of The Dog to win the match. Backstage MAO complainied about both Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi pinning him at the same time. That is supposed to be illegal in tag team matches. However MAO has an open mind and accepts that double pinfalls are fair play in ChocoPro, which is where CDK learned it from. He now wants the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles match between CDK and ShunMao on 3rd January to allow double pinfalls.

The Rumble match had an unannounced rule where every competitor had to wrestle wearing pantyhose over their head, making them unwillingly pull funny faces. HARASHIMA and Koju Takeda had a pose off. Yuya Koroku didn’t want to wear it and got booed when he pulled his off. The eliminations caught some of the wrestlers off guard, like when Yukio Sakaguchi and Yasu Urano eliminated each other right when Sakaguchi entered the match. the match came down to Makoto Oishi and Yusuke Okada fighting on the apron. Suddenly the final wrestler made their entrance. It was Saki Akai! She walked out in full catwalk mode and the sight of her wearing pantyhose over her face scared the other wrestlers off the apron and out of the ring. She ended up winning the match without touching anybody. It was then revealed the match was to crown the King Of Pantyhose 2022! Akai credited the victory on reading Dieno’s book because it gave her courage.

The opening match gave the spotlight to DDT’s younger wrestlers along with the guest Anarko Montaña. The visitor hit some high risk moves including a Moonsault out of the ring. Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi had their moments and could smell victory at times but Hideki Okatani was always there to stop it from happening. Instead Montaña planted Sumi with the Michinoku Driver II and pinned him with the Shooting Star Press.

An extra rule was added to the 5 Vs 1 dark match. Before it began, Keigo Nakamura wheeled out a cart full of copies of Dieno’s book. The rule was every count that happens in the match will be added up and whatever the total is, the losing side will have to buy that many copies of the book. The number ended up at 47 and Sanshiro Takagi was the loser after he was pinned by Kazuki Hirata. As a result, Takagi was forced to purchase 47 copies of the book with his own money. Even though Akito is currently Dieno’s enemy, he admitted he was happy to be a part of today’s show.


DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN KUMAMOTO” Results

December 17, 2022

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2022
Kumamoto City Information Distribution Center
250 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. 3 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Saki Akai and Kazuki Hirata when Katsumata pinned Hirata with a Cradle (6:31).
2. Special Tag Match: Akito & Kazuma Sumi (w/ Yoshihiko) defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Akito pinned Dieno with a Stepover Toe Hold (11:26).
3. Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada defeated Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada when Okada pinned Masada after the Stunner from Takagi (8:28).
4. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani when Sasaki submitted Okatani with the Numero Dos Punto Seis Seis Seis (11:23).
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (16:03).
6. Kumamoto Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida when Oishi pinned Ishida after the Cactus Flower (20:36).

Yuki Ishida’s homecoming show was spoiled by Ω. Ishida got to speak on the microphone at the beginning of the show. The end of the show however had Makoto Oishi standing over him throwing insults in front of everyone. Yuji Hino also announced Ω will be producing his 20th Anniversary show in Kumamoto on 20th July next year. DDT will be back there before then in May so Ishida promises to become stronger in time for that.

The big news coming out of this show came from backstage comments made by Sanshiro Takagi & Akito about Atsushi Onita’s upcoming appearance on 7th January. All of a sudden they accused Onita of monopolizing the Current Blast Death Match gimmick! They fear that style of wrestling will die out when Onita is finally gone and called it a negative on the pro wrestling world. Takagi & Akito challenged him to put his trademark for the stipulation on the line in a 6-Man Tag Death Match. Soma Takao will be the third man on the DDT team, putting the three company president wrestlers together to take the trademark away from Onita by force. They claim it will be better if DDT gets control of the trademark so they can spread exploding death matches across the world.

Takeshi Masada still has a lot to learn, like don’t trust anybody while you are wrestling. He almost had Yusuke Okada beaten when Takagi suddenly told him he passed his test and can now go to the DDT show in Hollywood next year. Masada believed him and dropped his guard. Takagi then kicked him in the gut and gave him a Stunner so Okada could roll him up into a pin. Masada said he will remember this and swore revenge on Takagi.

Akito’s team winning today against Pheromones means that his requested stipulation is now added to their match on 29th December. That stipulation is Pheromones must disband if they lose that match.


DDT “DDT FREE -DECEMBER-” Results

December 14, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -DECEMBER-”, 14/12/2022
Shinjuku FACE
437 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match – No Tag Rules: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Akito, MAO & Kazuma Sumi when Iino pinned Akito with the Missionary Position (8:16).
2. Tryout Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Anarko Montaña with the ¡Hasta la vista! (8:48).
3. Road To NEVER MIND 2022! Special Tag Match: Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata defeated Saki Akai & Yoshiko Hasegawa when Anou pinned Hasegawa with the Special Pottering (10:07).
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Soma Takao, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Masada after a Reverse horizontal Chop from Hino (9:17).
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya when Endo pinned Hirata with a Cradle (14:08).
-. Emergency Decision Match: Kotaro Suzuki defeated Yusuke Okada with the Tiger Driver (8:28).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani when Sasaki pinned Okatani with El Es Culero (11:55).
7. Road To NEVER MIND 2022! Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Kojima pinned Ishida with the Kojima In Wonderland ~KOJIMA Wonderland~ (22:41).

They days are counting down to DDT’s final show of 2022 taking place in Tokyo Dome City Hall. There are few chances left for Kazusada Higuchi and Yuki Ueno to test each other in the ring before their big KO-D Openweight Title match to close out the year so they did a lot here. Higuchi blocked the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher and avoided the BME. Ueno in return blocked a Diving Body Press with his knees and took down Higuchi with a Standing Shining Wizard, leading to a double down. Their time in the ring together remained in a stalemate so the result came down to Yuki Ishida against Toi Kojima. The Kojima In Wonderland finisher got a nearfall but when the ~KOJIMA Wonderland~ variant was used, Ishida was down and out.

After the match Kojima said he was able to win today under his own strength along with Ueno’s help. When Kojima watched the D-Ou Grand Prix, seeing Ueno never giving up no matter what inspired him. Ueno said Higuchi has been amazing ever since his debut match. But Ueno thinks DDT will be even more fun if he takes the KO-D Title from him. If Ueno wins the KO-D Title while holding the DDT Universal Title then it will be the ultimate proof he is the best in DDT. In the backstage comments, Kojima reminded Ueno that he promised to keep teaming with him until he is stronger than him. Ishida is taking the loss in his stride. He understands that Harimao has to work harder while Naomi Yoshimura is out injured.

Daisuke Sasaki and DAMNATION T.A find themselves taking a detour before TDC Hall. The unit will be heading over to Yoyogi on 19th December for a special JUST TAP OUT show being produced by TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. On the show Sasaki & MJ Paul will have a match against El Desperado and a wrestler to be announced (as of this writing Desperado asked Lance Archer on Twitter if he is available). Sasaki sent a message to Desperado by using one of his signature moves El Es Culero to win his match today. He said this isn’t a Forbidden Door situation because the door was always there. It’s just that it was an automatic door that stayed closed in order to conserve energy. Sasaki then complained about his own drinking habits and said Desperado is going to take responsibility for it. He also has a 4 Way Match coming up in TDC Hall but isn’t worried because he’s been called a 4 Way Magician. Not sure by who though.

With preparations for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on their mind, BURNING got together to hash things about between them and make sure they all combined into a well oiled machine. They won the 8-Man Tag Match against DISASTER BOX & Yukio Naya by avoiding a last second slip up. Kazuki Hirata tried rolling up Tetsuya Endo with the Miracle One Shot Cradle but it ended with a kickout. Endo responded with the Tetsuya In The Sky and then used his own “Miracle Cradle” to pin Hirata. It was later discovered that Toru Owashi of all people was angry at Endo for embarrassing Hirata like that when Hirata was already clearly defeated. After the match Yusuke Okada told everyone that years ago he held a grudge with Kotaro Suzuki in All Japan. In order to put that past behind him, he suddenly challenged Suzuki to a match there and now so it could be settled. Suzuki agreed and the match went ahead with Suzuki winning in the end. Afterwards Suzuki said Okada gave everything he got and he responded in kind so there should be no more animosity between them. Okada admitted he wasn’t able to close the gap between himself and Suzuki but he is happy to live his life here in DDT. He is now ready to go win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles with Endo & Suzuki! Endo was happy to hear that and set his target. He is going to win the belts by pinning Naruki Doi!

An injured shoulder made Sanshiro Takagi an even bigger target for Takeshi Masada for the rookie’s attempt to convince his boss he is ready to wrestle at DDT’s show in Hollywood next year. However Takagi persisted and was able to hit a Lariat and also the Spicolli Driver for a nearfall. Masada kept on fighting but was overwhelmed by then numbers game when he had to fight Ω. He eventually took a big Chop from Yuji Hino and fell into a pin by Makoto Oishi. Takagi taunted him after the match and said he will never lose to Masada even if his shoulder is not 100%. Masada said he lost to Oishi today, not Takagi. He will still work hard in the remaining shows until he gets to face Takagi one on one at TDC Hall.

Saki Akai got a taste of what to expect from the combined forces of Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata. She had plenty of back and forth exchanges with both women until she was taken out with sandwich kicks from her opponents. It was all up to Yoshiko Hasegawa to keep the match alive from there but she was soon pinned by Anou. After the match Anou asked Akai how it was like wrestling her again after a long time away from each other? There’s still a long way to go until 29th December and Anou is looking forward to that match the most. Kawabata said she is also looking forward to showing everyone what she’s got in a bigger venue and wants to be the one to beat Yuki Arai in the match. Anou also left a vague comment about what she and Kawabata might do in the future. If they beat Reiwa AA Cannon in DDT then would they be interested in a rematch at Tokyo Joshi Pro for the Princess Tag Team Titles?

The tryout match saw Shunma Katsumata beat Chile’s own Anarko Montaña in a friendly contest. Katsumata re-introduced him to the fans after the match, explaining he was briefly in DDT 8 years ago along with Diego. They are amigos and Katsumata hopes one day to do this match again but this time in Chile.

It’s common booking on wrestling shows to do a bunch of preliminary matches between upcoming opponents to build up to their more important matches in bigger venues. Danshoku Dieno came up with a point that the results for most of the matches in the Pheromones Vs Akito feud mean nothing if they are just being done to promote the proper blow off on 29th December. Akito tried to defend the thought process by explaining these matches still exist to liven up the shows. Dieno came up with a proposal to add more stakes to the prelim matches. Akito agreed on the condition that if his team win any of the prelim matches then Pheromones will have to disband if they lose at the TDC Hall show. Dieno accepted but then revealed his own stakes. If Pheromones win today’s match then they add another stipulation to the TDC Hall match. That stipulation is whoever drops the fall to Pheromones on that show has to join their unit for one day! Imagine if that happens to either of the politicians Osamu Nishimura or Shinichiro Kawamatsu? Akito accepted, loudly thinking that if his team ends up losing it will likely be Shunma Katsumata taking the pin and having to take the punishment. He later came to regret that decision when MAO fell for Pheromones’s charms during their match and turned on Akito, costing them the match! Dieno told Akito he has to live up to his end of the deal and tell the politicians the new stipulation for 29th December. He doesn’t want politics in this ring because all Dieno wants in here is the freedom to do whatever Pheromones wants!

A press conference was held before the show revealing a few matches for 3rd January. First, Daisuke Sasaki Vs Naruki Doi was announced with the winner getting the next DDT Universal Title shot. Doi said he’s been in DDT for two months and already showed enough results to deserve to challenge for a singles championship. He never fought Sasaki before so he thinks the match is going to be a treat. Sasaki thought Doi was Masato Yoshino at first and complained about the Dragongate guys not knowing the rules here in DDT. Sasaki then said he is supposed to be the guy to take the Universal Title from Ueno, nobody else.

The other match announced is CDK Vs ShunMao for the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles. MAO described the history and relationships between all four wrestlers involved are complicated. His expectations for the match are high and he thinks his team will win if they genuinely enjoy the match. Katsumata echoed the comments about their history with their opponents. He wants to win the KO-D Tag Titles and defend them as much as possible. Chris Brookes said the match will be interesting. Masahiro Takanashi pointed out he is about to turn 40 years old and he set himself a goal to accompany it. He wants to win the KO-D Tag Titles on the first DDT show of the year and then participate in every DDT show for the rest of 2023. He hasn’t pulled off a run of attendance like that in DDT for a long time.


DDT “NEXTBODY PRESENTS STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY VOL. 2 IN OSAKA” Results

December 10, 2022

DDT “NEXTBODY PRESENTS STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY VOL. 2 IN OSAKA ~JUN AKIYAMA DEBUT 30TH ANNIVERSARY ROUND 2~”, 10/12/2022
Osaka Izumi City Plaza Yayoi no Kaze Hall
320 Fans

1. Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku defeated Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Koroku submitted Sumi with the Chickenwing Arm Lock (9:14).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Iino submitted Akito with the Minryuu→Hakuryuu→Kairyuu (9:25).
3. Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Soma Takao defeated Toru Owashi, Chris Brookes & Toi Kojima when Hino pinned Kojima with the Fuckin’ BOMB (10:45).
4. HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Naya pinned Ishida with the Choke Slam (12:35).
5. Special Single Match: Tigers Mask defeated Yusuke Okada with the Delfin Special No. 3 (13:29).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Sasaki submitted Katsumata with the Crossface Lock (10:18).
7. NEXTBODY presents Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match In Osaka ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Zeus, Bodyguard & Ryouji Sai defeated Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Sanshiro Takagi when Zeus pinned Akiyama with the Jackhammer (19:01).

There was already a 30th Anniversary celebration for Jun Akiyama back in September but that took place in Tokyo. Akiyama is from Osaka and wanted to celebrate his 30 years in front of his home crowd so DDT were happy to set it up for him. The main event this time was Akiyama leading Tetsuya Endo & Sanshiro Takagi against a trio of Osaka all star wrestlers. Akiyama got to spend a lot of time inside and outside the ring against his opponents. He started off the match against Zeus and the two eventually fought each other outside the ring. Tigers Mask got dragged into the brawl at ringside and took some hits after Akiyama recognised he is Atsushi Maruyama under the mask. Bodyguard congratulated Akiyama for his anniversary while throwing a bunch of Lariats at his opponents. Takagi missed a Lariat of his own and hit Akiyama by accident. That led to the Osaka team launching a train attack on Akiyama. They gave him a Lariat from Zeus, a Spear from Bodyguard and the Akagawa Bridge from Ryouji Sai. Zeus then got the three count by giving Akiyama the Jackhammer.

Everybody congratulated Akiyama after the match. Zeus talked about the time he worked for All Japan while Akiyama was the company’s president. He said Akiyama is the only person in wrestling he looks up to as a mentor. It is because of Akiyama’s teachings that Zeus became a Triple Crown Champion, won the Champion Carnival and became the president of Osaka Pro Wrestling. He also joked his mission today was to give Akiyama 30 Chops to the chest during the match. Bodyguard credits Akiyama for giving him the opportunity to be active in major pro wrestling promotions. Sai pointed out it’s a contradiction that his team all wanted to beat up Akiyama yet here they are congratulating him afterwards. He admires Akiyama because no matter how high the bar is raised, Akiyama is able to go above and beyond it. The show ended with Akiyama giving the final speech. He does not know how long he will continue to wrestle but as long as Takagi needs him, he will want to work for DDT. He thanked everyone for being here today, including Maruyama.

Yuki Ueno was disappointed to lose his first match since winning the D-Ou Grand Prix. It was also Shunma Katsumata’s 30th birthday a few days ago so he was upset to lose his first match in his 30’s. MAO is currently 25 so nothing that happened in their loss today let him down moreso than usual.

After Tigers Mask won his match, Yusuke Okada asked for a rematch and for it to take place in Osaka Pro. Mask described Akiyama as both the scariest teacher and the most kindest senior. He made similar comments as Zeus about how Akiyama’s teachings are being put to use in running the new version of Osaka Pro. Backstage Zeus approached Tigers Mask, told him Akiyama wants to do a singles match against him in Osaka Pro soon and left. Mask isn’t sure if he was joking or not.

Yukio Naya said it was thanks to Akiyama’s teachings along with Yuji Hino’s that he was able to reach the D-Ou final this year.

In the latest battle between Akito and Pheromones, Akito had a plan. He stole his opponent’s lewd wrestling gear, thinking it would force Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno to wrestle in normal looking costumes. It didn’t work because they had their spare gear with them. Also during the match Pheromones forced one of Iino’s stolen costumes onto Akito before beating him with one of their humiliating finishers.


Baka Gaijin Show, Shota Coming Home, Never Mind 2022 Complete Card

December 5, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~HAMAMATSU PERFORMANCE~”, 10/12/2022
Shizuoka Entetsu Hall

1. Suzume Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Hyper Misao Vs Mahiro Kiryu
3. Hikari Noa Vs Haruna Neko
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Rhio

Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku are both missing from this Saturday’s show because they will be wrestling in Malaysia. Nao Kakuta is also absent because of her stage work.

“BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS”, 13/12/2022
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Interdimensional Kaiju Vs Fucked Up Warfare: MAO Vs Death Worm
2. Gatoh Move Tag: Mei Suruga & Miya Yostuba Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Chie Koishikawa
3. Double Anniversary Special: Chris Brookes Vs Drew Parker

A mat pro wrestling show is taking place at ARENA Shimokitazawa to celebrate Chris Brookes’ 15th Anniversary as well as Drew Parker’s 10th Anniversary. Guests from Gatoh Move and IWA Japan are involved on the undercard and there is also going to be a solo acoustic performance by Antonio Honda.

DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Tradition 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Thanomsak Toba Vs Tesuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & DJ Nira
2. Novelty Single Match: Naruki Doi Vs Shunma Katsumata
3. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
4. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Muscle Sakai

A first time ever match between Naruki Doi and Shunma Katsumata is one of the matches Danshoku Dieno made for his book launch event. He also put together a standard 6-Man Tag match between Harimao and BURNING with Thanomsak Toba and DJ Nira also sprinkled in.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Munetatsu Nakamura Debut Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI
3. Shota Triumphant Return Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Vs Soma Takao & Shigehiro Irie
4. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Mizuki Watase

Shota’s American excursion is coming to and end and he will be back home in Japan before the year is over. His big return match for Ganbare☆Pro sees him teaming with Shuichiro Katsumura against the Team Drift pair of Soma Takao & Shigehiro Irie.

We’re getting a collaboration between Ganbare☆Joshi and Tokyo Joshi Pro. Previous opponents Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa are excited to be teaming together. Their opponents Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI not so much. I mean, YuuRI is thrilled because she looks up to Kamifuku. Shame that Kamifuku thinks little of YuuRI in return.

The Ganpro rookie Munetatsu Nakamura gets Shinichiro Tominaga as his first opponent. As long as he doesn’t take any of Tominaga’s advice on how to spend time with the opposite sex he’ll be fine.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
0. Dark Match: Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Soma Takao & Antonio Honda
1. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada
2. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida
3. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
5. Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & RSP
6. International 4 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Chris Brookes Vs MAO Vs Cara Noir
7. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada
9. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

DDT’s 25th year comes to a close at Tokyo Dome City Hall. The main event is Kazusada Higuchi putting the KO-D Openweight Title on the line against Yuki Ueno, the winner of this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix. Going back to the summer the main event scene in DDT has been built around who is the most capable to carry the company on their back. Higuchi ended up standing head and shoulders above everyone else and getting to fly the flag (in some cases literally) was his reward. Ueno has one of the loudest claims to being the rightful leader of DDT, purposely adding more pressure to himself in order to reach his goal. He just won the Grand Prix and is still the reigning DDT Universal Champion. He is going to get what he wants and stand toe to toe against DDT’s current symbol of strength Higuchi. Ueno’s plan if he becomes the double crown champion is to defend the Universal Title overseas. He also wants to defend both championships on a monthly basis as long as his body can take it.

Jun Akiyama is keeping himself busy going into the new year by coming up with a bunch of suggestions for DDT to work on. He is the new DDT Extreme Champion and already has a challenger lined up for him. Super Sasadango Machine asked for a title shot to make up for how little he wrestled this year. Akiyama agreed to it but thinks Sasadango has become overweight. He strongly advised Sasadango to lose 20kg in time for the match. In order to do this Akiyama suggested DDT should create the DDT Health Club which he can be president of. There used to be a NOAH Health Club so he got his idea from there. As champion Akiyama can also choose the match stipulation but he will consult with Kenta Kobashi before making that decision. He would rather Sasadango come up with the rules if it is allowed because the champion having that power gives him too much of an unfair advantage. In fact, Akiyama wants to form a committee for the Extreme Title and Kobashi to be the chairman. Akiyama also isn’t comfortable with holding a purple championship because he has a bad history with that colour. He asked DDT if they can change the Extreme Title to a white belt in tribute to the retired GHC Hardcore Openweight Title he was originally responsible for creating.

Well, Naruki Doi said he wanted a match with Tetsuya Endo so he’s getting one. Endo made it known during the Grand Prix his goal in DDT is to win all of the championships and right now his target is the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The match gives Yusuke Okada some sorely needed spotlight after spending the last few months on the undercard. Kotaro Suzuki adds a lot of firepower to the team as well. Can Doi rely on DISASTER BOX to carry their share of the work? Toru Owashi won’t let him down but Kazuki Hirata can go from completely useless to the luckiest man in the ring on a coin flip.

Time for Yukio Naya to dust himself off and move on to the next challenge. The D-Ou finalist gets to team with Konosuke Takeshita against the unusual pairing of Daisuke Sekimoto & RSP in an all heavyweight tag battle.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL” Results

December 4, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
711 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida defeated Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada when Takao pinned Ishida with the Gin And Tonic (8:36).
2. Soccer Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (3) defeated Akito & Antonio Honda (2) by Penalty Shootout.
2a. Akito (1) pinned Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (0) with a Gene LeBell Style Rolling Cradle (1st Half 0:18).
2b. Akito (2) pinned Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (0) with a Free Kick (1st Half 1:21).
2c. Yuki “Sexy” Iino (1) pinned Akito (2) with the Ketsugoye (2nd Half 0:37).
2d. Yuki “Sexy” Iino (2) pinned Akito (2) with the Sexy Lariat (2nd Half 2:54).
*Pheromotia advance to the Final 8.
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima when Endo pinned Kojima with the Burning Star Press (12:09).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi when Hirata pinned Sumi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (10:25).
5. DDT Extreme Title – TLC Match: Jun Akiyama defeated Joey Janela (c) with the Wrist Clutch Exploder Suplex (11:32).
*Joey Janela fails in V5. Jun Akiyama becomes the 56th DDT Extreme Champion!
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON when Higuchi pinned Paul with the Buchikamashi (10:50).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno defeated Yukio Naya with the BME (20:32).

The reigning DDT Universal Champion is now also the D-Ou Grand Prix winner for 2022! Before the tournament even began Yuki Ueno has been calling his shot to win the whole thing as part of his quest to be the leading figure in DDT. He achieved it here by beating Yukio Naya in the final. Naya came into the match as confident as he has ever been and looked to win with sheer power. He used an Avalanche Choke Slam as his big move to set up the Torture Cobra Twist. Ueno relied on his own speed and agility in response, nearly scoring a countout win after a Moonsault out of the ring. The BME was countered at first when Naya blocked it with his knees. Ueno tried to show fighting spirit against his opponent’s Lariats and Knee Strikes until he started to show signs of collapse. His second wind came when he countered a Choke Slam with a Triangle Choke. He used his new Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher but was too beaten up to go for the pin. When both stood back up, Naya got the first blow and landed the Back Drop. However he too was slow to make the cover and Ueno kicked out. Naya rushed in for a final attack and he ran straight into a series of Dropkicks until he couldn’t get back up. Ueno got to hit the BME in the end and that was enough to win him the match.

Naya received applause from the crowd as he left ringside. Ueno stayed in the ring to receive his trophy from Kenta Kobashi. Ueno called Naya a big and amazing opponent that he was able to beat on his own. Ueno promises he will still work hard to become the best in DDT and get more people to watch DDT. He wants everybody to love DDT as much as he does. He has the DDT Universal Title, just won the D-Ou Grand Prix and now wants to win the KO-D Openweight Title! He’s sure Konosuke Takeshita is watching him from America and knows he wouldn’t be working so hard if it wasn’t for his friends. Backstage Naya showed frustration because he said he was going to carry DDT on his shoulders like a big shot only to lose in the final. He swore in 2023 he will go higher and become big enough to challenge for the KO-D Title. Kobashi praised Naya for not running out of stamina during such a long match and being able to respond to Ueno’s fast pace. Last year he was told by people in DDT that Ueno is a genius. Kobashi is beginning to understand the claim after watching him throughout the Grand Prix. He also thinks the future of DDT is blossoming because the final was between two wrestlers in their 20s.

A collection of heavyweights from the D-Ou group stages all joined forces to fight against DAMNATION T.A. The size differences took Minoru Fujita off guard. The opposition all ganged up on him and pulled off the Kai En Tai pyramid pose with Chris Brookes posing at the top. KANON tried slowing down Yuji Hino with the Cobra Twist. Daisuke Sasaki wanted to fight everyone off with a chair but was given a Double Choke Slam from RSP & Brookes. Hino then gathered most of DAMNATION T.A together outside the ring so RSP could do a Topé into them. MJ Paul showed some fight against Kazusada Higuchi but he too was decimated with the Buchikamashi sumo charge for the three count. After the match Higuchi said it does not matter if his next challenger is Ueno or Naya. He just wants to fight and defend the championship.

For the first time in his decorated career Jun Akiyama was taking part in a TLC Match. His opponent Joey Janela came up with the stipulation for the DDT Extreme Title match for his own benefit. Except that does not change the face he still had to fight Jun Akiyama! The challenger gradually found his footing in an arena filled with Tables, Ladders and Chairs all available to be used as weapons. He threw Janela out of the ring onto a castle of chairs. He also gave Janela the Exploder Suplex onto a ladder inside the ring. Janela showed his guts and went high risk. It paid off with a Diving Elbow from a ladder putting Akiyama through a table. He wanted to continue the attack but Akiyama gave him an Avalanche Exploder onto another table. Janela kicked out so Akiyama had to give him the Wrist-Clutch Exploder to finally put him away and win the Extreme Title!

After the match Janela finally showed Akiyama some respect by shaking his hand. Janela later said Akiyama earned his respect by stepping into his area of hardcore wrestling and winning. As Akiyama was leaving the ring, Super Sasadango Machine appeared and called for his attention. He told everyone that he has not wrestled much in 2022 and wanted to make a year end adjustment. He figured if he could challenge Akiyama for the Extreme Title at the end of the year it would make up for his inactivity. Akiyama thought about it and agreed. He then asked Sasadango how much he weighed. Sasadango answered he is 125kg. Akiyama told him to lose 20kg and then left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi used his GM powers to make the match official for 29th December.

Naruki Doi’s request to face DDT’s best led him straight to HARASHIMA. Although first he had to go through Kazuma Sumi because the rookie wanted to start the match against him. Kazuki Hirata did not show as much bravery when he had to share the ring with Yukio Sakaguchi. Doi and HARASHIMA got to fight each other eventually but Hirata continued to look like the weak link. He took a Running Knee from Sakaguchi in the corner, a Springboard Splash from HARASHIMA and a Standing Moonsault from Sumi. However Hirata kicked out of the pin and suddenly caught Sumi in the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the match for his team out of nowhere.

Hirata wanted to give a victory speech but he was interrupted by Tetsuya Endo’s theme music. Endo walked out with Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada by his side. Endo said he hadn’t forgotten about Doi mentioning his name in Kyoto as somebody he wants to fight. This is Endo accepting the challenge! He also wants it to be a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Hirata tried to speak but Doi cut him off. Doi thinks it is a chance of fate because not only does he want to fight Endo, he also never thought he would see Suzuki in a DDT ring again. Doi told them his next scheduled appearance for DDT is on 29th December. He asked Toru Owashi who was the authority around here and was confused when he was pointed over to Imabayashi. The GM confirmed the title match will happen on the 29th.

The BURNING trio had just wrestled in the match before, beating The 37KAMIINA. Suzuki squared off with Shunma Katsumata. The two of them had a singles match in DNA 5 years ago and Katsumata was eager to show hot much he has grown since then. Toi Kojima also wanted to test himself against the veteran. He ended up on the worst end of things by taking Suzuki’s Tombstone, then Okada’s Diving Headbutt and finally Endo’s Burning Star Press for the finish. Endo and Suzuki treated the match as their first introductions to each other. Suzuki also called DDT a new view for him to experience now that he is freelance. Katsumata wants another chance to fight Suzuki and show he can surpass him. MAO was in a bit of a bad mood after seeing the video of Akiyama interviewing Suzuki. In the video there are three times when Akiyama said DDT became a stronger place after he joined the company. That line has been bothering MAO ever since he heard it.

The success of Japan in the World Cup has Pheromones feeling football crazy. They all walked down to the ring wearing football kits and demanding their match be held under Soccer Rules. Every 1 Count pinfall counted as a goal. At first the plan backfired when Akito quickly pinned Dieno early in the 1st half. Dieno then caused a foul which allowed Akito to score a second goal from a free Dropkick. Antonio Honda was in the middle of telling his Gongitsune joke when Yukinori Matsui blew his whistle and ended the half. For the 2nd Half, Yumehito Imanari was brought in as a substitute for Dieno. Yuki Iino blocked Honda’s Bionic Elbow and used the Katsugoye to make the score 2-1. Imanari then pinned Akito to make it 2-2 but the pinfall was disallowed after a VAR review. Play restarted and Iino pinned Akito with the Sexy Lariat. Akito pleaded for another VAR review, claiming that Iino’s ball was showing outside of his skimpy costume. VAR showed that the ball was still in bounds within the line by the slightest of margins so the goal stood. The match went to an actual penalty shootout in the ring and Imanari scored the winning shot to send his team into the Quarter Finals! Final score: Pheromotia 3 – 2 Subjugation JAPAN.

The first match of the day featured the return of the kickboxer Hikaru Machida. He had some striking exchanges with Takeshi Masada when they were both in the ring. Yuya Koroku used a Waterwheel Drop on Soma Takao, setting up his team to launch a train attack against him. Yuki Ishida tried to take it all the way until Machida & Hideki Okatani cut him off. Ishida kicked out of Takao’s Running Elbow but was down and out when Takao did the Gin And Tonic.

Dieno announced some new matches for his book launch event at Korakuen Hall on 21st December. Doi and Katsumata face off in a first time singles match. Kazusada Higuchi, Thanomsak Toba & Yuki Ishida Vs Tesuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & DJ Nira will also happen on the show.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL” Results

November 18, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
450 Fans

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ishida with the Sudden Death (6:45).
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno when Iino pinned Honda after the Sexy Lock Up (8:28).
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when KANON pinned Koroku with the Sleepy Hollow (5:57).
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:38).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4) ended in a Double Countout (11:36).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (4) defeated Tetsuya Endo (5) with the Harai Goshi (7:05).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (5) with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (16:53).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (4) defeated Yuji Hino (7) with a Modified Samson Clutch (12:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (8) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (7) with the Back Drop (19:05).

A Block

1. Yuki Ueno (6)
2. Tetsuya Endo (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
4. RSP (4)
-. Joey Janela (4)
-. Naomi Yoshimura (4)

B Block

1. Yukio Naya (8)
2. Yuji Hino (7)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (7)
4. Chris Brookes (4)
5. KANON (2)
-. MAO (2)

The race to the final is complete and two men are left to fight over who will win the 2022 D-Ou Grand Prix. The Block was decided by what is possibly the biggest upset in the entire tournament this year when Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi! The reigning KO-D Openweight Champion was one of two unbeaten wrestlers left in the group and when the path opened up for him to remain the only one at the finish, but Naya decided it would go differently. The Headbutt was the key move in a Higuchi match yet again. The twist however was the move came from Naya to get the advantage. Some Knee Lifts were used afterwards to soften up Higuchi for the Back Drop for the surprise result. Naya’s win means he vaults over the two top heavyweights to reach the final!

So how did it all go wrong for Yuji Hino, the other undefeated wrestler in B Block? Blame CDK for that. Chris Brookes relied on Masahiro Takanashi to help him get a win. The referee was taken out after being used as a shield then Takanashi gave Hino a Low Blow right when he was about to hit the Fuckin’ BOMB on Brookes. Makoto Oishi came to the rescue by grabbing the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt off of Takanashi. However Brookes then pushed Oishi right into Hino, knocking the big guy loopy when he head first came into contact with the title belt. He was still able to kick out of the pin but was too dazed to kick out of a Samson Clutch afterwards. Brookes isn’t happy with this year being the fourth in a row he failed to win the final. If things don’t improve for him in the next 12 months he does not see a point in him being in the next D-Ou GP. Hino isn’t mad because he doesn’t feel like he lost. All he knows is his head and crotch both hurt so he just wants to go home and get into his bed.

The A Block was a much tighter race with five of the six contestants still in the running one way or another. When the dust settled it was Yuki Ueno who was left standing above everyone else in first place uncontested. He took a beating to get there because Daisuke Sasaki attacked him with plenty of chairs in their match. But Ueno had enough with that kind of stuff and stopped Sasaki with a Dropkick. He hit the BME but Sasaki only kicked out at one. He also blocked the Crossface Lock when Sasaki tried to convert it into the Crossover Facelock. However the BME only got a one count so Ueno had to pull out his new finisher, the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher to clear past Sasaki and book his place in the final. Sasaki is so upset over the loss he says 2022 has ended for himself and DAMNATION T.A as well as the first half of 2023. You’ll have to wait until the second half of 2023 to see them get their revenge!

Tetsuya Endo fell at the final hurdle thanks to Naomi Yoshimura. Endo was fighting for first place going into this show and would have made the final had he won, now that we know how Ueno Vs Sasaki went. Instead the Harai Goshi pinned Endo out of nowhere and dashed his chances of advancing. It’s been one of the few bright spots of Yoshimura’s tournament this year and he is currently not in the mood to talk about it. Meanwhile Endo is already thinking of any lessons he learned, figuring out that he has not grown since their last singles match while Yoshimura clearly has.

The two American wrestlers both left their mark in the A Block as wild cards disrupting everyone else’s chances. Both Joey Janela and RSP had slim chances of staying in the Grand Prix but they also had their sights set on each other during the entire tour due to their history together on the American indies. It led to a match where the two tried to destroy each other with the biggest moves they could think of. The biggest came when RSP gave Janela a Death Valley Bomb from the ring apron onto the floor outside. The move took out both men and the match ended in a Double Countout. Due to the new scoring rules implemented this year, a Double Counout means neither wrestlers received any points. Janela takes some enjoyment that the result stopped RSP from getting anywhere near the final. He also now wants to move on to his next target, Jun Akiyama! He thought he would get to fight Akiyama until he found out DDT added an age limit to this year’s D-Ou GP. If that’s not enough, while Janela is here in Japan Akiyama is in America wrestling Eddie Kingston in Janela’s previous workplace AEW! Janela wants Akiyama to come face him when he returns to Japan.

The D-Ou GP final is now set. The A Block winner Yuki Ueno faces the B Block winner Yukio Naya on 4th December. Ueno is in the final for the second year in a row and did not expect to be seeing Naya with him here. Naya’s a big guy but Ueno wants to live up to his promise to carry DDT on his own back. Naya said he is ready to do that too. He just beat Higuchi and now he has to beat Ueno. Should he do that then Naya will make it clear he wants to challenge Higuchi for the KO-D Title inside Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of December!

Even without the tournament there is a lot of news coming out of this show. Naruki Doi made his next appearance for DDT, forming a team with DISASTER BOX that was nicknamed Disaster Muscle. Doi felt like he was being pranked with DISASTER BOX, The 37KAMIINA and even Takeshi Masada all getting him involved in wacky spots. Toru Owashi did his lucha while Kazuki Hirata tried to mimic MAO’s Koppojutsu but was easily brushed aside. He also tried to wear the Hirata GO! glasses but the music immediately caused Doi to kick him. Toi Kojima was the one to step up to Doi but was cut down with the Doi 555 and Bakatare Sliding Kick. After the match HARASHIMA welcomed Doi to DDT and congratulated him on winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, one of the few championships that HARASHIMA has never held. Doi asked the fans if they would like to see him face HARASHIMA some day? He then said he will be back in DDT on the 21st and 29th December. If anyone wants to fight Doi, Owashi & Hirata for the titles then Doi will accept any challengers… except for Shunma Katsumata.

KANON had a poor run in the tournament but that is all behind him now. He rejoined MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita to get a win against Eruption & Yuya Koroku. It was a close match with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani keeping DAMNATION T.A on their toes. Koroku then took the lead against KANON but a reversal of fortunes saw KANON pin him with the Sleepy Hollow.

There were also two matches on the pre-show. Danshoku Dieno was absent with a fever so it was up to the rest of Pheromones to keep it up with their obscene antics. This is bad news for Akito because their behaviour is getting so bad that Korakuen Hall management may consider stepping in and banning DDT from doing further shows in the building. Yuki Iino & Koju Takeda may have found a kindred spirit because Gorgeous Matsuno was more than ready to compare his fit body with theirs. Antonio Honda used Iino’s backside to charge up Gongitsune but some bad targeting led to both Akito & Takanashi getting knocked out. Yumehito Imanari saw the opening and got his partners to lock up with each other. Doing so had them essentially teabag all of their opponents over and over into submission. Akito was mad with the result because he bungled the numbers advantage and now DDT is at risk of being kicked out of Korakuen. Pheromones need to be subjugated so Akito will bring in the political tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu for the big 29th December show at Tokyo Dome City Hall!

The other dark match saw Yusuke Okada take all that Yuki Ishida could throw at him. Ishida fought out of a Crab Hold and kicked out of a long distance Diving Headbutt. It was a good effort but Okada beat him with the Sudden Death in the end.

Katsumata feels like there is not enough excitement going around so he came up with an idea to do an Explosion Death Match in the new year. So one will take place in Tsurumi on 7th January where Katsumata will aim to surpass Atsushi Onita and become the Reiwa era’s version of “Evil Ways”. He promised that show will not end until he blows up Onita!

An update was given in regards to LiLiCo’s request to take part in the Anal Explosion opening ceremony for the 29h December show in TDC Hall. Hisaya Imabayashi took part in a show with LiLiCo’s husband Ryohei Odai during the week so he recorded a video discussing the situation with him. Odai does not like the idea but is under the impression that all couples have a rule where they do not need to be concerned for what their partners do with their anuses. So he is ok with LiLiCo and DDT going ahead with the ceremony.

DDT has a Korakuen show on 21st December to celebrate the launch of Dieno’s new book about his views on pro wrestling. Dieno will have a match against Muscle Sakai on the show. There will also be a match between Yuki Iino and Yumehito Imanari just because Dieno wants to see it happen.

Matsuno gave everyone a news update about his planned kidney transplant operation for his partner Junko Tashiro. It was previously announced that the operation was delayed until next Spring because Tashiro is in stable health and has no need to get a transplant right away. The operation is now scheduled for April but may be delayed again if Tashiro remains in good health. It is inevitable that the transplant will need to happen some day and when it does, Matsuno made a vow to return to the ring after it is completed.


Osaka, Kyoto, Kyoto Again, Osaka Again, Then Tokyo

November 11, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN OSAKA”, 12/11/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

0. Dark Match: Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Produce Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Aja Kong & HARASHIMA
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Yukio Naya (2)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (1) Vs Joey Janela (4)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (3) Vs RSP (4)
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (c) Vs Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (3) Vs MAO (2)
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (4) Vs Naomi Yoshimura (0)

The audience is allowed to cheer for this weekend’s DDT shows in Osaka and Kyoto.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~YUKI ARAI TRIUMPHANT PERFORMANCE~”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Shoko Nakajima Vs Suzume Vs Haruna Neko
2. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Rika Tatsumi Vs Arisu Endo
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa
6. Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku

Reiwa AA Cannon takes centre stage while Miyu Yamashita, Hyper Misao and Nao Kakuta are all busy elsewhere this weekend. Yamashita & Misao are in England while Kakuta is performing on a stage show.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Joey Janela, Makoto Oishi & Yuki Ishida Vs RSP, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (2) Vs KANON (2)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (5) Vs MAO (2)
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Naruki Doi & Akito Vs Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (1) Vs Naomi Yoshimura (0)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (3) Vs Chris Brookes (2)
8. Saki Akai Produce Match: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA Vs Aja Kong, Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata

The spotlight remains on Saki Akai later in the day when the hometown girl main events DDT too. The occasion calls for her to battle Aja Kong one more!

DDT “NEXTBODY PRESENTS STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY VOL. 2 IN OSAKA ~JUN AKIYAMA DEBUT 30TH ANNIVERSARY ROUND 2~”, 10/12/2022
Osaka Izumi City Plaza Yayoi no Kaze Hall

1. Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata
3. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
5. Special Single Match: Tigers Mask Vs Yusuke Okada
6. NEXTBODY presents Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match In Osaka ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Zeus, Bodyguard & Ryouji Sai

We’re going full force Osaka in the main event of Jun Akiyama’s next anniversary show. Akiyama is teaming with Tetsuya Endo & Naomi Yoshimura to take on a super alliance between Big Guns and Ryouji Sai!

Osaka’s own Tigers Mask has asked to be on the show so Akiyama is putting him against Yusuke Okada.

BASARA “BASARA 206 ~RYU TOKOTO~”, 11/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Ryuichi Sekine Vs X
2. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Fuminori Abe

Over two years ago Fuminori Abe won the Union MAX Title under unfortunate circumstances when the champion Masahiro Takanashi suffered a bad injury during their match. Abe became the new champion as a result but he never really accepted the reign as being fully legitimate. After winning the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament this week he thinks now is the time for him to challenge for the belt again and prove to himself he deserves to be the champion. Doing that against Isami Kodaka, the man who has held the MAX Title the most would definitely prove it.

Ryuichi Sekine returns to the ring after spending almost two years away from pro wrestling to take care of his mental health. While he was away, Abe won the rights to become Ryuichi Sekine II but he purposely never used the gimmick knowing the original would one day return.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND” Results

November 1, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
411 Fans

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Akito) ended in a No Contest (7:49).
1. Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi when Ishida pinned Sumi with a Spinebuster (9:03).
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul ended in a No Contest (7:39).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: RSP (2) defeated Naomi Yoshimura (0) with the GTF (8:14).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO (2) defeated Chris Brookes (0) by Countout (11:53).
5. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada when Akiyama pinned Masada with the Exploder Suplex (11:38).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (2) defeated Yukio Naya (0) with the World’s Best German Suplex (13:04).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) defeated KANON (0) with the Brain Claw Slam (18:33).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (2) defeated Yuki Ueno (0) with the Burning Star Press (15:41).

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (2)
-. RSP (2)
3. Daisuke Sasaki (0)
-. Joey Janela (0)
-. Naomi Yoshimura (0)
-. Yuki Ueno (0)

B Block

1. Kazusada Higuchi (2)
-. Yuji Hino (2)
-. MAO (2)
4. Chris Brookes (0)
-. Yukio Naya (0)
-. KANON (0)

A minor ankle injury did over the last week does not seem to be much of a bother for Tetsuya Endo. His start to the D-Ou Grand Prix could not have gone any better. A big win over Yuki Ueno in today’s main event sent the message loud and clear. Endo is determined to win the Grand Prix and after that every DDT singles championship will be in his sights, even the DDT Universal Title held by Ueno! Endo’s next match in his block is another difficult one. He and Daisuke Sasaki have so much history together. Endo is feeling pain in his left ankle and admits he is not at his best, but he will be fine whenever he gets into the ring.

Maybe it’s not a good idea to spend so much time taunting Kazusada Higuchi. Sure, KANON got away with it once or twice heading into today’s match but here is where it all came back to bite him. KANON did show a good fight by getting a nearfall with the Sleepy Hollow. He also grounded Higuchi into the Cobra Twist but getting grabbed with a Brain Claw turned things around. Higuchi smashed him with a few Lariats and pinned him with the Brain Claw Slam. After the match Higuchi brought up KANON’s claim that he would be laughing over his corpse today. That didn’t happen and even if KANON could beat him, he would never die. Instead Higuchi is aiming for the top by winning the DDT Grand Slam! He already won King Of DDT and holds the KO-D Openweight Title. Now he just needs to win the D-Ou Grand Prix.

Friends and tag team partners Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya had to face each other in their opening block match. Naya is putting a lot of effort into convincing everyone he has taken a step up and is ready to win the tournament. He came out to new music and new ring gear to cap off a new version of himself. Unfortunately for Naya, Hino is still one of the strongest wrestlers around. There was the surprise of Naya kicking out of the Fuckin’ BOMB but he was done for once Hino hit the World’s Best German Suplex. Hino was happy to see how much his friend has grown and admitted the German Suplex was a last minute move he needed to win. Naya is not letting the loss get to him because he knows he can still reach the final if he wins his remaining matches.

In non-tournament action, the veteran team of Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA welcomed the challenge of Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada in a battle between the generations. The youngsters gave Akiyama a Double Brainbuster and Masada followed it up with a Triangle Kick for a nearfall. Akiyama cut him off with Running Knee Strikes then shrugged off Masada’s Elbow Strikes to hit some more Knee Strikes. The Exploder Suplex then put an end to the match. Akiyama praised Masada for showing guts and wonders if he will be in the D-Ou GP next year if he continues showing progress. Koroku however might be getting pushed around to easily if Akiyama is being honest.

Back to the Grand Prix where MAO attempted to avenge last year’s tournament loss to Chris Brookes. Last time MAO was counted out in embarrassing fashion and it has haunted him ever since. Both were fighting for the countout win, oddly enough. It led to them fighting up in the balcony before racing back to avoid the 20 count. MAO got ahead and leapt over the barrier, landing on one end of a wooden plank leaning over it. It caused a see-saw effect where the other end hit Brookes right between the legs! MAO made it back to the ring in time to win by countout. He said what we just saw is his ability to win by imperfect means. He only had to put in a 65% performance and he was able to win this way. MAO faces Naya next and he thinks he will have to go 100% just to match Naya’s improved performances.

The debuting RSP put a dampener on Naomi Yoshimura’s start to the tournament. Yoshimura is Kenta Kobashi’s pick to win the tournament but couldn’t find anything to put his American opponent away. Instead RSP got the win with his GTF finisher. RSP explained afterwards that even though Yoshimura’s attacks hurt, he is used to pain and could withstand all of it. Yoshimura is frustrated to lose yet can’t help but love fighting against big and powerful foreign wrestlers.

Some of the undercard matches went out of control a little bit. Joey Janela and Daisuke Sasaki are upcoming opponents so were put in a preview tag team match. Sasaki had good ol’ reliable MJ Paul with him while Janela found himself in an odd couple with Yukio Sakaguchi. Things went off the rails from the get go when Sasaki and Janela fought outside the ring. Chairs were brought into the brawl and Janela accidentally hit Sakaguchi with one. Sakaguchi stormed off in anger, leaving Janela by himself to fight off Sasaki & MJ Paul. Janela was able to give Sasaki a Low Blow and a chair shot before the match was called off by the referee. Janela said Sasaki crossed a line and swore revenge. He later asked interviewers why isn’t Jun Akiyama in the tournament? Janela has fought many old wrestlers from the ages of 50 to 75 so he wants to add Akiyama to the list!

A mixture of DDT talent among the different stables were put together for the opener. Yusuke Okada from BURING, Hideki Okatani from Eruption & Yuki Ishida from Harimao defeated Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima from The 37KAMIINA along with the unaffiliated rookie Kazuma Sumi. Ishida pulled out a Sitout Spinebuster on Sumi to get the win.

So much for the Pheromones Subjugation Squad. Akito’s first day in charge of keeping Danshoku Dieno and his buddies under control ended in complete failure. Or did it? Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata were rendered powerless to stop them until Akito revealed he had a secret plan. It was Akito stripping himself down to his underwear for some reason. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match and told Akito there was no point taking his clothes off because there was already too much stripping going on. However that meant Pheromones didn’t win the match so in Akito’s mind his plan kind of worked!

Kenta Kobashi led the D-Ou opening ceremony where all of the entrants were introduced to the fans. He said he was looking forward to seeing exciting fights that would be worthy of the tournament and asked the fans to show their passionate support for the wrestlers.

The day began with Sanshiro Takagi promising to announce an important piece of news about DDT. First, footage was shown of Yuki Iino spending his one day as CyberFight President as promised. After that, Takagi came out and announced DDT has begun a business partnership with Sun Music to open up more entertainment opportunities for their wrestlers. Takagi then introduced everyone to Hiroyuki Oka, the vice president of Sun Music. The goal is to give DDT wrestlers more exposure in the entertainment industry while also bringing in comedians, singers and other talent who are interested in pro wrestling. Oka got in the spirit of things by complimenting the wrestlers in the dark match for all having beautiful butts… It was a Pheromones match, what did you expect?


DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022” Results

October 23, 2022

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Showdown FINAL ~ Dissolution Contra 1 Day President! 2 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito when Dieno pinned Takagi after a Chairshot from Hisaya Imabayashi (7:39).
*Yuki “Sexy” Iino gets to be CyberFight President for 1 day.
1. Kazuma Sumi Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Kazuma Sumi with a Crab Hold (8:48).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when KANON pinned Kojima with the Sleepy Hollow (12:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida defeated HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada when Machida pinned Masada with the Iai Punch (10:56).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida when Koroku submitted Ishida with the Triangle Lancer (10:39).
5. Road To D-Ou GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes defeated Tetsuya Endo, MAO & Yukio Naya when Brookes pinned Naya with a Roll Up (15:22).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda with the WR (15:24).
*V2 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Brain Claw Slam (16:12).
*V4 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A fourth successful KO-D Openweight Title defence is in the books for Kazusada Higuchi and it was his most emotional one yet. Yukio Sakaguchi spent the build up to the match pulling the “big brother” card and reminding everyone that he is Higuchi’s senpai. It was all mind games to see if Higuchi has really moved on from Eruption or not. It added more danger to Sakaguchi’s kicks and choke holds. The attacks left Higuchi bleeding from the bridge of his nose. But Higuchi hit back with the Brain Claw Slam and several Horizontal Chops. Sakaguchi was spent by the end of it while Higuchi yelled at him to stand back up. Both of them knew the match was finished and a tearful Higuchi gave his “big brother” another Brain Claw Slam to get the win.

The aftermatch saw Sakaguchi praising Higuchi for being merciless and also as strong as ever. He told Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida that they are part of a good unit in Harimao and they should trust Higuchi as their leader. It also made Sakaguchi tell Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani that Eruption need to fire up even stronger from now on because they cannot lose. Higuchi thanked Sakaguchi & Akai for what they taught him in Eruption. He then gave Okatani a gift. It is Higuchi’s entrance gown he wore when he was part of Eruption. When they left, Higuchi said the D-Ou Grand Prix is a physically and mentally tough challenge but he is going to face it and break through. The next KO-D Title defence won’t be until 29th December.

Old allies from the DNA days turned into fresh rivals for the DDT Universal Title. The champion Yuki Ueno not only had to worry about fighting Koju Takeda but the rest of Pheromones too. However The 37KAMIINA were there to support Ueno and get Pheromones out of the way, although it took some dives from Takeda and Ueno to help clear out the interference. When it went back into a 1 on 1 match, Ueno pinned Takeda with the WR to defend the title. He told Takeda afterwards he is glad their match has gone from Kitasenju Theatre 1010 to Korakuen Hall. Ueno doesn’t want to face anyone from Pheromones again but he can’t help but feel jealous at them. Now he will move on to the D-Ou Grand Prix where he hopes to do one better than last year and win the tournament.

A lot of the D-Ou field used today’s matches to get ready and call their shots for the tournament next month. Chris Brookes declared after the trios match he was going to win the D-Ou GP. Yoshimura then cut off the music to say he would win it instead. Yuji Hino called the two of them idiots because he will win. Then Tetsuya Endo questioned all of their opinions and decided he was going to be the winner. MAO kept cutting in during this so everyone just heard the two of them talk over each other. Yukio Naya had enough and shoved them over to say he will win. They played his music to end the segment, which annoyed Brookes because Brookes beat Naya to win the match.

The wrestling politicians team came back. Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu teamed with Ishida to take on three members of BURNING. Kawamatsu was thrown right in there with Jun Akiyama which has to be both an exciting and terrifying experience for a long time wrestling fan. Maybe the same can be said for Yusuke Okada getting to fight Nishimura. But it was the two youngest wrestlers of the match who determined which side won. Yuya Koroku timed Ishida’s momentum well and drew him into a Triangle Lancer to get the submission victory. Okada criticized Kawamatsu’s performance in the post-match interview backstage. He said the politician should put more energy into his performance. Elsewhere Kawamatsu said he fell into the same trap as his last match. Whenever he gets into the ring, his mind goes blank and his body stiffens up. If he gets another chance to do a match he promises to devote himself into showing everyone a more solid performance.

A brand new challenge was presented to Takeshi Masada. How would he fare taking on a kickboxer like Hikaru Machida? The match also presented a big challenge for Machida because HARASHIMA was Masada’s tag partner. Masada held his own against both Machida & Soma Takao until Machida started getting the combos in. They took their toll on the rookie and he was done for once the Iai Punch found its target. HARASHIMA would like to team with Masada again but they need a better tag name. The suggestions they got were Pantaloon Tag and Harashimasada but HARASHIMA thinks both of them sound too dorky.

The two members of DAMNATION T.A entering the D-Ou GP are also looking in good shape going into it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON were victorious along with Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul against a combined foursome of Eruption and The 37KAMIINA members. Sasaki and Shunma Katsumata had a close exchange but KANON got the win by pinning Toi Kojima. After the match Sasaki said he hates the D-Ou GP but will make sure he still wins it. He will see KANON in the final. KANON replied that the D-Ou GP will be covered in DAMNATION T.A’s colours. However things looked to get tense between the two so Fujita and Paul stepped in to keep things cool between everyone.

The debut of Kazuma Sumi gave Kazuki Hirata the opportunity to wrestle a mostly serious match without his wacky antics getting in the way. Sumi made it clear he is going to be a fast moving high flyer. Hirata stopped mid-match and asked Sumi what his goal is going to be. Sumi said he wants to win the match. Hirata asked for the answer to be bigger and louder. Sumi shouted he is going to be at the top of DDT! Hirata wanted an even bigger and louder answer. Sumi shouted he will become the KO-D Champion! Hirata shook his hand and then kicked him to continue the match. He got the rookie to submit to the Crab Hold, as is tradition in pro wrestling. Kojima said Sumi has a good mindset but there are a lot of young wrestlers now in DDT that Sumi has to compete with. Sumi said a week ago he fell into a slump and couldn’t sleep but his debut match was fun and he has Hirata to thank for that.

Perhaps the match with the greatest consequence today took place on the pre-show. The dark match featured Sanshiro Takagi leading a team of wrestlers against Pheromones in a 5 Vs 2 battle. It was kind of 5 Vs 3 because Yumehito Imanari was there at ringside to help his mates out. Still, Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still had to fight Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito all at once. Takagi had Dieno beat with the Himawari Bomb and called Hisaya Imabayashi into the ring. He gave the DDT GM a chair and told him to finish Dieno off once and for all. Imabayashi hesitated until he finally swung the chair… at Takagi! Dieno jumped on top of Takagi to get the three count, meaning Yuki Iino now gets to be President of CyberFight for a day!

Imabayashi explained his actions after the match. He was not betraying Takagi to join Pheromones. Instead he was taking a stand towards Takagi for his abuse of power. A 5 Vs 2 Handicap match was unfair from the beginning. Takagi has too much on his plate as CyberFight president to keep worrying about Pheromones. DDT has a very important project coming up next year that Takagi needs to put his full attention on. Imabayashi won’t be able to feel at peace when he leaves DDT if Takagi doesn’t move on. Takagi understands and announced he his “graduating” from his feud with Pheromones. However he appointed Akito to take his place and keep the feud going. Akito complained that he always fights Pheromones anyway but he accepts the decision.

Midway through the show Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata were brought into the ring to be announced as the opponents for Reiwa AA Cannon on 29th December. Anou was carrying the ICEx∞ Title from Ice Ribbon with her. She said she will prove she is more attractive and strong than either Saki Akai or Yuki Arai. Kawahata said she lost to Akai the last time she was in DDT so she wants to mess up the faces of both Akai & Arai on 29th December. Later Akai said she had singles matches against Anou and Kawahata before. She wonders if anything has changed with Kawahata since their previous match. She also thinks it will be great experience for Arai to fight wrestlers from other promotions and see what they all have to offer.

The big project for next year seems to be DDT’s return to America! First, Takagi announced “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” will take place on 30th March, 2023 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles! The show will be part of The Collective, a series of events spearheaded by GCW held during WrestleMania week. If that wasn’t enough, Joey Janela sent in a video announcing “GCW VS DDT” will take place in the same venue on 31st March! It will be the first time in 4 years DDT will be holding shows in America. Takagi said he’s been wanting to do it every year since the New York show in 2019 but the pandemic kept putting them back at square one. The Yen is weak against the Dollar right now so Takagi is aiming to make a lot of money while DDT is in the USA.

Soma Takao is now the store manager of the Dropkick Bar. So if you ever want to drink with Takao, he’ll be waiting for you at the Dropkick Bar!