D GENERATIONS CUP

January 2, 2023

The D GENERATIONS CUP is a round robin tournament being put together by DDT for their young wrestlers to compete in. It is the first time DDT is doing a tournament built around youth since the DNA Grand Prix in 2016. The prize for the winner is a spot on DDT’s trip to Hollywood in March. The winner will be booked for both “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” on 30th March and “GCW VS DDT” in Los Angeles on 31st March.

Every match in the group stage will have a 15 minute time limit. Wins are worth 2 points, time limit and double knockout draws are worth 1 point and losses, double countouts and no contests are worth 0 points. The winner of both blocks will face each other in the final. Head-To-Head results from the group stage will be used as a tiebreaker. If that is also tied then a sudden death match will take place to decide who goes to the final.

A Block

Hideki Okatani
Yuya Koroku
Kazuma Sumi
Ilusion

B Block

Keigo Nakamura
Toi Kojima
Yuki Ishida
Takeshi Masada

The match schedule has not been determined yet but the tournament will take place on the following shows:

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023”, 29/01/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023 IN OSAKA”, 05/02/2023
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 1”, 11/02/2023
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

DDT “HEAT WAVE OVER FLOWERS 2 ~THE WORLD THAT EVERYONE DOES NOT KNOW~”, 14/02/2023
Shinjuku FACE

DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2023”, 18/02/2023
Aichi Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall


DDT “NEVER MIND 2022” Results

December 29, 2022

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall
1,207 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when Okatani pinned Sumi with the Diving Knee Drop (9:32).
0. Dark Match: Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Soma Takao & Antonio Honda when KANON submitted Honda with the Cobra Twist (9:31).
1. Sanshiro Takagi defeated Takeshi Masada with a Texas Cloverleaf (4:42).
2. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida when HARASHIMA pinned Ishida with the Somato (10:08).
3. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces ~ Dissolution & Pet Dogs Contra One Day Experience: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata when Iino pinned Katsumata with the Badonkadonk (16:20).
*Shunma Katsumata must join Pheromones for one day.
4. Special Single Match: Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Shinya Aoki with the Albright (8:21).
5. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai defeated Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata when Akai pinned Kawahata with the Quetzalcoatl (12:40).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) when Endo pinned Hirata with the Burning Star Press (12:25).
*Doi-gumi fails in V1. BURNING becomes the 49th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. DDT Extreme Title – If 45-Year-Old Sasadango Machine’s Weight Loss Fails We Will Have A Normal Rules Match! Special: Jun Akiyama (c) defeated Super Sasadango Machine with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder (2:30).
*V1 for Jun Akiyama.
8. Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yukio Naya defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & RSP when Naya pinned RSP with the Back Drop (17:43).
9. International 4 Way Match: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes and Cara Noir when MAO pinned Brookes with a Modified Backslide Pin (13:22).
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Yuki Ueno with the Brain Claw Slam (27:57).
*V5 for Kazusada Higuchi.

The finale of DDT’s 25th year in business took place in Tokyo Dome City Hall. The year also closes out with the KO-D Openweight Title remaining firmly around Kazusada Higuchi’s waist. He successfully defended the belt against Yuki Ueno, the current DDT Universal Champion in a match between arguably the two top wrestlers in the company right now. Ueno’s gameplan was to overwhelm Higuchi with his high flying. Higuchi’s toughness won out with the highlight being him taking a Dropkick to the face and shrugging it off. Ueno kept up the pressure but both the BME missed its target and Higuchi kicked out of the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. The challenger’s last move in his pocket was the WR but Higuchi had ways to block it. His first counter was to grab Ueno in the Brain Claw, then his second counter was using Naomi Yoshimura’s Harai Goshi throw! A Headbutt thrown afterwards left Ueno stunned long enough for Higuchi to hit him with the Brain Claw Slam and win.

Higuchi thanked Ueno after the match and said as champions and tournament winners this year they supported DDT together alongside each other. The two embraced each other and Ueno left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi told Higuchi it was a fitting match to end DDT in 2022. The GM then asked Higuchi who he wants to defend the KO-D Title against on 29th January? Before Higuchi could answer, Yuji Hino interrupted him! He congratulated Higuchi and said he deserved to win tonight. Hino also thinks Higuchi is the only person who can go head-to-head with him, referring to the 30 minute draw they had in November where they chopped each other non-stop until the time limit expired. Hino normally wouldn’t be interested in becoming the KO-D Champion for a second time but since it is Higuchi’s belt he now wants it! Higuchi accepted the challenge because he too wants to settle who is stronger once and for all.

When Hino left, Higuchi gave a speech to the fans thanking them for their support. He does not know what to expect in 2023 because this year he surpassed everyone in DDT. However he promised DDT will continue to push forward with their hearts. The show ended with Higuchi meeting up with everybody backstage, Yoshimura included and they all got together for a group farewell to the audience.

The International 4 Way Match turned TDC Hall into a glorious venue for the return of Cara Noir. Not all of the welcomes was warm for him though. Daisuke Sasaki Headbutted him during the start of match handshake. MAO also took his entrance cloak and then impersonated him. Noir Headbutted MAO in response. The match continued to be chaotic as all four wrestlers fought each other, made alliances, switched those alliances and did whatever they could to win. It ended up with Chris Brookes dropping Sasaki with a Tombstone Piledriver. After Sasaki kicked out, MAO suddenly caught Brookes in a Backslide Pin on top of Sasaki for leverage to get the win out of nowhere. The result represents MAO’s 2022. He said 2020 was a bad year, 2021 he stayed patient and this year he blossomed. Sasaki was pissed at the result and complained about not trusting anybody whethere they are British or Japanese. CDK were suprised by how MAO won the match. That was a CDK-like move and Masahiro Takanashi admits he never thought MAO could pull off something like that. Today’s result is a lesson they learned before the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 3rd January. Noir did not leave any comment.

Yukio Naya is another wrestler who gets to end his year on a good note. He was the one standing tall in an all heavyweight tag team match. The focus for a lot of the match though was on Konosuke Takeshita clashing with Daisuke Sekimoto. Not even Naya & RSP trying to pull them away for German Suplexes could stop them. Takeshita and Sekimoto ended up German Suplexing both of them for getting in their way! They then traded German Suplexes to each other, leaving each other too beaten to continue fighting. So the match came down to Naya and RSP against each other. Naya pulled off a big move by hitting an Avalanche Choke Slam before pinning him for the three count. Takeshita admitted that the match was the first time in a long time he had an out of body experience. He’s been fighting strong wrestlers in America but nothing compares to the strength of Sekimoto! He also wondered if everyone in DDT has become harder hitters since he was gone. Naya confirmed so and Takeshita said that’s a good thing. He also said he wants a singles match against Sekimoto and he does not care if it is in DDT or Big Japan. He warns that if neither of them do it then it might end up happening in America. Naya then told Takeshita he wants a singles match against him some day and to keep an eye on him throughout 2023.

The match stipulation for the DDT Extreme Title bout hung on the weight of Super Sasadango Machine. He’s been losing weight and was given a target by Jun Akiyama to drop down below 110kg. If Sasadango met the goal he would choose the match stipulation. Unfortunately he could only get down to 119.6kg (116.9kg without the costume) so it was going to be a traditional PWF rules wrestling bout instead. However Sasadango had a trick up his sleeve. When he signed the contract for the match his signature was written as “1/12 Super Sasadango Machine” referring to a 1/12 scale plastic toy model of himself that he possesses. That means only his plastic figure had to be under 110kg, not him! The model passed the weighing test (it’s only 59g) and Sasadango decided the Extreme Title will be contested in a “TonTon Pro Wrestling” match between Sasadango’s model and an acrylic stand of Jun Akiyama!

Before the match began, Sasadango held his latest PowerPoint Presentation. He has spent years developing his plastic model and is proud of the result. While he is happy to have dropped loads of weight for this match, his current physique now renders his model obsolete when it’s supposed to be the strongest plastic model on the market! He also claimed Akiyama’s demands for Sasadango to update his progress regularly on social media was against CyberAgent employee policy. When he was done it was time for the title match. TonTon wrestling games involve each player placing their model on the game board and tapping the board with their fingers to make them move. Whoever falls over first loses. Here one model needs to fall on top of the other and pin it for three seconds for the player to be declared the winner. The game began and not much happened. Sasadango complained about Akiyama’s acrylic stand had an unfair advantage because it has a flat base preventing it from tipping over. Akiyama agreed to find a replacement and took out his NOAH action figure customized by a fan to look up to date (i.e. bald). The game continued and both models fell over. Yukinori Matsui asked the audience who they thought won and when they sounded more in favour of Akiyama, he grabbed Sasadango’s model and snapped it in half! Sasadango quickly agreed to do a normal wrestling match instead.

The match re-started and Sasadango saw his only chance. He countered the Exploder Suplex into the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock but only got a nearfall. Akiyama hit him in the face with Knee Strikes, including one with his kneepad pulled down. He threw an Exploder Suplex and then just for good measure used the Wrist-Clutch Exploder as the finish. After the match Imabayashi informed Akiyama the next Extreme Title defence will be in Yokohama on 21st January. Akiyama called for someone to come down and challenge him. Antonio Honda was already in the ring trying to get Sasadango out. He suddenly stumbled in front of Akiyama, making the champion think he is the next challenger! Imabayashi confirmed Honda will get the title shot on 21st January whether he wants to do it or not.

This past week Naruki Doi & Toru Owashi had the chance to hold trios championships in both Dragongate and DDT at the same time. It did not turn out that way and instead they don’t have any championships at all! Today they along with Kazuki Hirata lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles to BURNING. Hirata’s insistance to get tagged in may be what cost them the belts because it was Hirata who dropped the fall to Tetsuya Endo. After the match Pheromones entered the ring demanding a title shot against BURNING. Danshoku Dieno said there is no more threat of them splitting up so 2023 will be spent taking championships starting with the 6-Man Tag Titles. Endo accepted and told Kotaro Suzuki that when you come here to DDT this path is unavoidable. He promised that he, Suzuki & Yusuke Okada will show Pheromones what sexy really looks like! The title match will happen on 29th January.

Reiwa AA Cannon were victorious against the visiting team of Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata in a close match. Saki Akai was in trouble when she took Double Jumping High Kicks from her opponents. Anou threw her over with a German Suplex and Kawahawa went for the Moonsault. Akai moved out of the way and Yuki Arai came in reverse the momentum. She took out Anou with the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally. Then Akai & Arai hit Kawahata with the Double Rookie Award. With no one there to save her, Kawahata was pinned by Akai with the Quetzalcoatl. Backstage Anou admitted she underestimated Arai. She thought she was just a cute face and found out the weight of her attacks were way more heavier than she expected. As for her opinion of Akai, Anou likes wrestling her and would come back to DDT to do more matches like this. Anou also wants Arai to know that her name also starts with A so if she ever gets tired of teaming with Akai, give her a call.

There was a message sent loud and clear by Chihiro Hashimoto today. She is physically and mentally as good as anyone in the world. Shinya Aoki however is not good enough. Those were the comments she made after beating Aoki clean, countering his Cross Armbreaker into a Doctor Bomb and then pinning him with the Albright. Even though she won she is still feeling frustration in a way she hasn’t felt since fighting Meiko Satomura. Aoki can’t figure out why he lost, particularly how Hashimoto was able to use a Power Bomb to counter his submission hold.

As mentioned earlier, Pheromones did not disband today. They won their high stakes match against Akito’s subjugation squad. It was the one time the politicians Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu did not want their constituents to watch them wrestle because they were left embarrassed by their opponents. Kawamatsu tried to shout down Yuki Iino by telling him he isn’t sexy at all. It didn’t work and Pheromones got to do their thing, knocking out members of Akito’s team one by one with their perverted moveset while Yumehito Imanari filmed the whole thing. The match ended with Iino pinning Shunma Katsumata meaning Katsumata has to spend 24 hours with Pheromones. “Chunma” is now going to be their pet dog! He reluctantly played along by barking into the microphone while on his hands and knees. Dieno then revealed that “Chunma” isn’t going to be with Pheromones for 24 hours. He’s going to be with them for a whole month! Akito tried to cheer up the others by saying every fight has sacrifices and Katsumata’s sacrifice will not be in vain. Today is just a bad dream that everyone can pretend never happened.

There’s something to this tag team pairing of HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi. They won against Hino & Yuki Ishida to show that it’s not just the young wrestlers who are doing their best. Sakaguchi said he was happy to team with HARASHIMA and win on his last show of 2022. HARASHIMA thinks 2023 is going to be tough but his generation are going to make things exciting too.

Sanshiro Takagi dashed Takeshi Masada’s dreams of going to Hollywood next year but there may still be hope yet for the youngster. Takagi’s dodgy shoulder had healed and he was able to show it by doing an Avalanche Double Arm Suplex. When he applied a Crab Hold, Masada reached the ropes so Takagi kicked at his legs before putting on a Texas Cloverleaf to win. After the match Takagi called in all of the young DDT wrestlers to enter the ring. He thinks it is unfair that Masada was the only rookie given the chance to win a spot for DDT’s shows in America next year. So Takagi has created the D GENERATIONS CUP! It will be a league for DDT’s rookies to compete in and the winner goes to the Hollywood show in March!

There were two matches on the pre-show. DAMNATION T.A defeated Takanashi, Soma Takao & Honda in one of them. KANON got the win by making Honda submit to the Cobra Twist.

The other pre-show match featured the younger wrestlers. Toi Kojima wiped out Yuya Koroku with a Diving Body Attack out of the ring. Hideki Okatani then pinned Kazuma Sumi with the Diving Knee Drop.

The long awaited Anal Explosion opening ceremony hosted by LiLiCo was almost ruined by the appearance of Danshoku Dieno. He was chosen to detonate the explosive placed inside LiLiCo and she refused to let that responsibility be given to one of her enemies. The problem was solved when her husband Ryohei Odai unexpectedly showed up. He was supposed to be at rehearsals for the NHK New Year’s Eve show but found out at the last minute it was pushed back to tomorrow. He made it to TDC Hall as fast as he could so he would be the one to set off the love of his life’s Anal Explosion. He also suggested that next year when he has more free time he could perform one himself because that’s how important the bond between a husband and wife is to him. Dieno was moved to tears and allowed Odai to ignite the bomb. It went off without a hitch. LiLiCo was still alive afterwards and said her love for Odai has deepened. She also wants to make a pro wrestling comeback next year if her anus has healed. Unfortunately the doctor on site informed her that her anus is currently in serious condition (Odai said that part of LiLiCo’s body now “looks like a black hole”). Will LiLiCo ever return to wrestling in one piece?

Keigo Nakamura announced he has fully recovered from his knee injury and will return to the ring on 13th January. His last match was in November 2021.


DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2023

December 24, 2022

Merry Christmas to you all! There are a lot of things I’m not good at. Making predictions for pro wrestling is one of them. It’s what happens when the crystal ball I look through was bought in Lidl. But I like doing it anyway. The Christmas and New Year period is very busy for covering pro wrestling so I never really have the time to do something like this in previous years. To solve that problem I’ve been jotting down predictions in my free time this month so I could finally put out the article. I came up with 20 predictions for 2023 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses for anything even slightly related to DDT or CyberFight. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. Some are guesses based on past booking patterns, going with gut feelings, going the opposite of gut feelings and in some places just straight up fantasy booking. None of these are hints or teases of the little inside info I do know about. Will any of them come true? Nah, probably not. But let’s take a stab at it anyway?

DDT


Brass Monkey, That Funky Monkey
Prediction: Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.

My evidence supporting this prediction is Mike Bailey’s profile on the DDT roster page is still there. They never took him off the website even though he hasn’t wrestled for the company since April 2020. The man has had a well deserved breakout year in America for 2022 splitting his time between Impact and the indies. I bet he’ll be in the area when DDT are doing their Hollywood shows in April. Also if he has the time to come back to Japan, I think it will be for DDT over anywhere else. There’s a whole new class of guys for him to kick the crap out of. Also a Moonlight Express reunion would be sweet.


Have A Drink And Watch The Die Get Cast
Prediction: KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.

The top prospect from JTO jumped to DDT back in April and has been all in with the company ever since. KANON was rewarded pretty quickly by being added to DAMNATION T.A while Minoru Fujita was out with injury. He had a rough go at the tournaments though, getting eliminated in the King Of DDT 1st Round and only winning one match in the D-Ou Grand Prix. But I’ve been impressed with his work and he is often the one who picks up the wins in DAMNATION T.A tag matches. I think he performs way better in 2023 and racks up a few achievements. In fact, I think he will achieve more in the next 12 months than his leader Daisuke Sasaki will! I’m talking the number of title matches he gets, the better performances he puts in tournaments and a higher amount of significant singles victories. KANON is going to claim some scalps this year that will leave Sasaki looking jealous. That’s if Sasaki is sober enough to register what’s going on.


365 Degrees, Burning Down The House
Prediction: Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.

The first draft of this was slightly different. I had Yuya Koroku down as the first new gen wrestler to win any championship. Then I remembered Toi Kojima is currently one of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions and Hideki Okatani once held the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title a year ago. Oh and Keigo Nakamura held both if he counts (debuted 2019 before the pandemic so eh?). As a result this prediction isn’t turning out as sharp as I thought it would be. But I’m sticking with the general idea. There’s a new wave of fresh blood coming into DDT and the highlight for me so far was Koroku and Kojima’s rivalry found within the BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA tag matches. Eyes will be on Yuki Ishida for becoming a bigger part of a diminished Harimao out of necessity, Takeshi Masada as the hot prospect and Kazuma Sumi for his athleticism. There’s still three more trainees yet to debut plus the short term future of El Unicorn and Ilusion is currently unknown. With that said Koroku has the advantage of seniority over most of the other rookies to make this prediction come true. Even if it’s just as the third man holding the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, I think Koroku has the best odds of getting belted up next year.


Where’s Your Head At, At?
Prediction: Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.

This is a cruel one. Tetsuya Endo had everything in place before the summer to finally be the flag bearer for DDT. Then Katsuhiko Nakajima knocked him out and left him concussed, taking all of that away. I wouldn’t say he is a shadow of his former self since coming back but a bit of shine has disappeared in him becoming the leading man again. He has given himself a new goal of winning all of the singles championships. That’s going to be a long journey if it does work out that way. For 2023 I do not see Endo winning back the KO-D Openweight Title and I don’t think he will win any of the singles tournaments. The DDT Universal Title and DDT Extreme Title can be in his grasp but neither of them will bring him back to the number one main eventer spot in the next 12 months. To take a positive stance for this, think of 2023 as his rebuilding year for 2024. He’s already spent the last few months bulking up to become more a bigger heavyweight. Maybe the key to getting over this will be to confront his demon at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2023”


Loan Me A Dragon, I Wanna See Space
Prediction: Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

Remember this unholy alliance? There were three occasions when DDT and Dragongate worked together and promoted shows under the name Dramatic Dream Gate. Once in 2007, again in 2008 and the final one taking place in 2012. Then the relationship between the two companies went icy for a long time after that. Things began to defrost a few years ago thanks to Toru Owashi getting DG bookings and in return bringing one of their wrestlers from his generation over whenever DDT goes to Kobe or Nagano. Now that Naruki Doi is bouncing back and forth between the two companies as a freelancer without pissing anybody off I’d like to think everyone’s now cool with each other. What a way to show it by bringing DDG back for another show! It would be worth it just to see Kazuki Hirata do his Magnum Tokyo parody in front of all the DG wrestlers who weren’t even born when the gimmick first existed. I know, I know, DG currently has a working relationship with NOAH. They’re probably all CyberFight’d out at this point. Doesn’t matter, DDT will continue taking their dojo dropouts anyway…

Tokyo Joshi Pro


It Ain’t My Fault That I’m Out Here Making News
Prediction: At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.

It’s kind of a running joke at this point. Actwres girl’Z constantly turn dozens of idols into newly trained joshi at a time then whoever emerges as top of the class ends up leaving them for greener pastures. It’s probably one of the more successful development programs in modern pro wrestling when you think about it. AWG’s lossese end up being another company’s gain and TJPW are usually in that group. Yuna Manase, Natsupoi and Nao Kakuta all came from there. Even just recently we have HIMAWARI pulling off a speed run in how to go from AWG to TJPW in record time. I think it’s only going to increase from here. My prediction is not one, not two but three joshi who were associated with AWG at some point in their lives will appear on TJPW shows throughout 2023. I’m giving myself a little bit of rope here because I am not saying they will all be full time roster additions. Somebody like Saori Anou or Miyuki Takase having one or two guest matches like SAKI did this year would count towards this. But yeah, I can at least guarantee there will definitely be one woman on the active AWG roster who will be showing up at Korakuen Hall wearing a TJPW shirt in the next 12 months.


Pull Up With A Zelda And A Peach And A Daisy
Prediction: An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title

In the almost seven years the Princess Of Princess Title has been around its lineage has belonged entirely to the TJPW roster. In Japan it’s rare for a men’s company to have their main championship stay within their walls for this long but in joshi it’s a little more common. However the scene opened up again to the rest of the world this year and there is a wave of new faces we can all look forward to seeing. The risk is they have their eyes on the gold just as much as the regulars do. I think the time has come for somebody outside of TJPW to become the Princess Champion. Whether they are a Japanese freelancer, an invader fans associate with another company or somebody from overseas I bet the top prize will be taken by an outside force sometime in 2023.


It’s All Around The World, Just La La La La La
Prediction: Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.

Hikari Noa unexpectedly showing up in the Canadian iTunes J-Pop chart at the end of November inspired this one. Some domino is going to fall that will kickstart a chain reaction resulting in Maki Itoh’s music going viral and being discovered by a new audience. She ends up getting a song to No. 1 on one of the digital music services. It doesn’t matter how obscure this gets. It could be No. 1 in Zimbabwe’s chart for the Chamber Psych genre due to input error for all I care.


Once I Ran To You, Now I Run From You
Prediction: A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.

It is inevitable that NEO Biishiki-gun will come back to terrorize TJPW again. They always do. Sakisama will return to grace TJPW fans with her glamourous presence while rubbing it in about how perfect she is. She makes it look easy. There has to be a reason for that, right? You don’t become that much of a narcissist without having something, or someone, that’s been out of your reach for your entire life. Like a rival perhaps? That one person who no matter how good you are at something, they are always better. Like what if there was somebody in Sakisama’s life who always stole her thunder whether it was in their private classes, on the badminton court or even at an extravagant gala? What if that woman with a familiar looking face from somewhere else suddenly shows up in TJPW and begins to waltz through the roster, tempting NEO Biishiki-gun away from their leader in the process. What if Sakisama finds herself in a position she has never experienced before, becoming the underdog? It would be a big change of pace for the gimmick that’s for sure.


Cause A Girl Gonna Push It All Out The Way
Prediction: Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Am I being cheeky with this one? I dunno, something about the Sasha Banks odyssey still sounds kind of murky to me. I don’t think somebody with her leverage is going to settle down with a contract to just one corporation again. I believe she’s aligning with New Japan/Stardom no doubt about that. But why stop there? Something tells me she isn’t going to be exclusive to them in Japan. Not with the people she’s been meeting and spending time with these last few months. TJPW needs something massive if they want to fill up Ariake Colosseum on 18th March. They won’t be doing that by keeping to themselves. Aim big, play big, win big.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling


I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Prediction: Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.

Shota accomplished a lot during his three month stay in America. Among the most important during his excursion was connections. He made friends, met new people and whether intentional or not scouted talent. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of the people he wrestled across the United States get invited over to Ganpro in the coming year. The likes of Ryan Davidson and Phil Shark have been to Japan before but could we see a wrestler like Clay Roberts or Aaron Mercer get the chance to come over thanks to their links with Shota?


All The Way (Keep Going, You Got This)
Prediction: Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.

Ganpro has been a good home for Keisuke Ishii ever since he came over from DDT in 2018. Maybe it’s because he’s in a smaller pond but he’s been able to stay more consistent up the top of the card. 2023 will be the right time for Ganpro’s resident “Puwota” to challenge for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title and win it. I’m not confident he will be the man to dethrone Hartley Jackson but if Mizuki Watase or Ken Ohka can’t do it, it may have to come down to him anyway.


Swing Your Partner ‘Round And ‘Round
Prediction: Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.

This should have been done when they held the Mixed Tag Tournament in 2021! At the moment the Spirit Of Ganbare Title is the only championship being defended in the promotion. Tag Team Titles should be next on the list for Ganpro to grow into a bigger company. They regularly book mixed tag matches anyway and it would be a good way to differentiate the belts from other company’s tag titles. I’m not even calling for it to be a mandatory rule, just have most of the teams competing in title matches be mixed gender.


Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows
Prediction: Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.

The Ganbare☆Joshi division took a step back in 2022. Gone were the Ganpro doubleheaders with GanJo running the afternoon shows. It would be nice if they came back with a vengeance in 2023. Not only could they promote their own shows again but they should take a shot at the big time by having an event at Korakuen! It would be a challenge. Maybe Yuna Manase calls in some favors from Ice Ribbon and Gatoh Move or picks a fight with Prominence to build up a headline match. Moeka Haruhi has worked hard all year too so she deserves a spotlight like this too.


Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Prediction: Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

The aftermath of what happens in January could be either a rising flame of a phoenix or an absolute trash fire. There is plenty of gossip online about Kota Ibushi being done completely with New Japan when his contract is allegedly expected to expire during the month. So if he is going to become a free agent you’d think there will be a lot of suitors out there looking for his services. That might not happen if the guy decides to let loose and produce an exposé on his time with NJPW. If he instead behaves and decide against that then there should be nothing to be worried about, right? Hmmm, can’t be too sure on that one. Ibushi made it clear on Twitter he has no interest in ever going back to DDT. He also sounds bullish about doing work with NOAH when rumours of that surfaced online. Money doesn’t sound like it’s a big motivation for his future plans. If that’s true then wouldn’t a place like Ganpro be more his vibe? It’s where you can wrestle with your heart on your sleeve and a fire in your belly. It would be a wild move to see Ibushi do one match in Korakuen for Ganpro while he is sorting out the Ibushi Wrestling Institute or whatever crazy project he’s been thinking about during his time away from the ring.

Miscellaneous


You Know That I Would Love To See You Next Year, I Hope That I Am Still Alive Next Year
Prediction: Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.

It’s been a while since we last heard from Gake no Fuchi Joshi. Seems like Miyako Matsumoto has moved on to other priorities. The spirit of insanity we see in those shows could easily fit in with the newly formed Baka Gaijin + Friends. Matsumoto’s chaotic energy is not something Chris Brookes & Drew Parker want to be responsible for but what power do they have to stop it if she ever steps foot inside one of their shows?


Are You Ready To Meet And Defeat The Elite?
Prediction: AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.

AEW held half of a women’s tournament in Japan during 2021 and produced exhibition matches at the Tokyo Game Show in 2022. They have it in them to do something in Japan for a third year in the row with DDT/TJPW along for the ride. I’m thinking it will be something on a similar scale as the first two events. A project separate from the TV shows and instead taking place on Youtube. That’s if it is intended for broadcast at all. But hey, if they want to go full blown Dynamite taping in Korakuen Hall with Konosuke Takeshita in a title match I’ll take that any day of the week.


Back To The Family, I Guarantee Emergency
Prediction: CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.

CyberFight’s recent financial losses don’t concern me. In fact I think they’re due for a slight expansion and will add a fifth wrestling promotion to their collection. In past interviews Sanshiro Takagi talked about ideas to launch a new death match group or present another joshi company separate from TJPW. If this happens it can be something brand new or maybe there’s going to be a smaller company that’s finally at the end of their rope and needs to be sold to survive. The recent power shift in WWE kind of winds the clock back to 2019 with their desire to launch spin-offs around the world returning to the surface. The last attempt at that resulted in Stardom selling to Bushiroad and NOAH selling to CyberFight. I could see a repeat happening with another company if WWE wants to go shopping in Japan again. But that’s the cynical prediction. CyberFight might create something brand new to fill in a gap that none of their existing properties can reach. Like what if a certain star who has crazy ideas for his own wrestling company strikes a deal with CyberFight to make it a reality in return for making a few dates with the other promotions? What a golden scenario that would be.


Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, When I Was Dead Broke, Man I Couldn’t Picture This
Prediction: A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.

Come on, what’s the freaking hold up? I love Fire Pro Wrestling World but I have squeezed every last drop of blood out of that stone. Time for something new. I think this prediction is possible but it all hangs on whether or not AEW: Fight Forever becomes a success. I’m really looking forward to that game and you all know the first thing I’m going to do is pick Yuka Sakazaki but I still have my worries it will turn out to be a bumpy AA title at launch. If it does take off then my hope is for Yuke’s re-using the assets to make a Japan only wrestling game get one step closer to coming true. One where they strike a deal with Bushiroad or CyberFight (or hopefully both). For this prediction Fight Forever releasing “Forbidden Door” DLC doesn’t count, Makoto being added to The Wrestling Code doesn’t count and phone games do not count. I am looking for a full fledged console game here. If it works on the Steam Deck then that would be cool too.


Same As It Ever Was
Prediction: BASARA does something new and different.

Please? Things have been stale with BASARA for a long time. Even the summer series with Dove Pro I always look forward too is the same old stuff. Probably harsh of me to say that because I hear they are more or less happy with the way things are. They have their regular schedule with their regular crowd always showing up. Sometimes that’s all you need to keep a good thing going. I still wish they showed more ambition though.


Don’t Shoot Me Santa Claus

December 23, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SE-NO, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2022”, 24/12/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Haruna Neko Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu
4. Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Aino
5. 3 Way Match: Miu Watanabe Vs Raku Vs Juria Nagano
6. TJPW Year End Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima & Suzume Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Hyper Misao & Moka Miyamoto

The card has been changed because of two absences. Nao Kakuta tested positive for covid and Rika Tatsumi caught a stomach bug. Both of their matches are cancelled and their opponents will now face each other. By coincidence the new match is Yuki Kamifuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu, the battle of the Toyo Mates!

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. GanPro Vs Pheromones: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
5. GanJo Vs Ice Ribbon: Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Nao Ishikawa, Yuki Mashiro & Kaho Matsushita
6. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Mizuki Watase

A press conference was held during the week featuring the participants of the Ganbare☆Joshi Vs Ice Ribbon match. The visiters all spoke of their happiness to wrestle in GanJo. Yuki Mashiro in particular is excited to be part of a hot inter-promotional match before she retires on New Year’s Eve. Nao Ishikawa spoke of how her previous matches against Yuna Manase in Ice Ribbon left her frustrated. Kaho Matsushita feels proud she gets to represent her company and hopes the match will attract Ganbare☆Pro’s audience to Ice Ribbon. HARUKAZE said the Ganjo team are united by their passionate bonds and wants to deliver a great match that they will win. Moeka Haruhi described why winters have short daytimes and said their burning desire comes from the Earth being closest to the sun at this time of year. Manase is grateful to Ice Ribbon for getting to wrestle there and wonders what it would be like if she could combine the “Happy” pro wrestling of Ice Ribbon with the “Burning” pro wrestling of Ganpro.

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 ~ Dissolution & Pet Dogs Contra One Day Experience: 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

The KO-D Openweight Champion is taking things one match at a time going into the new year. Kazusada Higuchi is not thinking too far into the future until he beats Yuki Ueno next week. This will be the first time the KO-D Title will be defended in a match between former DNA wrestlers. Higuchi is deeply moved by how far he and Ueno have come from that sub-brand.

Jun Akiyama is still set on changing the DDT Extreme Title belt from purple straps to white straps. The purple colour reminds him of bitter memories. Changing it to white will remind people of the GHC Hardcore Title. He originally created that belt in 2004 to provoke Kenta Kobashi, who held the GHC Heavyweight Title at the time. It was made white to represent the idea that the title would be dyed in the champion’s colours and white is Akiyama’s colour.

DDT “HATSUYUME 2023”, 03/01/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
2. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
3. New Year Special 8-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Shinshun Pokotan, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special 10-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, HARASHIMA, RSP, Soma Takao & Yuki Ishida Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Cara Noir Vs MJ Paul & KANON
6. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Takeshi Masada
7. DDT Universal Title Next Challenger Decision Battle: Naruki Doi Vs Daisuke Sasaki
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata

The man who was once called “The Future” is taking on the next DDT wrestler who is being described with that label. Takeshi Masada still has a long way to go and can learn plenty wrestling against Konosuke Takeshita.

Former opponents Yuki Ueno & Cara Noir now get to be tag partners.

With the addition of Kotaro Suzuki to the unit, all five members of BURNING are teaming together in one match for the first time.

The undercard matches may change if Pheromones are forced to disband on 29th December.

DDT “ALL SEATS ARE 3,000 YEN! DDT NEW YEAR PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL!”, 05/01/2023
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yukio Naya & Yusuke Okada
3. Yuki Ueno & Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi & Ilusion
4. MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
5. New Year Special Challenge Match I: Tetsuya Endo Vs Hideki Okatani
6. New Year Special Challenge Match II: Chris Brookes Vs Takeshi Masada
7. New Year Special Challenge Match III: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ishida

Current DDT against future DDT is the theme used again a few days later. Harimao collides when Higuchi takes on Yuki Ishida. Higuchi has put it upon himself to raise Ishida on his own while Naomi Yoshimura is injured. Masada faces his pro wrestling “dad” Chris Brookes and Tetsuya Endo puts Hideki Okatani through his paces. If that’s not enough, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi test their mettle against ShunMao.

There will be an autograph session at the show with Takeshita and Jun Akiyama among the guests.

Again, Pheromones splitting up may change around the card a little bit.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT WINTER ~KOBE PERFORMANCE~”, 07/01/2023
Kobe Art Center

1. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku Vs Max The Impaler, Heidi Howitzer & Trish Adora

Japan versus The World, Daydream versus The Wasteland War Party and most important of all Pom Harajuku Vs Max The Impaler once again!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT WINTER ~OKAYAMA PERFORMANCE~”, 08/01/2023
Okayama Convention Center

1. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Kamifuku

This is Yuki Aino’s homecoming show.

The Wasteland War Party and Trish Adora will also be on this show.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN SENDAI”, 14/01/2023
Sendai City Miyagino Ward Bunka Center

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi
2. Jun Akiyama & Toru Owashi Vs Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
3. Special Challenge Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku

BURNING has some friendly competition taking place within it. Yuya Koroku has challenged Endo to a match!

Once more, the card can change if Pheromones splits up.


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 “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.


D-Ou Final On Sunday

December 2, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Mizuki Vs Haruna Neko
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Millie McKenzie Vs Shoko Nakajima & Suzume
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Mahiro Kiryu
5. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami
6. Yuka Sakazaki, Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Moka Miyamoto

Tomorrow will be Millie McKenzie’s last match in Tokyo Joshi Pro for this tour.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Akira Raijin & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm Vs Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya

Shogun Okamoto is currently in America and is having so much fun over there he is refusing to come back to Japan. That means he won’t be at the DDT/ONLY WE show tomorrow. Tomomitsu Matsunaga takes his place in Match #3.

GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE Vs Yuki Kanzaki & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. GanJo Special Single Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs YuuRI
3. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
4. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match In YOKOHAMA: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Tyson Maeguchi
5. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

Before the show begins Hartley Jackson and Mizuki Watase will have a contract signing for their Spirit Of Ganbare Title match at Korakuen Hall next month.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. DDT Extreme Title – TLC Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

This time last year Yukio Naya was in the dark match on the same show as the D-Ou Grand Prix final. One year later and he is in the main event fighting in the tournament final. He is motivated to win so he can go beat Kazusada Higuchi again, this time for the KO-D Openweight Title. His power is what concerns Yuki Ueno. However Ueno has his speed to use against that. While Naya has been training with his father to improve his luck, Ueno spent time relaxing in a sauna with Shinya Aoki.

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2022
Kumamoto City Information Distribution Center

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada Vs Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada
3. Special Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi (w/ Yoshihiko)

Maybe Yoshihiko is the solution Akito needs to defeat Pheromones.

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN FUKUOKA”, 18/12/2022
Pivole Fukuoka

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai & Toi Kojima
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada

Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi as a tag team is being promoted by DDT as a cutting edge pairing.


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.


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 “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-” Results

October 26, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-”, 26/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE
440 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Yusuke Okada, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Naya pinned Sumi with a Knee Lift (10:03).
2. HARASHIMA & Akito defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Akito pinned Iino with a Backslide Pin (7:11).
3. Ω Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata after the Fuckin’ BOMB from Hino (7:30).
4. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Brookes pinned Takanashi after the Hair Of The Dog (14:25).
5. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Sasaki submitted Ishida with the Crossface Lock (14:23).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (19:41).

The show served as a preview for the opening day of the D-Ou Grand Prix taking place next week. Yuki Ueno scored the win in the main event, giving him momentum for the tournament opener against Tetsuya Endo. Ueno had him well scouted in the end, using a Missile Dropkick to cut off Endo’s Swan Dive Forearm aimed for Toi Kojima. Ueno then gave Yuya Koroku the WR for the victory. Afterwards Ueno said he has a responsibility to carry DDT on his back because he is entering the D-Ou GP as the DDT Universal Champion. Even if he wasn’t a champion he’s been thinking that way ever since last year’s tournament. Kojima said he will support Ueno and MAO in the tournament. He also wants to grow so he can enter the Grand Prix next year.

Kazusada Higuchi versus KANON is another match that was previewed here. KANON used their tag match to get under Higuchi’s skin. After the match KANON told Higuchi to smile more and have some fun because on 1st November KANON is going to laugh over his corpse! Higuchi’s response is he will have the last laugh. Naomi Yoshimura also warned Daisuke Sasaki that he will crush him in the tournament. Sasaki isn’t looking forward to working hard but understands there is no such thing as an easy tournament match.

How on earth can I describe the Hair Of The Dog that CDK used to beat MAO & Shunma Katsumata? First Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi positioned Katsumata on top of MAO and twisted them into doing a Yoshitonic. Then Takanashi rolled both of them over with a sideways Gedo Clutch and Brookes bridged himself on top of MAO. The result was Takanashi & Brookes pinning Katsumata with MAO unable to break the pin because he was underneath everything. Brookes Vs MAO us coming up in the Grand Prix and MAO is still haunted by last year’s match when he lost to Brookes by Countout.

Kazuki Hirata had a secret plan to try and beat Ω. He used a Paradise Lock on Makoto Oishi, incapacitating him for the rest of the match. Toru Owashi then challenged Yuji Hino to a chop off and suddenly covered Hino in his own t-shirt so his arms were trapped and unusable. Hirata found his courage to fight Hino in this state but found out his attacks were still harmless. Hino eventually freed himself and dropped Hirata with the Fuckin’ BOMB. He then lifted up Oishi who was still stuck in the Paradise Lock and placed him on top of Hirata for the pin. They have another match coming up for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Oishi wants to know who this “Second Doi” person is?

Akito is getting ready to take the captaincy role of the Pheromones Subjugation Squad on 1st November. It turns out HARASHIMA is also now a member of DDT’s disciplinary committee, but that is a role different from what Akito and Sanshiro Takagi are attached to. Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still did their lewd antics today with HARASHIMA getting the brunt of it. But Akito was able to get a Backslide Pin on Iino to get the win. He warned Pheromones that on 1st November he will do what Takagi couldn’t and subdue all of them in one shot!

The opening match had Yukio Naya pin the newbie Kazuma Sumi with a Knee Lift. The result gives Naya momentum for his opening GP match against Hino. The two are friends but both are willing to kill each other if they have to.

Cara Noir returns to DDT on 29th December. He will also be on the 3rd January show.