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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Endo’s Not Injured! Kamiyu Is Now A Double Crown Champion, Tominaga Finds A CWP Tag Partner

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

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

A minor left heel injury suffered on Sunday’s DDT show took Tetsuya Endo off of the “ALL TOGETHER” show that happened the next day. Thankfully after getting it examined Endo found out his heel has not been fractured and he is cleared to continue competing in the King Of DDT this weekend.

Even though Poison Sawada JULIE was eliminated from the tournament, he will be hanging around for a little while longer. He gets to form a DDT Legend team with HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno to take on the young blood.

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

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

The new champions cleared their first defences over the weekend and will be teaming up in Osaka. Also Shino Suzuki is rewarded for earning her first singles win by getting to wrestle Rika Tatsumi one on one.

Nao Kakuta is not at the show because she will be performing in a stage play. Kira Summer has been feeling unwell lately so she will not be at the show either.

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

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

No. 1 Contendership is on the line when Isami Kodaka and Daichi Kazato fight for who gets the next Union MAX Title shot. Kodaka has built up his case but Kazato hit a speed bump at the most recent BASARA show when he lost his match. Can he get the job done without the momentum that took him up to this point?

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

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

Rukiya is still out injured so Tomomitsu Matsunaga will be replacing him in Match #3.

A year ago Keigo Nakamura teamed with HARASHIMA to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. They reunite this weekend to face the current champions BURNING in a non-title match.

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

1. Soma Takao Vs Ilusion
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
3. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty NG Behaviour Penalty Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Shunma Katsumata, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi
4. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty Doki Doki! Special Rules Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
5. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
6. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul

We only just recently had Smile Squash back together again so let’s keep it going for one of the Beer Garden shows. Also on the undercard are two tag matches each with different special rules applied.

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

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

Oh there’s Toru Owashi. He disappeared from DDT for a minute there. I only just noticed now.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 18/05/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Alexis Lee

All of a sudden Yuki Kamifuku has created an Asian Double Crown championship! She has held the Queen Of Asia Title since last November and just a few days ago won the brand new VPW Women’s Title in Vietnam. Both of those title wins came from Kamifuku defeating Alexis Lee, a 10 year veteran of the Southeast Asian wrestling scene. Her name has come up a lot in my DDT Around The World reports because she is the go-to opponent for whenever somebody from Tokyo Joshi Pro travels to Singapore. Lee has not given up on getting revenge for losing both championships to Kamifuku and is coming to TJPW for a double title rematch!

Wakana Uehara will not be at the show because she will be performing at a stage show elsewhere that day.

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

1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs YuuRI
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & Daisuke®️
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Kouki Iwasaki

Shinichiro Tominaga had to go looking through the student pro wrestling scene for a partner so he can challenge GROUND ABSOLUTE for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles. What he found is Daisuke®️ from Tomginaga’s other home promotion CWP. Daisuke®️ is allegedly a former trainee from another company whose name he cannot reveal. He’s been wrestling in CWP since 2019 with the dragon gene in his heart and his goal is to one day open CWP’s dream gate.

BASARA “BASARA 249 ~UTAGE~”, 28/05/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster

There is a very slight naming change to the IRON FIST Tag Team Titles. BASARA noticed that the media and wrestlers keep writing the name of the championship in katakana instead of using the upper case “IRON FIST”. So from now on they decided it will be written as “Iron Fist Tag Team Titles” (アイアンフィストタッグ選手権).

Also something to note is BASARA themselves aren’t quite sure where Judomaster belongs to. His affiliation is written as “Free?” on their website.

DDT “SPA & POOL AQUA YUKARI – SAUNA ROJO PRO WRESTLING”, 21/06/2024
Chiba Aqua Yukari

1. Shunma Katsumata Vs X

The next street wrestling match DDT has come up with will be at the Aqua Yukari hot spring in Chiba. Shunma Katsumata is the first wrestler announced to take part.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP! UP! TJPW (2) ~TANABATA FESITVAL WITH NIKI-CHAN~”, 07/07/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X

TJPW is teaming up with one of the other versions of The Up Up Girls for an outdoor show held at Ueno Park. The event will feature concerts from both Up Up Girls (2) and Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling). There will also be a short TJPW show taking place with 4 or 5 matches scheduled to happen.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

Minoru Suzuki will be on the show, joining Konosuke Takeshita and El Desperado among the first bunch of names announced.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Catching Up On The News I Missed

I’m back from holiday. The week both flew by while also feeling like a ton of news items happened while I was gone. I’ll be spending this weekend writing up last week’s show reports so you’ll be getting them eventually. But first I want to get the upcoming lineups out of the way. I’ll leave the King Of DDT and Ganbare☆Pro stuff for their own posts because I want to write about them separately.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 13/04/2024
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Uta Takami
2. Mizuki & Nao Kakuta Vs Runa Okubo & Haru Kazashiro
3. Rika Tatsumi, Raku & Chika Nanase Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Toga & Kira Summer
4. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
5. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
6. Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Aino, Pom Harajuku & Shino Suzuki

The final matches of Juria Nagano’s career happens tomorrow. For her graduation she will be wrestling twice with her Shinken Kusho partner Moka Miyamoto. One match will be a singles match against each other while the second match is a 6-Woman Tag. Is that going to be the right match order though?

Hyper Misao is out of action with a right ankle fracture. It looked like she suffered the injury during her match against Steph De Lander at last week’s “GCW VS TJPW” show. Her return will be decided based on her doctor’s diagnosis and recovery time. The injury means she will miss her Daikaiju Pro match back in America later this month.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN FUKUOKA”, 13/04/2024
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Naya & To-y Vs Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
3. O-40 Title – 5th O-40 Champion Decision Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Azul Dragon
4. Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, HARASHIMA & Kota Umeda

As always whenever I see Kota Umeda added to a DDT card it makes me wish he never left wrestling as a full time career.

BASARA “GAISEN SAKURA PRO WRESTLING”, 14/04/2024
Okayama Shinjo Village Outdoor Ring

1. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. FUMA & Daichi Kazato Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
4. Isami Kodaka Vs Ryuichi Sekine

This is the BASARA half of the first Gaisen Sakura Pro Wrestling show.

DDT “YAMADA SUISAN CO., LTD. PRESENTS – 4.14 SHIBUSHI MEAT AND FISH BATTLE @ UNAGI STATION”, 14/04/2024
Kagoshima Shibushi City “Unagi Station” Special Venue

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuma Sumi
3. Jun Akiyama & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada & Rukiya
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
5. Yamada Suisan Fish Army Vs Maruto Poultry Chicken Army Final Showdown! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shishamo Power, Unagi Mask & Super Unagi Mask Vs Makoto “Mr. CHICKEN” Oishi, Chris “THE FALCON” Brookes & Shunma “EL TURKEY” Katsumata

This will be the match order for the show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GAISEN SAKURA PRO WRESTLING”, 14/04/2024
Okayama Shinjo Village Outdoor Ring

1. Miu Watanabe Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Mizuki Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Rika Tatsumi & Nao Kakuta Vs Arisu Endo & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Aja Kong & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino

And here is the Tokyo Joshi Pro half of Gaisen Sakura Pro. The card had to be changed around a little bit due to Misao’s injury.

DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT”, 26/04/2024
Tokyo Sumida Ward General Gymnasium

1. 3 Way Match: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Rukiya
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y
4. Keigo Nakamura Return Match: MAO Vs Keigo Nakamura
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Kawamatsu
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Akito

Due to the request of Toru Owashi we are getting a ground breaking second defence by the reigning KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions! None of the previous champion teams have ever stuck together long enough to take part in a second title defence. SCHADENFREUDE International can now become the most successfuly 10-Man Tag Champs ever if they can beat Owashi’s team of scrappy challengers.

Some controversy happened over the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title while Sayaka Unagi was on her tour of America. She unexpectedly lost and then won back the title against an unknown wrestler at some point. No video footage of the title changes exist and Unagi does not know the name of the person who beat her. After having discussions with the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi it was agreed that “Strange Foreigner” will be recognised as the 1,620th champion and when Unagi won it back she became the 1,621st champion. The incident has motivated Sanshiro Takagi even more to reclaim the title for DDT in order to remove any risk of the championship being lost overseas forever.

Keigo Nakamura returns from injury and is immediately being put in the ring against MAO.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 28/04/2024
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza Kanaeda

1. Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki Iino, Keigo Nakamura & To-y Vs Makoto Oishi, Tomoya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya
4. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
5. Sapporo Specialty Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Noriyuki Yoshida
6. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya

Two days after their KO-D Openweight Title match, Yuki Ueno and Akito will still be wrestling each other in a 6-Man Tag Match.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 29/04/2024
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza Kanaeda

1. Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Noriyuki Yoshida & Rukiya
3. Makoto Oishi & Yoshitatsu Vs Tomoya & To-y
4. Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi
5. Yuki Ueno Vs Keigo Nakamura
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
7. Shunma Katsumata 10th Anniversary Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs MAO

Nakamura is not wasting anytime for his return. A few days after he comes back he will be fighting Ueno one on one!

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

1. Yuki Ishida Return Match: Yuki Ishida Vs X

Coming up in May’s Beer Garden show, Yuki Ishida returns from injury too.

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

1. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Single Match: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
2. Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
4. Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
5. Triple Main Event – Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
6. Triple Main Event – Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
7. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki

The next match Yukinori Matsui is adding to his show is all about Dick Togo and the wrestlers who look up to him. Daisuke Sasaki, Yasu Urano and Antonio Honda have all been taken under Togo’s wing at some point during their careers.

So the first match on the lineup caught my attention. Thanomsak Toba will be taking on another martial artist called Bushimasa. The match is sponsored by A-Toys Challenge Fight, or ACF for short. I went looking for clips of Bushimasa and found some not so impressive looking fights of his. He has taken part in a match type called Tire Fights where a tyre is placed in the middle of the ring, both fighters stick a foot into the gap and have to box each other while keeping their foot in the tyre. Most of his fights I could find had him lose and convincingly so. I guess he exists to be a human punching bag?

Some of the other guests on the show include Jinsei Shinzaki, Yuji Hino and Shigehiro Irie. Also Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi has been added to the show lineup but does not have a match yet.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024” Results

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024”, 07/04/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,334 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Dark Match – Unpaid Rumble FINAL!: Sayaka Unagi defeated Sanshiro Takagi by Ring Out (22:43).
Order Of Elimination: Kishida-kun & Lotus Mukai, Bide Nagata & Tonikaku Yaritai Akiyama, Dick Zlater, Thick And Hard Star Kankuro, Hoju Takemoto, Takashi Oyanaka, “Binbin 53cm” Hiwaietto Storm & Ashikoki Saiko & Kota Ibushikoshi & Dragon Sky, Yokutatsu, Yagi Hiroshi, Seto Hiroshi, Erin Takagi, Hurricane Oniba & HAYAZi & Lumberjack & Bison Fuji & Fuck Takeda & Jiro Sora Aoi, Big Bear, KAKERU & Toto Kawakami & Shinya & Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & “My Face Is Hidden Behind A Mask, But My Real Name Is Fukuda” & Torinonta Shinki & Toru Owashi, Ariji Akinori & Itto & Super Yakiniku Machine & Tezuka Awesome, Marilyn Joy & Kinnikuman, Great-CO-Khan, ASHUKA, Nyuji Nagata & GU Nagata & Akito, Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) & Washitomo Dragon and Sanshiro Takagi.
1. Yuni & Yuya Koroku defeated Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura when Koroku submitted Nakamura with the Modified Triangle Lancer (4:01).
2. 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul, HARASHIMA, Yoshitatsu & Takeshi Masada and Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi when Okatani pinned Sumi with the Double Arm Suplex (8:17).
3. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Final: To-y defeated Rukiya with the Kojima Impact (10:22).
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Good Luck!! Survival Deadly Weapon Omikuji Great Battle That Causes Pain: Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Hi69 with the Sauna Trance Splash from the Giga Ladder (15:37).
*V2 for Shunma Katsumata.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) defeated Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Iino pinned Matsunaga with a Lariat (9:49).
*V2 for BURNING.
7. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).

Fresh back from its trip to America, DDT had a special main event lined up for it’s April visit to Korakuen Hall. Long time friends Yuki Ueno & MAO teamed up to fight another pair of long time friends, ones that come from England. Chris Brookes invited Zack Sabre Jr. from New Japan over so his mate could get to experience DDT first hand (he brought along Kosei Fujita too). Both Ueno & MAO wanted to fight him and got plenty of chances to do so. What started off with some chain wrestling in the ring burst outside and all the way up to the Korakuen balcony. While Sabre was up there he bumped into Pokotan. They got into a fight that ended with Sabre ripping Pokotan’s head off. Back in the ring The 37KAMIINA convinced Yukinori Matsui to allow the use of plastic cases as weapons. Ueno & MAO Power Bombed Sabre through the cases but Matsui refused to count the pinfall. That was his compromise for not disqualifying The 37KAMIINA over using the boxes as weapons. Sabre turned the tables with his submission game. He countered Ueno’s Shining Wizard into an Ankle Lock while Brookes did what he could to try and keep MAO away from rescuing his partner. The final minutes of the match came down to a back and forth between Ueno and Sabre. In the very last seconds, Ueno was unable to pull off the WR and the match ended in a 30 minute draw.

Ueno told Sabre there must have been plenty of obstacles he had to climb over in order to make this match happen so he thanked him for coming to DDT today. He asked Sabre why did he want to come here? Sabre said he is a big Japanese pro wrestling nerd (as opposed to a Big Japan Pro Wrestling nerd) so getting to wrestle in DDT was a dream come true. Nobody won today though so they need to do another match sometime. Ueno welcomed him into the DDT family and said everyone here from now on will be supporting him on his quest to become the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion! MAO described the crazy couple of days he just went through which included wrestling 5 matches across two days in America. That is the crazy love he has for pro wrestling. It just goes to show if Ueno and MAO want to make pro wrestling bigger then they have the abilities to do it. Backstage Sabre praised Ueno for having high flying skill, power and speed. He also thinks he is both handsome and scary. All that was missing for him during his DDT stay was Yoshihiko. Brookes thinks Yoshihiko still had a few matches scheduled in America which is why it wasn’t here today. Sabre reckons the next time we will see him in DDT, he will be the IWGP Champion!

The current generation of BURNING took on their former coach Jun Akiyama along with Tomomitsu Matsunaga in a wild card role. It was the first time in ten years that former champion Matsunaga got to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles again. And it’s been almost 17 years since he had that tag title reign with Michael Nakazawa. He had pinned Yuki Iino with a Crucifix Pin in the build up to the match but the same move did not create the same result here. Instead Iino powered out of an Exploder Suplex attempt and kept hitting Lariats until Matsunaga could not kick out anymore. Tetsuya Endo said it is always frustrating when a talented wrestler like Matsunaga never gets the spotlight for such a long period of time. He called him one of the most underrated wrestlers around and could tell from today’s match he can do so much more. Akiyama agrees and told Matsunaga he still has a long way to go even at the age of 43. He is also encouraging Endo to build a new BURNING that fits the current era of DDT. Endo still has Kenta Kobashi’s blessing to take the unit name so he should use it however he sees fit. As for Akiyama he always preferred being a Sternness guy.

Luck was needed to get ahead in the DDT Extreme Title match. Mystery boxes were placed in every corner in the ring and whatever the wrestlers could find inside was theirs to use as they pleased. A torii gate was also placed in the ring as a background piece while Shunma Katsumata and Hi69 fought each other. The discovered weapons included chairs, Pico Pico Hammers, stuffed panda toys, the official NOAH protein drink, block toys and most important of all the Giga Ladder! Katsumata jumped off the Giga Ladder and hit the Totonou Splash onto Hi69 for the win to remain champion. He admitted being lucky to win and the result would have been different if he did not draw the Giga Ladder ticket. Hi69 called Katsumata a tomboyish champion but he will not give up on winning the Extreme Title. He wants another shot at Katsumata someday in the future.

In a rematch from December 2022, Chihiro Hashimoto was back in DDT to face Shinya Aoki again. Last time Hashimoto was victorious in under 10 minutes. Aoki was more prepared this time around but his efforts could only earn him a 15 minute time limit draw. Aoki tried using the Cobra Twist and Sleeper Hold to try and submit Hashimoto but her powerful strength kept her in the fight until the time expired. Aoki believed he had spent the last year thinking more about pro wrestling and martial arts than Hashimoto did. It turns out he was wrong and even though he got a draw this time, the gap between them is not closing in. Hashimoto wants to have another rematch and thinks DDT is the only place where it should happen.

The final of the second ever D GENERATIONS CUP had the last spot in this year’s King Of DDT tournament on the line. The bracket came down to To-y against Rukiya and both young wrestler went all out. To-y tried using the Kojima Wonderland a couple of times including one from the top turnbuckle. Rukiya meanwhile wanted to use the Proto Bomb to get the win he wanted so bad. But in the end it came down to To-y using the Kojima Impact for the three count, winning him the D GENERATIONS CUP! Rukiya admitted he didn’t expect to get so much fan support during the tournament. With that support he will climb back up and become stronger. To-y said Rukiya often talks about being plain and good natured. He used to be the same but had to start believing in himself if he wanted to climb higher. That is how he seizes his opportunities. His next opportunity is to enter the King Of DDT and he will use that path to get him even closer to his biggest goal of all, the KO-D Openweight Championship!

The 4 Way Trios match was the last time we’ll be seeing Hideki Okatani in action for a while. After today he is taking time off to recover from a torn ACL in his left knee. With four teams of three all involved there were no tag rules in effect to keep the match going. Danshoku Dieno didn’t pay much attention to the times Kazuma Sumi was in trouble. Sumi however tried to rescue Kazuki Hirata when DAMNATION T.A all ganged up on him armed with chairs. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya were powerhouses that needed to be dealt with but that was what HARASHIMA, Yoshitatsu & Takeshi Masada were all there for. The match came down to Okatani pinning Sumi with the Double Arm Suplex for the finish.

The teamwork between Yuni & Yuya Koroku was what helped them defeat Ilusion & Munetatsu Nakamura. Koroku ended up submitting Ilusion with the Modified Triangle Lancer.

The Unpaid Rumble was moved to the pre-show as a special dark match. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi and Akito welcomed a whole bunch of volunteer wrestlers from all corners of the independent, amateur, college and hobby scenes. Along with the regular Battle Royal rules, Hisaya Imabayashi was also judging at ringside with the power to disqualify any entrants if he felt they did not belong in the match for any reason. One by one the participants came and went, each looking odder than the last. Just when it looked like the whole project was a bust, the final entrant appeared. It was Sayaka Unagi with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title! She eliminated Takagi to become the last one standing and win the match!

Unagi’s reason for entering the match was because she’s been taking care of the Iron Man Title since January but DDT hasn’t done anything out of it. Is Takagi an idiot? They should fight each other in a singles match and if Unagi wins she will become the Super Big Boss in pro wrestling! Takagi said he doesn’t really want to win the Iron Man Title again but he does in fact like making money so he accepted her challenge. On 26th April Unagi will assess Takagi!

Some returns are coming up soon. Keigo Nakamura’s first match back from injury will be against MAO on 26th April. Yuki Ishida also announced he will be back on 16th May.

The King Of DDT 1st Round Matches on 5th May are MAO Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, KANON Vs To-y, Yuki Ueno Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yuki Iino Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya, HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo Vs Danshoku Dieno and Chris Brookes Vs Takeshi Masada.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~” Results

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,491 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. “Intern Wrestler” Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Soma Takao defeated Tsubasa Suzuki with the Perfect Driver (9:08).
2. Yuya Koroku Return Match: To-y, Ilusion & Rukiya defeated Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when To-y pinned Koroku with the Kojima Impact (8:42).
3. Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Toru Owashi & Gorgeous Matsuno when Ishii pinned Matsuno with the Double Arm Driver (9:26).
4. Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Akito ended in a Draw when both of them fell asleep (7:20).
5. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when KANON submitted Honda with the Just Cobra Twist (11:21).
6. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Spear Of Flame (10:32).
7. Special Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshitatsu defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya when Ishikawa pinned Higuchi with the Splash Mountain (12:24).
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Belt Contra Dissolution: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata, Naruki Doi & Shinya Aoki when Oishi pinned Hirata with an Egoist Driver Cutback (9:48).
*V4 for D.O.A. Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor must disband.
9. DDT Extreme Title – Painful Jungle Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Hideki Okatani with the Totonou Splash onto a Barbed Wire Board (13:38).
*V1 for Shunma Katsumata.
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) defeated Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (16:57).
*V1 for BURNING.
11. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Takeshi Masada by Knockout with the Senpukyaku (4:22).
*V6 for MAO.
12. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Yuma Aoyagi with the Modified Falcon Arrow (19:16).
13. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated HARASHIMA with the WR (22:50).
*V3 for Yuki Ueno.

27 years of DDT called for another marathon show at Korakuen Hall to celebrate. 13 matches took place across almost 6 hours in front of a big crowd. The big bout at the end was Yuki Ueno moving past HARASHIMA in the latest defence of his KO-D Openweight Title reign. The match called for a big performance for the champion who wants to be established as DDT’s ace against the wrestler who himself is nicknamed “Mr. DDT” for his own dominance over the company throughout the years. Ueno did a Moonsault from one of the aisle entrance ways while back in the ring HARASHIMA did an Inverted Hurricanrana off of the top rope. More action took place out of the ring and almost ended Ueno’s reign but he returned at the 19 count. HARASHIMA hit the Somato but only got a two count with it. Another attempt was countered with Ueno’s big Dropkick and when Ueno gave him the WR, HARASHIMA had no answer for it and was pinned.

After the match Ueno hugged HARASHIMA and Kenta Kobashi handed the KO-D Title to him. Ueno talked about figuring out how to put his thoughts and feelings about his relationship with HARASHIMA into words. Today his heart feels full and satisfied because he got to have a big title match with HARASHIMA. He is sure HARASHIMA will continue to be an ace and they will often be opponents again in the future. But next time Ueno will be stronger and even a little more cocky. He thanked him for always being there.

Now Ueno turns his attention to his next defence. It is scheduled for 26th April in Sumida Ward General Gymnasium. There is one more important person Ueno wants to have a title match and that is DDT’s vice president Akito! Ueno ignored Akito’s objections and called him into the ring. Akito explained it’s not right for a wrestler in his position to take on such an important challenge. He also has not won any singles matches at all this year. Ueno agreed there are other more suitable challengers out there but none of them interest him more than Akito. He has a lot of jobs as vice president and Ueno argued that being a title challenger is one of them. Akito understood but warned the champion what could happen once his filter is switched off because there is nobody who thinks more about DDT than he does! Not Sanshiro Takagi, not Danshoku Dieno, not HARASHIMA and not Yuki Ueno! 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at work, at home, no matter where he travels to, it is Akito who devotes his life to the company. When DDT has good times he has good times too. When DDT has hard times he has hard times too. Akito is betting his entire life on DDT and will use all of his poison to erase Ueno’s brilliance!

Given this match was DDT against All Japan, you’d expect it would be Konosuke Takeshita coming out doing the wacky DDT entrance. Nope, it was Yuma Aoyagi who got into the swing of things riding to the ring on the Dramatic Dream bike and wearing a crazy looking helmet. The match itself was a smash with the two living up to expectations. Takeshita hit Aoyagi with the Jumping Knee and the Wagamama but it wasn’t enough to win. So he did the deal with the same Spinning Falcon Arrow he used to win a match in AEW earlier this week to get the same result here. Backstage Takeshita sent his thanks out to Aoyagi for accepting his invitation to do the match in DDT. Takeshita respects every wrestler from his generation no matter what company they work for and if possible would like to fight all of them. However he has something to do in America next so he has limited chances to wrestle again in Japan for the time being. He said it is up to his generation in Japan to liven up the wrestling world. Aoyagi called the match refreshing. He would like a rematch once every couple of years on a schedule similar to the Olympics. He also wants to fight other DDT wrestlers from his generation, like Yuki Ueno for example. But not now. Let him take a rest first.

It was a long show and time was not wasted in the DDT Universal Title match. Fueled by the recent criticisms aimed against him by the champion, Takeshi Masada attacked MAO before the bell with a Missile Dropkick. MAO responded with a Leapfrog Stunner over the ref and the match officially began from there. In the next four minutes MAO controlled the match and had an answer for most of what Masada threw at him. Masada got hit with big strikes but was determined to keep on fighting until he was hit with the Whirlwind Kick. Masada couldn’t return to his feet in time and was counted out. MAO quickly moved on and asked for who his challenger will be in America. An image flashed on the screen showing he will defend the Universal Title at Philadelphia on 4th April against Billie Starkz in a No Rules Match! MAO loves the Universal Title so much he will use it to set the whole world on fire!

There was another DDT Vs AJPW match on the card, this one had the KO-D Tag Team Titles on the line. The champions BURNING had been trying to sort themselves out lately over some miscommunication problems. New Period were coming over to be a big distraction for them, one that could see All Japan take over one of DDT’s main championships. The challengers even allegedly got in touch with Yoshihiko to learn what weaknesses of the champions they could exploit! However BURNING in the end got to show their problems with teamwork. In fact it was a missed double team from New Period that led to Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai hitting each other by accident. Later Yuki Iino charged towards Tetsuya Endo and Endo dropped down into the splits. Iino then jumped over him to Spear Honda! Endo then gave him the Torture Rack Bomb for a nearfall and finished him off with the Burning Star Press.

Endo declared the result a victory for BURNING and the KO-D Tag Titles still belong to them. However he admits it won’t be long until New Period’s time truly arrives. When that time does come Endo & Iino will want a rematch against them. Endo also told Honda it’s fine to use Yoshihiko but he has to return DDT’s property back to their office (later Honda and Yoshihiko got into a fight backstage bringing their short lived friendship to an end). BURNING’s next title defence will be at the 7th April Korakuen Hall show. Endo asked for Jun Akiyama to be one of the opponents because he wants to defend the title against him. Akiyama accepted but none of his regular partners are available at the moment. If he or DDT can find someone suitable to team with him he will do the title match on 7th April. Iino then tried to provoke Akiyama by doing the BURNING pose in front of him. Akiyama smiled, left the ring and did the same post in the dirction towards Kobashi at the commentary table. Endo told fans to look forward to the new BURNING, one without Akiyama or Kobashi in it!

The Painful Jungle Death Match lived up to its name, providing DDT with one of its most bloodiest matches in a while. Many sharp and piercing objects were placed in the ring along with some jungle looking items. For example there was a barbed wire board with a large snake toy caught on top of it. Shunma Katsumata and Hideki Okatani proceeded to throw and slam each other onto everything with the DDT Extreme Title at stake. Okatani couldn’t get the win with either the Double Arm Suplex or Quetzalcoatl. Instead Katsumata got the upper hand and won with the Totonou Splash while the snake and barbed wire board was placed on top of Okatani. The two embraced after the match and Katsumata thanked Okatani for giving him such an intense match. A video then played on the screen. It is a message sent by Hi69 from NOAH (or TEAM NOAH to be exact). He wants to challenge the Extreme Champion to a Hardcore Match for the title on 7th April! Katsumata is happy to hear Hi69 show interest but he does not know the first thing about the Extreme Title! The champion is supposed to make the rules, not the challenger. Katsumata accepted the challenge anyway.

Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor we hardly knew ye. They went up against D.O.A in a match that had both the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on the line as well as the future of Kazuki Hirata’s new unit. Sadly for Hirata the match ended in tragedy when he gave Makoto Oishi the Egoist Driver but left himself open for Oishi to cradle him into a suddent defeat. Naruki Doi did not mind facing the consequences. He consoled Hirata over what happened and then told Shinya Aoki it was time for them to go home. However Hirata wanted to soak in the moment knowing it would be the last time Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor would all be together. Hirata gave a speech that made Doi become impatient but sent Aoki to the brink of tears. The three then stood together for a special dissolution ceremony which included the singing of the unit’s anthem plus a narrated history of the unit. All 22 days of it. Meanwhile backstage DAMNATION T.A attacked Makoto Oishi, demanding the next shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles.

Does this kind of count as another DDT Vs AJPW match? Both Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshitatsu have called All Japan their home promotion up until very recently. They have since taken different paths away from there but those paths reunited them here for a match against two of DDT’s main heavyweights. Ishikawa had a handle of Kazusada Higuchi by the end of it. He blocked the Brain Claw Slam and turned it into the Fire Thunder for a nearfall. Ishikawa followed it up with the Kamigoye and Running Knee Strike for another two count before getting the victory by using the Splash Mountain. Yukio Naya didn’t want the fight to end though and stood toe to toe with Ishikawa afterwards. This won’t be the last we will see of Ishikawa in DDT this year. He is entering the King Of DDT tournament. He believes what he did today shows he is the only choice to win it. Both Naya & Higuchi are warning him not to mess with DDT’s heavyweight division.

The reason why DDT names its anniversary shows “JUDGEMENT” goes back to its very first show in 1997 where the audience in attendance back then judged whether or not Sanshiro Takagi and his crew would go ahead with running more shows. So it is only fitting that Takagi would himself judge whether or not Ken Ohka and Ganbare☆Pro are ready to go independent from CyberFight. GanPro’s next chapter begins in April and the entire group was in Korakuen to support Ohka at ringside while he fought his soon to be former employer. Ohka took a beating in the match and was almost counted out in the ring. But he got back to his feet all fired up, even giving Takagi a Stunner. Ohka then got the better of a strike exchange, knocking Takagi down with a Lariat. The opening was there and Ohka took it. He hit Takagi with the Spear Of Flame and beat his boss!

After the match an emotional Ohka said his life wouldn’t be like this if he never got involved with Takagi. He has changed Ohka’s life so much. Sometimes it was sad and painful but without Takagi, Ohka would not be so happy right now. From now on he will make GanPro a great wrestling company without the need to rely on Takagi and for that he thanks him. Takagi told Ohka he’s had a dramatic life but saying stuff like that makes it sound like Takagi was ruining his life! If that was true then he wouldn’t have a group of friends that all make up GanPro. Whatever happens in the future, Takagi wants to get with Ohka again whether it is to work together or fight each other. He then presented Ohka with a graduation certificate and told him to cherish his friends. Takagi hopes he will continue to give dreams to many people and have a more dramatic pro wrestling life than anyone else. Later Ohka told reporters he will continue with his goal to make pro wrestling into a major sport. Baseball has Shohei Ohtani, basketball has Michael Jordan, Formula 1 has Mika Häkkinen and football has Pelé. Ohka wants to become as great in wrestling as they are in their respective sports.

DAMNATION T.A’s path to a KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles shot started earlier in the show when they beat SCHADENFREUDE International. As always Antonio Honda was bothered by his trick knee but used Gongitsune to bounce back from it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON hit him with the Freedom Call but CDK were there to break the pin. They got rid of Sasaki & MJ Paul but it turned out KANON could handle the 2 Vs 1 odds that were against him. The match came down to him against Honda and KANON countered the constant cradle pins into the Just Cobra Twist to make Honda submit.

Akito isn’t the only busy wrestler around here. Super Sasadango Machine has his own management problems to deal with and took valuable time out of his schedule to be at this show. So when he found out he wasn’t booked for a match despite being on the poster, Akito offered to fight him as an apology. Both of them have been feeling tired over work lately and Sasadango’s PowerPoint Presentation explained they were both going to wrestle at just 10% of their normal energy bar. However the presentation kept switching to a video of Akito being attacked backstage by all of the young DDT wrestlers so that was the actual reason why he made it to the ring in a tired state. When the match began it was as if Akito and Sasadango were already entering into the finishing stretch. Sasadango gave Akito the Lehmann Shock and went for the pin but before the count reached three everything froze. “Etuprika” began to play and the audience was shown a video of Akito’s inner monologue. Then in slow motion Akito kicked out, fought back and hit Sasadango so hard his mask peeled off. Akito slowly applied an Ankle Lock when time stood still again so everyone could hear Sasadango’s inner monologue. This time Sasadango spoke about how good and relaxed he felt. So much so that he fell asleep. Akito had run out of energy too so both men were practically out cold. Yukinori Matsui checked on both of them while they slept and had to rule the match a draw.

Did the world really need a face off between Gorgeous Matsuno and Shinichiro Kawamatsu? Well they got one. Matsuno’s offence was the weakest its been for a while even with Toru Owashi’s help. Things went from bad to worse when Keisuke Ishii got involved and did not hold back. When he lifted Matsuno up for the Double Arm Driver, Matsuno started to tap out. However the ref was standing on the other side and couldn’t see it so Ishii was free to drop him right onto the canvas for the win. Luckily Matsuno was not hurt too much. He returned at the very end of the show to sing everyone off.

Six of the young wrestlers entering the D GENERATIONS CUP were put in a 6-Man Tag together early in the show. To-y, Ilusion & Rukiya ended up beating Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi. It was also Koroku’s return match from injury but he took the losing fall to To-y in the end.

When Soma Takao had his debut match in DDT he won the bout with an Ultra Hurricanrana. So Tsubasa Suzuki trying to win his first DDT match as an intern with a Phoenix Splash isn’t that too outlandish. Too bad he missed his target. The match was going well for him up until then. He still had his wits about him to block the Gin And Tonic but Takao switched over to the Running Elbow Butt and then the Perfect Driver to win the match. He told reporters he could have used a traditional Crab Hold but he wanted to win with the finisher he used in his college club days. He is looking forward to the day Suzuki will beat him with the Phoenix Splash. Suzuki admits he is still weak and the difference between pro wrestling with student wrestling is like competing in a different sport. He hopes to grow into a stronger and better wrestler.

Keigo Nakamura appeared during the early portion of the show with some good news. He is returning to the ring on 26th April!

A guest wrestler was announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. It is the return of everyone’s amigo El Desperado!

The full list of entries for the King Of DDT was revealed. Entering the tournament are Poison Sawada JULIE, Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA, Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, Yuki Ueno, MAO, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya, KANON, Takeshi Masada and the D GENERATIONS CUP winner.

Kira Summer, Sumi’s Injury, Hirata Anniversary Matches, No Gamble Rumble Returns

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 03/03/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Match: Suzume Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Uta Debut Match: Miu Watanabe & Uta Vs Raku & Shino Suzuki
3. Kira Summer Debut Match: Nao Kakuta & Kira Summer Vs Arisu Endo & Chika Nanase
4. Rika Tatsumi Vs Haru Kazashiro
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto Vs Wakana Uehara & Toga
7. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Mizuki & HIMAWARI

The Australian trainee Kirra is now known as Kira Summer for her debut match. She is 163cm tall and was born on 18th December, 1996.

DDT “NARAHA TOWN RESIDENT WRESTLER TOY KOJIMA THANKSGIVING DAY – NARAHA TOWN COME ON!”, 03/03/2024
Fukushima Naraha Sky Arena

1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Kazuki Hirata & Hideki Okatani
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Akito & Ilusion
3. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Rukiya Vs HARASHIMA & Jun Akiyama
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi

To-y has been doing local marketing for the show. He is keeping the name Toy Kojima whenever he wrestles in Naraha until the end of March because that is the end of the fiscal year.

After getting a diagnosis, Kazuma Sumi’s left knee injury turned out to be a torn MCL. He will be taking time off to recover until 17th March. Ilusion takes his place on Sunday’s show.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 06/03/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Chris Brookes & Ilusion Vs Soma Takao & To-y
2. Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
3. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Shishamo Power Vs Yoshitatsu & Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Rukiya Vs Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai & Ryo Inoue
5. Kazuki Hirata Debut 14th Anniversary Vol. 1 ~ Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Road To Judgement 2024! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs HARASHIMA, Takeshi Masada & Hideki Okatani

Champions Vs Challengers makes up a few of the upcoming main events as a preview for “JUDGEMENT 2024”. It is expected that HARASHIMA will be cleared of covid in time to wrestle on the show.

So Kazuki Hirata’s 14th Anniversary celebration is going to be more than just one match? Who else is going to get in the ring with him to mark the milestone?

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 10/03/2024
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Toru Owashi & Akito Vs Yukio Naya & Yuni
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Makoto Oishi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs MAO & To-y
4. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Tsutenkakka
5. Osaka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Naoki Tanizaki & Rukiya Vs Yoshitatsu, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
6. Kazuki Hirata Debut 14th Anniversary Vol. 1 ~ Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Kazuki Hirata
7. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani

Oh crap Hirata’s getting Jun Akiyama! Well his new unit is going to challenge Akiyama’s unit for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles soon. Fighting Danshoku Dieno on one show and then Akiyama the next makes sense.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’24”, 31/03/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Nao Kakuta & Ami Yumoto Vs X & X
2. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs Maki Itoh
3. Aja Kong & Max The Impaler Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
4. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Kamifuku
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino (c) Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
6. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

Not only will Yuki Arai defend the International Princess Title at Sumo Hall but she will join other members of SKE48 for a mini concert during the show.

DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko

Here’s your first match for DDT in America. Hirata takes on Yoshihiko!

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024”, 07/04/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. No Gamble FINAL!: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Toru Owashi Vs X
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Final: X Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
3. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes

Last January DDT created the No Gamble Rumble, an open audition for wrestlers of all shape and sizes to compete in a Battle Royal. The only condition was the entrants had to volunteer without getting paid. Those who passed would get future bookings with DDT. Tsutenkakka and Tsubasa Suzuki were the two names plucked from last year’s match who passed the audition. It doesn’t matter if the wrestlers are independent, amateur, from the college club scene or even just an ordinary person with no prior experience. All can apply to take part. This year Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Toru Owashi will be the selection committee as well as part of the match itself to put the participants through their paces.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024” Results

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024”, 25/02/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda defeated Yuki Iino, Yuni & Ilusion when Brookes pinned Yuni with the Our Love Letter (8:48).
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Akito & Soma Takao when KANON pinned Takao after the Freedom Call (8:24).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazuki Hirata, Naruki Doi & Shinya Aoki defeated Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Toru Owashi when Doi pinned Oishi with a Crucifix Pin (9:05).
4. Special Single Match: To-y defeated MJ Paul with a School Boy (7:12).
5. Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshitatsu defeated Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Higuchi pinned Rukiya with the Brain Claw Slam (10:58).
6. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Hikaru Machida with the Michinoku Driver II (14:27).
*V5 for MAO.
7. Kaisei Takechi Debut Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Kaisei Takechi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada when Ueno pinned Okatani with the BME (20:19).

Today’s DDT show was a little bit different than usual. The big attraction was the debut pro wrestling match of Kaisei Takechi, a member of a famous dance group in Japan called THE RAMPAGE, which itself is part of an entertainment collective called EXILE TRIBE. In 2022 Takechi took a role on a TV drama about wrestling called Fukumen D. That show featured involvement from DDT (represented on the show as a fictional company called BBT, Brave Battle Truth) and it led to the two sides coming up with this deal. The hype behind today’s debut led to best business DDT’s had at Korakuen Hall in years. Tickets had been sold out for weeks thanks to THE RAMPAGE fanbase buying them up to see Takechi’s big performance.

For the main event Takechi wanted to team with Yuki Ueno, the reigning KO-D Openweight Champion who coached him during training. He also wanted to be in the ring against wrestlers his own age so DDT decided the match would be Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Takechi against Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada. These are all wrestlers considered by DDT to be part of the same generation. Takechi got to get time fighting each one of his three opponents during the match. He also got moments to do double team moves with his tag partners. He was able to land a Diving Cross Body to Endo and slam Masada with a Full Nelson Buster. The finish however came down to Ueno pinning Okatani with the Best Moonsault Ever.

With his team declared the winners, Takechi loudly proclaimed after the match that pro wrestling is the best! He said the power of everyone who came to support him is amazing and inspired him to do even better. There is still a lot he would like to do inside the ring so if he ever gets another chance he will take it. He didn’t appreciate how Okatani treated him during the match so he would like to fight him again. There are 15 other members of THE RAMPAGE so he hopes any of the DDT Fans who are impressed with him will take up an interest in following the group. The same goes for any of THE RAMPAGE’s fans if they liked what they saw from DDT today. Ueno teased that perhaps one day Takechi will fight him for the KO-D Title but he’ll have to work a little harder to get there. So this might not be the last we will see of Kaisei Takechi in DDT!

MAO’s adventure with the DDT Universal Title took him over to fight against a high level kickboxer. Hikaru Machida. The two had unfinished business over a KO-D Tag Team Titles defence one year ago and Machida was looking to avenge losing that match. A battle of strikes broke out and then the two fought outside the ring over by one of Korakuen’s staircases. Machida hit his patented Iai Punch but MAO reached for the ropes to avoid getting pinned. MAO then used a Stunner to break out of the strikes and pinned Machida with the Michinoku Driver II to win.

MAO was full of praise for Machida and then called himself the best DDT Universal Champion ever. He announced his plans to defend the title at “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!” in America on 4th April. However Takeshi Masada suddenly entered the ring with his own idea. He wants to win the title from MAO before they go to America so Masada will be the champion in Philadelphia. MAO told Masada he only has one rule for this championship. He only wants challengers he feels comfortable entrusting the title with should they beat him for it. He thinks that is too high of a hurdle for Masada to climb but if the fans want to see the match, he will agree to do it at DDT’s 27th Anniversary show on 17th March.

Today is Rukiya’s 23rd birthday so he was eager to do his best in his tag match. Yoshitatsu patronised him by giving him a pat on the head and rubbing his hair. Yukio Naya played his part to keep Rukiya in the fight. He hit Kazusada Higuchi with a Knee Lift so Rukiya could then do the Proto Bomb but Yoshitatsu made it in to break the pin. Naya then had to break the pin when Higuchi gave Rukiya the Doctor Bomb. Rukiya used what energy he had left to throw Elbow Strikes until Higuchi knocked him down with a Lariat and pinned him with the Brain Claw Slam.

To-y was supposed to take on HARASHIMA but unfortunately the match was cancelled because HARASHIMA tested positive for covid over the weekend. MJ Paul became To-y’s new opponent and he attacked him with a chair outside the ring. To-y rebounded and had Paul on the ropes when the rest of DAMNATION T.A decided to interfere. Thankfully To-y had Katsumata in his corner and he stopped KANON from doing a chair attack. To-y then rolled up Paul with a School Boy during the chaos and got the 3 count for the upset victory.

While Jun Akiyama was away in America this weekend wrestling in AEW, the other two members of D.O.A teamed with Toru Owashi to take on Kazuki Hirata’s new unit. Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor’s first match together was a successful one and it was a win against two-thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions! The non-wrestling fans in Korakuen were given an eyeful thanks to Danshoku Dieno pulling the back of his tights down and laying himself over the top turnbuckle. Even Toru Owashi went above expectations by using the Lip Lock on Naruki Doi. A lot of wrestlers got their faces pressed against Dieno’s butt until Doi trapped Makoto Oishi with a Crucifix Pin to win the match.

Doi admitted it is shocking that Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor won their first match and it ended with him pinning a champion. That means they should get the next shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles! Oishi argued that he is the weakest wrestler in DDT so Doi shouldn’t be proud of the result. Doi disagreed because Hirata is the weakest. Oishi won’t accept the challenge unless the other team puts something on the line. Doi suggested his team put their hair on the line but Oishi refused because they all have short cuts. Oishi then offered to disband Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor if they lose. Oishi thinks that idea is too much but Doi said he would be happy with either winning the titles or breaking up the team he doesn’t even want to be part of. The challenge was accepted and will take place on 17th March. Later backstage Shinya Aoki made demands for a rematch with Chihiro Hashimoto. He lost to Hashimoto on a DDT show at the end of December 2022 and wants revenge! DDT later announced that match will go ahead at the 7th April Korakuen show.

DAMNATION T.A also used a chair as a weapon to help set up their win against Akito & Soma Takao. After a ref bump, Daisuke Sasaki kicked Takao below the belt and then hit both opponents with the chair. Then Sasaki & KANON gave Takao the Freedom Call for the tainted win.

SCHADENFREUDE International found a convoluted way to win the opening match. But before that happened Antonio Honda got to tell his latest Gongitsune joke and engage in a twisted nipple battle with Yuki Iino. Later Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi physically manipulated Yuni & Ilusion into doing a Rolling Cradle on each other. CDK then piled on top of them to score the pinfall.

After the match Brookes told the fans he had a present for them and it is a dramatic dream that involves a friend of his. Out walked Zack Sabre Jr. from New Japan down to the ring! He is here because he wants to have a match in DDT! Brookes asked him who he would like to face. Sabre said Yoshihiko and the Ladder. Unfortunately Yoshihiko’s asking price is too high and the Ladder he’s thinking of has been retired for years. Sabre then said he would like to fight two champions so how about Yuki Ueno & MAO? Brookes can even team with him so it can be a tag match! Ueno & MAO heard the challenge and came down to the ring to accept it. It will happen on the 7th April Korakuen show.

DDT announced the next KO-D Title match after 17th March will be at Sumida Ward General Gymnasium on 26th April. Also Konosuke Takeshita will appear at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” at Sumo Hall on 21st July.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGANO” Results

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGANO”, 04/02/2024
Nagano Act Hall
220 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Hideki Okatani defeated Rukiya with a Modified Neck Lock (10:00).
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya defeated Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Yoshitatsu pinned Sumi with the This Is My WWE (10:10).
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Yuki Iino & Akito when Sasaki submitted Akito with the Crossface Lock (17:22).
4. Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Antonio Honda defeated Kazuki Hirata & Kazusada Higuchi when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the God’s Right Knee (17:21).
5. Nagano Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Toru Owashi & Akihiro defeated Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Tetsuya Endo when Akihiro pinned Oishi with the Reincarnation (15:29).
6. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata defeated HARASHIMA & Soma Takao when Ueno pinned Takao with the BME (17:51)

Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata used today’s main event to show their intent that The 37KAMIINA are at the center of DDT right now. Katsumata did a dive off of the entrance gate onto their opponents and did another dive out of the ring to wipe out HARASHIMA. Ueno went on to pin Soma Takao with the BME. They told the Nagano fans that they will have even more championship belts with them the next time they come back here. Backstage Ueno hyped up his KO-D Openweight Title defence against Danshoku Dieno while Katsumata promised to finally beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan at the same show on 14th February. Ueno said he cannot be the kind of KO-D Champion that Dieno, HARASHIMA or Konosuke Takeshita all were but he will stand across the ring from Dieno as his own type of great champion.

The “Hero Of Nagano” Toru Owashi (who admitted he isn’t actually local because his hometown Saku City is a fair distance away from Nagano Act Hall) was in the semi-main event but may of had his spotlight stolen by Akihiro. It was Akihiro who scored the pin by doing its Reincarnation finisher on Makoto Oishi. Meanwhile Jun Akiyama was more concerned about avoiding his face being pressed into Dieno’s backside. That is what happened to Tetsuya Endo when Akihiro gave him a Top Rope Frankensteiner across the ring.

It’s only a few more days until Yukio Sakaguchi’s retirement match to today he wanted to do something a little bit different. He appeared for his tag match wearing a costume identical to Antonio Honda! He wanted to just have fun but Kazuki Hirata still found a way to annoy him and get angry as the match progressed. Honda dedicated his Gongistune spot to Sakaguchi’s upcoming retirement. Hirata then offered Sakaguchi a pair of Hirata GO! Glasses so they could dance together one last time. He accepted them, they danced to the music and then Hirata tried pinning Sakaguchi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle. Sakaguchi kicked out and hit Hirata with the God’s Right Knee for the win.

After the match Hirata called Sakaguchi a scary person who bullied him a lot but he can’t help but feel lonely now that Sakaguchi is retiring. He will never forget seeing him dressed like Honda today and dancing along with him. Sakaguchi praised Kazusada Higuchi for how strong his Chops were today, he thanked Honda for always telling good stories and he admitted to Hirata he had fun today. He brought up Hirata winning the MVP Award during the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards and asked if Hirata will use the prize money to treat him to a meal? Hirata had to tell him the award did not include any prize money.

Today was the first time in a long, long time that Akito and Yuki Iino were teaming together without any trace of Pheromones around to get in the way. However Iino has no memory of their time together in ALL OUT. Akito asked him before the match if he remembers being in that unit? Iino asked what was that because he is a member of BURNING and that is all he thinks about. That answer was still good enough for Akito to put his complete trust in him again. However DAMNATION T.A were able to redirect things and make Iino Spear Akito by accident, leading to Daisuke Sasaki tapping out Akito with the Crossface Lock while Iino and KANON got into a fight outside the ring.

This Is My WWE is the name of Yoshitatsu’s Diving Knee Kick finisher. Don’t let The Rock find out about that. Sanshiro Takagi attacked both Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada with a Double Stunner after the match. He then taunted Masada by pouring mousse over his head and rubbing his hair with it.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024” Results

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2024”, 28/01/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,120 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Special 10-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Tomoya, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Akito, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuni when Sumi pinned Yuni with a School Boy (7:07).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Bryan Keith (w/ MJ Paul) defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Rukiya after KANON pinned Rukiya with the Freedom Call (8:39).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi Korakuen Final Match ~ Special Single Match: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Hideki Okatani with the God’s Right Knee (5:42).
4. MAO Birthday Commemorative Match: MAO & TAKA Michinoku defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when MAO pinned Takanashi with the Cannonball 450 (8:45).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Who Is The Fated One!? Toy Kojima Challenge Death Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) (8:33).
5a. Kazuki Hirata pinned Shunma Katsumata with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (0:57).
*Toy Kojima fails his challenge.
5b. Shunma Katsumata submitted Kazuki Hirata with a Crab Hold (4:04).
*Toy Kojima fails his challenge.
5c. Kazuki Hirata pinned Shunma Katsumata with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (7:42).
*Toy Kojima fails his challenge.
5d. Shunma Katsumata pinned Kazuki Hirata with a School Boy (8:33).
*Toy Kojima passes his challenge. Kazuki Hirata fails in V6. Shunma Katsumata becomes the 59th DDT Extreme Champion!
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – DEAD OR ALIVE Contra DEAD OR ALIVE: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) defeated Hikaru Sato, Kazusada Higuchi & Ryo Kawamura when Oishi pinned Kawamura with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (8:20).
*V3 for D.O.A.
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Naruki Doi with the Wagamama (10:58).
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Yukio Naya with the Twister (23:35).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno.

Yuki Ueno’s run as KO-D Openweight Champion has just begun and in his first defence he put down Yukio Naya, shutting down the D-Oh Grand Prix winner’s momentum. The champion went for big dives from the get go but took high risk damage of his own when Naya gave him an Avalanche Choke Slam. Naya also blocked the BME with his knees and used a Wrist-Clutch Back Drop. Ueno was only able to break the pin thanks to a rope break. He switched to using Dropkicks and got a nearfall with the BME. Naya tried fighting back using Knee Strikes but Ueno grabbed him in a Face Lock and pulled him into a Twister hold, making Naya give up. After the match Ueno said Naya has nothing to be ashamed about. He is a great wrestler not because he crawled from the bottom up to the top but because he uses pro wrestling to stand up for himself. Ueno will take what he learned from Naya today and carry them on his own shoulders.

Ueno was told the next KO-D Title defence is scheduled for 17th March. He expected to hear that and already has an opponent in mind. He wants to defend the KO-D Title against Danshoku Dieno and he is willing to do it before the mandatory March defence. The 37KAMIINA will be holding a produce show in Shinjuku FACE on 14th February and Ueno can defend the title against Dieno there. Sanshiro Takagi entered the ring and told Ueno his request cannot be met. The KO-D Title is DDT’s top championship and its matches need to attract large audiences. Ueno explained he does not want this match for the venue size or as an easy title defence. He chooses Dieno because Dieno is the most amazing guy and interesting wrestler in DDT. Takagi accepted his reasoning and gave permission for the match to go ahead. Dieno told Ueno what he said to Jun Akiyama three years ago. He knows the champ will not let him win and DDT does not want him to become the KO-D Champion but if you flash the belt in front of his face he is going to want it! And if he does win the belt who knows what direction he will take DDT in!

The semi-main event was a first time ever meeting between Konosuke Takeshita and Naruki Doi. Takeshita dealt a big blow by giving Doi a Brainbuster on the floor outside the ring. Back in the ring Doi had to rely on speed to try and keep one step ahead of his opponent’s power. He used the V9 Clutch to counter a Lariat for a nearfall. There was one power spot Doi got the better of. That was for a Brainbuster that led to the Doi 555 and Bakatare Sliding Kick combo for another two count. Takeshita blocked the Muscular Bomb and used Doi’s rolling attempt to throw him over with a German Suplex. He then hit the Wagamama to get the victory. Takeshita called it a fun match that made him feel like Takeshita the young wrestling fan again. He never forgets that feeling wherever he goes. He wants to fight Doi again and next time it should be in America.

The D.O.A branding is safe again for the time being. The name was up for grabs along with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles for the second time after Hikaru Sato complained about his catchphrase being stolen by them. Akiyama was the first one to stand against Sato and Kazusada Higuchi in the ring. Ryo Kawamura ended up sparring with Dieno and made the mistake of putting him in a Triangle Choke. Makoto Oishi kept trying to bring out wasabi and eventually succeeded in wiping it over Dieno’s backside. Both of them regretted it when Kawamura shoved Oishi face first in there but Oishi recovered and flash pinned Kawamura with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch. He celebrated the successful title defence by saying he is well aware that other people use the phrase “Dead Or Alive” so we are all D.O.A! He hoped Akiyama & Dieno would join in but he was left alone in the ring. Sato questioned if the team really are D.O.A because they show no intentions of staying alive and act like they only want to die.

The fate of the DDT Extreme Title all rested on Toy Kojima’s shoulders. Kazuki Hirata and Shunma Katsumata were wrestling each other under 2-Count Fall rules for the belt but the match result would only stand if Kojima could pass a challenge given to him backstage. He didn’t have to wait long for his first task because Hirata pinned Katsumata with the Miracle One Shot Cradle in under a minute. Kojima had to endure bumps for 30 seconds but he couldn’t so the match restarted. Katsumata then submitted Hirata with a Crab Hold so Kojima’s task was to drink a bottle of cola in one go. He couldn’t do that either. Hirata pinned Katsumata with the Miracle Cradle again so Kojima had to play Pop-Up Pirate for 10 turns without losing. He lost in the first turn. Katsumata used a School Boy to pin Hirata so Kojima had to play with a Kendama toy. He was given three goals to swing the ball onto the cup. He did it on his third and final go, making Katsumata the new Extreme Champion!

Katsumata thanked Hirata for coming up with such a fun ruleset. He also announced that after talking with the other members of the group, Kazuki Hirata has been accepted as the newest member of The 37KAMIINA! Unfortunately Hirata changed his mind and no longer wants to be part of the team. Why? Because he wants to create his own brand new unit instead! He later found Naruki Doi backstage and kept pestering him to join this new stable. Doi is reluctant but may have been talked into joining. Meanwhile Katsumata was asked for who he wants his challenger to be for his first defence on 17th March. He suggested Hideki Okatani so they could renew their rivalry over the title. However MJ Paul then came out to attack Okatani, handed Katsumata a piece of paper saying he wanted to challenge him and then he attacked Katsumata too. Katsumata and Okatani worked together to fend off Paul’s attack. Hisaya Imabayashi came up with a solution. Okatani and Paul will face each other on 7th February and the winner will get the title shot for 17th March.

MAO was having a big birthday bash and invited the likes of TAKA Michinoku and CDK to be at the party. One present he got was to be the headpiece of the Kaientai spot with poor Masahiro Takanashi being the victim. Somehow Chris Brookes got to be on the good side of that present. CDK fought back using their double team moves to wrap their opponents into each other but it couldn’t get them the win. Instead TAKA dropped Takanashi with the Michinoku Driver II and MAO pinned him with the Cannonball 450. MAO is happy to start off being 27 years old with a win. He said no matter where his career goes, TAKA Michinoku’s name will always be around him because he is his hero. TAKA said he is proud to be an influence to people outside of K-DOJO and JTO. He calls MAO one of the few genius young wrestlers he’s seen and that geniuses often don’t see it in themselves. He is sure he can become the KO-D Champion some day. CDK were disappointed to lose but everyone in SCHADENFREUDE International was happy to see Brookes be healthy and wrestle again.

Today was the final time Yukio Sakaguchi would wrestle in Korakuen Hall. He was given a singles match against his former Eruption teammate Hideki Okatani for the occasion. It was a chance for Sakaguchi to test how Okatani could fight by himself. Okatani took all the kicks he could and fought back with the Double Arm Suplex. But Sakaguchi blocked the Quetzalcoatl and put Okatani down with the God’s Right Knee to end the match. His message to Okatani backstage was to ask what is his strength? He needs to find that answer in order to change from what he is now. Okatani thanked Sakaguchi for the lesson and will use the DDT ring to show him what he learned.

The services of Bryan Keith were used by DAMNATION T.A to fight what’s currently left of BURNING along with Rukiya. MJ Paul interfered to take the Spear from Yuki Iino instead of KANON. Keith used the Emerald Tiger Driver on Rukiya then left him for the others to pick at the pieces. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON used a Vietnam Driver & Diving Elbow combination called the Freedom Call to finish Rukiya off. Sasaki called BURNING worthless and thinks the group should disband. KANON made fun of them, telling them to go home and drink their mothers’ protein. Iino complained about KANON needing Paul’s help because he doesn’t want to take the Spear. Tetsuya Endo thinks he needs to improve his accuracy because today’s performance wasn’t up to snuff. But he is confident that if he and Iino hit DAMNATION T.A right, they will win the KO-D Tag Team Titles from them.

The opening match went ahead with No Tag Rules. Takagi quickly gave Kazuma Sumi the Stunner but was then caught in a Train Attack that included the referee getting involved. HARASHIMA and Toru Owashi got to fight each other until Akito came in to target HARASHIMA’s leg. So did Tomoya and Shinichiro Kawamatsu in what turned out to be a battle between pro wrestling politicians. Antonio Honda paused the match for his Gongitsune joke but it backfired. Yuni gave Takeshi Masada a Tornado DDT but then missed a Moonsault aimed for Sumi. That allowed Sumi to roll up the school boy with the School Boy for the win.

The first set of wrestlers to enter this year’s King Of DDT are a mix of previous winners and finalists to mark the 20th Anniversary of the tournament. Poison Sawada JULIE (2004 winner), Sanshiro Takagi (2009 finalist), Danshoku Dieno (2012 finalist), HARASHIMA (2010 & 2013 winner, 2017 finalist) and Shuji Ishikawa (2016 winner) have all been announced to be taking part.

Kaisei Takechi’s debut match on 25th February has him teaming up with Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata. They will be against Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada.