Summer Vacation, BASARA, Beer Garden, Ganpro

DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2019”, 21/07/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Kota Umeda Great Match: Kota Umeda, Shunma Katsumata, Mike Bailey & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mizuki Watase, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Daiki Shimomura
2. Calbee & Frito Lay Collaboration Match ~Potato Snacks Agency War No. 1 Final Battle~: King Potato Chips, Masahiro Takanashi & Gota & Asuka Ihashi Vs Dragon Potato Mask, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
4. No DQ Match: MAO Vs Jiro Kuroshio
5. After Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 Special 6-Man Tag Match ~What Is Personal Information?~: Hideki Suzuki, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka (w/ Yumehito Imanari) Vs HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi & Shinya Aoki
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Joey Ryan & Hiroshi Yamato
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Chris Brookes

Yumehito Imanari suffered a mild concussion during this week’s Ganbare☆Wrestling show. Ken Ohka replaces him in the 6-Man Tag but Imanari will still be making his presence felt so he can embarrass Sanshiro Takagi again.

BASARA “BASARA 101 ~BANQUET~”, 24/07/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Special Rules: Daichi Kazato & Yusuke Kubo Vs Ryota Nakatsu &
2. Special Rules: X Vs X
3. Special Rules: X & X Vs X & X
4. FUMA Vs Takumi Tsukamoto
5. Isami Kodaka, Naoki Tanizaki & Takato Nakano Vs Minoru Fujita, Yasu Urano & X

Team Isami: Isami Kodaka, Naoki Tanizaki, Ryuichi Sekine, FUMA, Fuminori Abe, Yusuke Kubo, Gouma Ryu, Daichi Kazato, Takato Nakano

Team Fujita: Minoru Fujita, Takumi Tsukamoto, Ryota Nakatsu, Yasu Urano, SAGAT, Daiki Shimomura, Masato Kamino, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, X

Even though Isami Kodaka won this year’s Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~, he gave the prize money over to Minoru Fujita so he could produce his own BASARA show. Fujita came up with the idea of a team challenge called “Banquet Fight 2019” between himself and Kodaka. A partial card has been made after the two teams were drafted by the captains. Due to an odd number of wrestlers available, Fujita’s team is one man short so the missing name in the main event is a mystery for now.

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2019 ~JULY~”, 27/07/2019
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Akito & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
2. MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Asuka & Shunma Katsumata
3. Saki Akai & Makoto Oishi Vs Miyako Matsumoto & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Soma Takao Vs Shunsuke Sayama
5. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Antonio Honda
7. Akito Marunage Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ueno

The Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Antonio Honda match will be happening even if Sakaguchi loses the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title before the show takes place.

This is the period of the summer where DDT’s schedule is mad busy. The Yokohama show kicks off 9 days in a row of wrestling shows!

BASARA “BASARA 102 ~OSAKA SUMMER CAMP~HIRANO~”, 28/07/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Daichi Kazato Vs Masato Kamino
2. Fuminori Abe Vs Jun Masaoka
3. Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo
4. Ryota Nakatsu & Takato Nakano Vs Naoki Tanizaki & Kouhei Kinoshita
5. Hiroshi du Soleil Vs Speed Of Sounds: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
6. Sento Minzoku Vs Dove Pro Wrestling!: Ryuichi Sekine, Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura Vs Gunso, Kabuki Kid & Yuki Aoki

The annual BASARA Vs Dove Pro feud is back for another go around but this time things are a little different. Dove’s Naoki Tanizaki is now on friendly terms with the BASARA side and is part of Sparky. Also Sento Minzoku is just as much fighting for themselves as they are for BASARA’s honour.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~ALL OUT DAY~”, 29/07/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. Akito Vs Shota
2. Toru Owashi Rubber Mask Army Vs Danshoku Dieno Rubber Mask Army: Toru Owashi, Toru Owashi & Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno, Danshoku Dieno & Danshoku Dieno
3. Gongitsune Vs World’s Strongest Married Woman: Antonio Honda Vs Sakura Hirota
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Isami Kodaka, Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe

Three Toru Owashi’s versus three Danshoku Dieno’s. What could go wrong?

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~DISASTER BOX DAY~”, 30/07/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. DDT Grand Sumo Summer Place: HARASHIMA Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Gota Ihashi Vs SAGAT
2. Surplus Girl And Sukeban And Children And Gays: Margaret☆Owashi, Saki Sukeban & Yuni Vs Mascara Gayrera Jr. & Gay Urano
3. Doki! Entirely Hoss Mermaids Hardcore 3 Way Match: Naomi Vs Francoise☆Takagi Vs Kazuko Higuchi
4. DISASTER Joshi Vs ALL OUT Joshi ~Shinjuku Super Whirlwind!~: Hara Shimako, Kazuko Hirata & Yuko Ueno Vs Keiko Takeshita Jr., Akiko & Shun❤️Carousel

Match #2 is going to get someone in trouble.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~DANSHOKU DIENO & SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE DAY~”, 31/07/2019
Shinjuku FACE

0. Special Under Match “Star Of Shining Friendship! Eternal Wrestling Boys Legend”: Tetsuya Koda Vs Hisaya Imabayashi
1. “Summer Feature” Laripro: Keisuke Ishii, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Antonio Honda, Makoto Oishi, Yukio Naya, Yuna Manase
2. Some Kind Of Dark PowerPoint By Super Sasadango Machine: X Vs X
3. Hana No Sandman Match: X Vs X

The Sandman match returns as does Lariat Pro Wrestling.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~MOONLIGHT EXPRESS DAY~”, 01/08/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. 4 Rounds Of Mizuki Watase Trials: Mizuki Watase Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Mike Bailey, Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshihiko
2. Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Gabaiji-chan Vs Yuki Ueno & Hiroshi Yamato
4. Fear! Big Boss Brahman Attack! ~Cold Iron Pillar~: MAO, Mike Bailey & Asuka Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei

Oh hey, The Moonlight Express has also noticed that Mizuki Watase needs some encouragement to do something.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~DAMNATION DAY~”, 02/08/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. Hardcore 6-Man Tag Match: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Gabaiji-chan Vs Hoshitango, Keisuke Ishii & Shota
2. NC-18 Fictional Novels Death Match: Hiroshi Yamato Vs Antonio Honda
3. Last Man Standing Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Masahiro Takanashi
4. 3 Way Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani

Shuji Ishikawa is back for DAMNATION’s day in the Beer Garden!

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2019 ~DDT~”, 03/08/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. DDT Extreme Title: Akito (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio

Akito gets his DDT Extreme Title defence against the delightful Jiro Kuroshio. Well maybe he won’t be as delightful after his No DQ Match with MAO this weekend.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE MONSTER RED 2019”, 10/08/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Ganpro Army Vs Real GUTS Army: Yumehito Imanari Vs X
2. Ganpro Army Vs Real GUTS Army: Miss Mongol Vs Shota
3. Ganpro Army Vs Real GUTS Army: Ken Ohka Vs Masked Mystery
4. Iwasaki Vs BJW All Out Match First Round: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Akira Hyodo
5. A Phantom Dream! Single Match Of Fate!: Shuichiro Katsumata Vs Minoru Fujita

Fujita wanted a match with Shuichiro Katsumata so badly that he is willing to show up in Ganpro again to make it happen.

Kouki Iwasaki has been given a challenge against Big Japan wrestlers during this August weekend.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE MONSTER GREEN 2019”, 11/08/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Iwasaki Vs BJW All Out Match Second Round: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ryuichi Kawakami
2. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol (c) Vs Guts Ishijima, Masked Mystery & Shota

Guts Ishijima is absent from the day before due to another booking but he and his Real GUTS Army will get a chance to reclaim the GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles here.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GANBARE ORANGE☆ROAD 2019”, 24/08/2019
Saitama Orange Town

1. Ganbare Opening☆Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shuhei Washida
2. Come Out Or Rakugo Showdown! Special Mixed Match: Shota & Moeki Haruha Vs Gota Ihashi & HARUKAZE
3. Masterclass Combination Confrontation! Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shuichiro Katsumata & Yumehito Imanari

A new venue for a mat wrestling show.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “LAST DANCE IS FOR ME 2019” Results

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “LAST DANCE IS FOR ME 2019”, 17/07/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
141 Fans

1. If It Fights, It Is a Man! The Gate Of Confrontation Has Finally Been Opened!!: Ultra Soki & Yuta Suzuki defeated Kouki Iwasaki & Shuhei Washida when Soki pinned Washida with the Nishime Otoshi (10:55).
2. Kochoranbu! Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z All Round Fight Round 2: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE defeated Momo Tani & Ayumi Hayashi when Haruhi pinned Tani with the 79.5MHz (10:38).
3. Great Conflict That Is Not Over Yet! Momota Family Vs Naoshi Sano: Naoshi Sano defeated Chikara with an Axe Bomber (11:15).
4. Ganpro Vs P.P.P. Full Battle: Keisuke Ishii defeated Mitomi Masayuki with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (10:32).
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) defeated Hiroshi Yamato with the Ninja Choke (19:22).
*V2 for Shuichiro Katsumura.
6. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 20th Champions Decision Match: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol defeated Guts Ishijima, Masked Mystery & Shota when Mongol pinned Shota with a Cross Body (13:06).
*GPW become the 20th GWC 6-Man Tag Team Champions!

Miss Mongol thanked Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari for giving her the opportunities to wrestle even at her age. Before the show took place Mongol contacted Atsushi Onita for permission to close out the show the same way he used to. Onita gave her his blessing but after she did it, the Real GUTS Army attacked them. Shota said today’s result was a fluke and he demanded some rematches to take place on 10th and 11th August. Guts Ishijima won’t be at the 10th August show because he already has a booking with 666. Shota promised to bring along a replacement.

Minoru Fujita approached Shuichiro Katsumura after the semi-main and asked for a match with him. Fujita originally promised he would never come back to Ganbare☆Wrestling but he really wants to wrestle Katsumura. They agreed to have a match on 10th August but the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title will not be on the line.

Naoshi Sano beat Chikara clean then challenged Mitsuo Momota to a match. However Momota had another idea. It is clear that he and his son cannot beat Sano so rather then fight him again, they should all team up instead! That would be a better way for them to study Sano’s strength. Sano and Chikara were both puzzled by the idea but Momota convinced them to try it out.

Ken Ohka had some big news for Kouki Iwasaki. Next month he is going to have a couple of opponents from Big Japan coming in! Iwasaki faces Akira Hyodo on 10th August and Ryuichi Kawakami on the 11th!

Ohka and Shuhei Washida attempted to Bottle Cap Challenge before the show began but they both failed. So they changed the rules into a water drinking contest. Washida beat Ohka.

Video – Mizuki/Manase/Kamifuku Vs Yamashita/Watanabe/Maiumi

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “RAINBOW PINK IN NAGOYA”, 13/07/2019
Aichi Nagoya Sports Plaza Third Stadium
260 Fans

Mizuki, Yuna Manase & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Miyu Yamashita, Miu Watanabe & Mirai Maiumi

International Princess Title, Other Princess Championships Get Renamed

In a bid to expand Tokyo Joshi Pro’s presence around the world some changes have been made to the promotion’s range of championships. First, the current existing championships have been slightly renamed. The “TOKYO” part of the names have been dropped which means the main singles championship is now called the Princess Of Princess Title and the tag belts are called the Princess Tag Team Titles. The reason for this is to present the belts as more global championships.

Here is the second announcement. Because some members of the roster are getting chances to wrestle overseas and more foreign women are visiting Japan to wrestle in Tokyo Joshi, a decision was made to create a brand new singles championship! The International Princess Title belt is currently being produced with plans to crown its first champion later this summer.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2019 SUMMER ~SUNSHINE CARNIVAL~”, 20/07/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Hikari Noa Vs Mirai Maiumi
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mahiro Kiryu
3. Miyu Yamashita, YUMI & Pom Harajuku Vs Nodoka Tenma, Mina Shirakawa & Himawari Unagi
4. Sakisama & Misao Vs Miu Watanabe Vs Raku
5. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Maki Itoh & Mizuki
6. International Princess Title Japanese Representative Decision 4 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuna Manase Vs Natsumi Maki Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The champion decision match will be between a Japanese wrestler and a foreign wrestler. The Japanese wrestler will be decided with a 4 Way Match on 20th July. Each participant in the match was chosen because of their abilities and recent results. Also in order to widen the selection process across the roster, Tokyo Joshi purposely avoided picking women who have been in Princess Title matches this year. The four women picked are Rika Tatsumi, Yuna Manase, Natsumi Maki and Yuki Kamifuku.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “BRAND NEW WRESTLING 2019 ~STRONGER THAN ANYONE!~”, 25/08/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. International Princess Title – 1st Champion Decision Battle: Japan Representative Vs International Representative

The international rep is currently being considered among offers and recommendations from around the world.

Ganbare Tomorrow, Summer Vacation On Sunday, New Marunage Matches

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “LAST DANCE IS FOR ME 2019”, 17/07/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Kochoranbu! Ganjo Vs Actwres girl’Z All Round Fight Round 2: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Momo Tani & Ayumi Hayashi
2. If It Fights, It Is a Man! The Gate Of Confrontation Has Finally Been Opened!!: Kouki Iwasaki & Shuhei Washida Vs Ultra Soki & Yuta Suzuki
3. Great Conflict That Is Not Over Yet! Momota Family Vs Naoshi Sano: Chikara Vs Naoshi Sano
4. Ganpro Vs P.P.P. Full Battle: Keisuke Ishii Vs Mitomi Masayuki
5. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 20th Champions Decision Match: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol Vs Guts Ishijima, Masked Mystery & Shota
6. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Hiroshi Yamato

The crazy busy week of wrestling isn’t over yet. Who has space for some greasy Ganbare☆Wrestling dessert? It’s so greasy…

DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2019”, 21/07/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Calbee & Frito Lay Collaboration Match ~Potato Snacks Agency War No. 1 Final Battle~: King Potato Chips, Masahiro Takanashi & Gota & Asuka Ihashi Vs Dragon Potato Mask, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Kota Umeda Great Match: Kota Umeda, Shunma Katsumata, Mike Bailey & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mizuki Watase, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Daiki Shimomura
4. After Wrestle Peter Pan 2019 Special 6-Man Tag Match ~What Is Personal Information?~: Hideki Suzuki, Super Sasadango Machine & Yumehito Imanari Vs HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi & Shinya Aoki
5. No DQ Match: MAO Vs Jiro Kuroshio
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Joey Ryan & Hiroshi Yamato
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Chris Brookes

Chris Brookes is calling Konosuke Takeshita a boring wrestler. He even felt a little disappointed when he watched Takeshita win the KO-D Openweight Title in the main event yesterday. Takeshita in response calls Brookes the UK’s best wrestler, but then called himself the world’s best wrestler. Before this match takes places, Takeshita will be wrestling in Hindmarsh, Australia for Sub-Zero Pro this Friday. His goal is to win the title there and collect championships from around the world until the Olympics begin.

Akito has nominated Jiro Kuroshio as the next challenger for the DDT Extreme Title. However Kuroshio is already booked on this show so there is no date decided yet for the title match. Akito would like the match to take place on 3rd August at Beer Garden week.

Sanshiro Takagi wants revenge on Yumehito Imanari for revealing his phone number during yesterday’s Weapon Rumble. Takagi was still getting phone calls in the middle of the night. Imanari said the prank is opening up new opportunities for DDT because every company now knows where to call Takagi.

Makoto Oishi is being moved to the 3 Way Tag match since he has partnered up with Yukio Naya before. He is being replaced by Saki Akai in the product placement match.

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2019 ~JULY~”, 27/07/2019
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Akito Marunage Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ueno

That is not a mistake. Akito wants Yuki Ueno to be wrestling on both teams. Akito is not in his own Marunage match because he thinks his only responsibility is to produce it. Ueno regularly teams with Naomi Yoshimura but also regularly trains with Takeshita. Oh, there is also the fact that Yoshimura and Takeshita don’t get along. This is a good three way relationship for Akito to experiment which is why he made this match.

Mike Bailey and Shunsuke Sayama will be on the show.

DDT “CRY TO THE FIRE! 2019”, 10/08/2019
Hiroshima Aster Plaza Multipurpose Hall

1. Kazuki Hirata Marunage Match: X Vs X

Hiroshi Yamato, Kenshin Chikano and Rey Paloma will be on the show.

DDT “DRAMATIC I WILL DO IT 2019”, 11/08/2019
Kumamoto Ryutsujoho Hall

1. Naomi Yoshimura Marunage Match: X Vs X

Hiroshi Yamato will be on the show.

DDT “WRESTLING TOKOTSU 2019”, 12/08/2019
Fukuoka Hakata Sazanpia

1. Pokotan Marunage Match: X Vs X

Hiroshi Yamato, Yuto Aijima, Azul Dragon and Lowther will be on the show.

DDT “IT IS DRAMATIC YEAH 2019”, 18/08/2019
Aichi Nagoya City Kashiwajima Sports Center

1. Shunma Katsumata Marunage Match: X Vs X

Hiroshi Yamato will be on the show.

DDT “MASAHIRO TAKANASHI BOX OFFICE ~FOLLOW ME, THE DREAM IS STILL AHEAD~”, 15/09/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Kagetora & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno
2. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dieno

Emi Sakura, Yasu Urano and Cherry will be on the show.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” Results

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
3,798 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda defeated Keigo Nakamura with a Low Kick (5:07).
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi when Tatsumi pinned Unagi with the Missile Hips (10:35).
1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase defeated Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Iino pinned Shimatani with the Spear (12:11).
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki when Higuchi pinned Umeda with the Goten (13:26).
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Yoshiko defeated Saki Akai with the Diving Senton (8:32).
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) defeated Asuka when Asuka broke the Lighttube (11:48).
*V1 for Akito.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Furitsuke Kamen defeated Toru Owashi (c) by Pinfall (3:54 pm).
*Furitsuke Kamen becomes the 1,375th champion.
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Furitsuke Kamen (Lucky Ikeda) (c), Toru Owashi, Kurochan, Shiro Koshinaka, Joey Ryan, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata, Mad Paulie, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Hiroshi Yamato, Pokotan and Yuki Kamifuku (20:04).
5a. Gorgeous Matsuno eliminated Furitsuke Kamen (c) with a School Boy (3:37).
*Gorgeous Matsuno becomes the 1,376th champion.
5b. Tomomitsu Matsunaga eliminated Gorgeous Matsuno (c) with a School Boy (3:48).
*Tomomitsu Matsunaga becomes the 1,377th champion.
5c. Mad Paulie eliminated Tomomitsu Matsunaga (c) with the Reverse Splash (5:40).
*Mad Paulie becomes the 1,378th champion.
5d. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Mad Paulie (c) with a School Boy (7:49).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,379th champion.
5e. Joey Ryan eliminated Kurochan by Ring Out (11:30).
5f. Joey Ryan eliminated Yuki Kamifuku by Ring Out (11:43).
5g. Shiro Koshinaka eliminated Pokotan by Ring Out (14:09).
5h. Shiro Koshinaka eliminated Makoto Oishi, Hiroshi Yamato and Joey Ryan by Ring Out (18:34).
5i. Kazuki Hirata (c) eliminated Toru Owashi, Shiro Koshinaka and Antonio Honda by Ring Out (19:08).
*V1, V2 & V3 for Kazuki Hirata.
5j. Yukio Sakaguchi eliminated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the God’s Right Knee (20:04).
*Yukio Sakaguchi becomes the 1,380th champion.
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki defeated Yukio Naya with the V1 Armlock (7:59).
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Brookes pinned MAO with the Praying Mantis Bomb (11:24).
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Super Sasadango Machine with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb onto a Plastic Case (28:56).
*Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 1st O-40 Champion!
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Danshoku Dieno by Knockout with the Sleeper Hold (4R 2:54).
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano when Takao pinned Urano with the Reverse Gory Special Bomb (20:38).
*V4 for DAMNATION.
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tetsuya Endo (c) with the Walls Of Takeshita (31:38).
*Tetsuya Endo fails in V5. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 72nd KO-D Openweight Champion!

An exposed turnbuckle may be the reason for Tetsuya Endo’s downfall and why we have a new KO-D Openweight Champion. When he and Konosuke Takeshita fought outside the ring early in the main event, Nobuhiro Shimatani removed one of the corner turnbuckles while Yukinori Matsui was focused on the fighting. The exposed corner played its part when both champion and challenger were spent. Endo had Takeshita stunned on the top rope with an Overhead Kick but his attempt at a Superplex was countered into the Chicago Skyline chest first onto the metal bracket! Takeshita went on to hit the Fable but Endo still had some fight left in him, escaping from the Cross-Arm German Suplex to hit a Canadian Destroyer. Endo then hit a Cross-Arm Canadian Destroyer and went for the Shooting Star Press. But in a flash Takeshita blocked it with his knees and put Endo in the Walls Of Takeshita. Endo tried to fight out but when Takeshita dragged him to the middle of the ring and applied more pressure it was all over!

There wasn’t much interaction between Takeshita and Endo after the match. When Endo left the ring, Takeshita was given his sponsorship prize of 2,000,000 yen. Chris Brookes interrupted Takeshita’s victory speech. Brookes said he will win the KO-D Title at Korakuen Hall in 6 days time. Takeshita called himself the eternal champion. Next week he will win and Brookes will lose. It is destiny! He ended the show by congratulating the rest of ALL OUT for their success today. This is the DDT he wants and he is glad to share it with everyone. ALL OUT will continue to do their best and wish everyone to come see DDT again in the future.

Soma Takao can smile again because Smile Squash has been vanquished! HARASHIMA wiped himself out with a Swan Dive Somato out of the ring when Daisuke Sasaki got out of the way. The rest of DISASTER BOX were who HARASHIMA landed on instead. Daisuke Kiso was pushed into Yasu Urano which allowed Sasaki to bring a chair into the ring for him & Takao to use. They gave Urano a Gin And Tonic/Pedigree combination then Takao finished him off with the Reverse Gory Special Bomb.

After the match Takao talked about how he was born in Ota Ward, grew up in Ota Ward and now he’s defended a championship in Ota Ward’s biggest venue. Joey Ryan approached DAMNATION to tell them he and Hiroshi Yamato will be the next KO-D Tag Team Title challengers on 21st July. Sasaki denied the match was happening so Ryan took out packaged seaweed that Hiroshi was selling at the merchandise area. He rubbed the seaweed over his body, wrapped it over a lollipop and shoved it into Sasaki’s mouth! He tried to do the same to Takao but he escaped.

Before Danshoku Dieno Vs Shinya Aoki began the rules for the bout were revealed. The match was limited to 10 rounds lasting 3 minutes each. Every odd numbered round was strict fighting rules with no pinfalls allowed. Every even numbered round was normal pro wrestling rules but “courtship” was also permitted. Also Aoki was allowed to throw strikes from the 3 Point Position because there was a 20kg weight difference between him and Dieno. Mina Shirakawa and Yuki Iino provided the fanservice between the rounds. In Round 1 Dieno tried to bend the rules by targeting Aoki’s groin in a defensive manner but he was given a yellow card over it. Aoki overwhelmed Dieno for the rest of the round but Dieno lasted the entire time. In Round 2 Dieno got to do his moves without penalty. A double down spot led to a moment where the lights dimmed and music from “Beauty & The Beast” played. Dieno got Aoki to dance with him until the music stopped and Dieno went to do some dry humping. Round 3 went back to serious fighing but this time Aoki had a damaged rear end holding him back! The fight was more even this time but Aoki was still able to defend himself. In Round 4 Dieno went for a big attack but missed a Moonsault. Aoki applied a Sleeper Hold but again the lights went dim and this time music from “Aladdin” could be heard. The match slowed down and Dieno got out by grabbing Aoki’s crotch. He slowly gave Aoki a Lip Lock then dropped him with the Danshoku Driver. However Aoki slowly countered the pin into a Double Wristlock. Dieno slowly reached the ropes but was slowly put back into another Sleeper Hold. Dieno slowly reached for the ropes once more but went unconscious. The speed of reality went back to normal and Aoki was declared the winner by KO. When Dieno recovered, Aoki told him the match was good. Dieno warned Aoki that he is the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings. From this point on he better be prepared for how the remaining three will respond!

The first O-40 Champion was determined in a Weapon Rumble between Sanshiro Takagi and Super Sasadango Machine. The first weapon introduced in the match was “The Poison Tongue Commnetator” Kero Tanaka distracting Takagi with insults from the announce table. He called the match “Third Class” mimicking TAJIRI’s tweet that started this whole thing. The next weapon was a collection of tables, ladders and chairs for Takagi to use. Sasadango then brought out a doctor to get a blood donation from Takagi inside the ring. That on its own would make Takagi weaker but Sasadango caused even more damage by doing an Armbreaker to the arm the blood was taken from. Takagi was rescued by Miyako Matsumoto. She did a Diving Foot Stomp to Sasadango then told everyone she has left Ice Ribbon to go freelance. She asked Takagi if she can wrestle in DDT from now on? Takagi agreed but that piece of news was cut off by the appearance of Kurochan. He kept Matsumoto grounded by licking her knee then did the same to Takagi. Tanaka complained about Kurochan’s behavior on commentary and told him to go home. Sasadango grabbed Tanaka and made Kurochan lick his knee until he fainted. Kurochan then chased Matsumoto away from ringside while a pile of plastic cases were brought down for Takagi. A few of them were smashed until Super Sasadango Machine Strong Version appeared. He was unmasked and revealed to be Hideki Suzuki! Takagi’s next weapon was supposed to be Sasadango’s phone number but Yumehito Imanari revealed he was showing everybody Takagi’s phone number instead because he is a brutal boss! Takagi’s phone started ringing over and over so Suzuki was given the task of answering the calls while the match continued. Sasadango then introduced his PowerPoint presentation as his next weapon. In it he talked about how DDT’s management is not always good. If Takagi cannot figure out how to restructure DDT’s cost cutting it is suggested he may have to retire from his role. The PowerPoint then moved on to TAJIRI’s tweet about comedy wrestling. Sasadango defended Takagi by telling everyone he has changed so many lives with DDT from the wrestlers to the staff and even the fans. There was one final weapon to be revealed by Takagi. It was a video announcement that DDT will hold “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020” at Saitama Super Arena on 7th June next year! Sasadango was so surprised by the news that he couldn’t defend himself from Takagi and was pinned after a Sunflower Bomb onto a plastic case.

Takagi brought a revived Kero Tanaka into the ring after the match. Tanaka said it is very hard to make him laugh but Takagi was able to do it today. He encouraged to make pack Saitama Super Arena super packed next year. Takagi asked Tanaka if he would do ring announcing for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2020”? Tanaka accepted the offer. Takagi thanked Sasadango for putting together such a stupid match and assured him he isn’t going to retire anytime soon. He has so much to do and wants to take on big challenges in the same year when the Olympics are in the country. He told everyone who came here for free and are watching for free to buy tickets for next year’s big show! Oh and Takagi won the O-40 Title. Are we going to see this again or will it be forgotten about like the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles?

Brookes is going into his KO-D Title match in strong form. He did some “Sick Fucking Tag Moves” with Masahiro Takanashi then saved his partner from The Moonlight Express Michinoku Tornado Driver. They got rid of Mike Bailey then set MAO up for the finish. Brookes held MAO up in the Praying Mantis Bomb then Takanashi hit a Thrust Kick at MAO’s face before Brookes dropped him on his head. Takanashi gives Brookes his support and wants wrestling fans around the world to know that Brookes will be the next KO-D Champion! Brookes calls Takanashi the most talented wrestler in DDT even though he doesn’t get the spotlight. Brookes will be heading home to England soon but when he returns, not only will he be the KO-D Champion but the Calamari Drunken Kings will go after the KO-D Tag Titles too! Over at the Express end, MAO is confused over why he felt nervous wrestling today. He also mentions wanting to wrestle in Britain for Fight Club: PRO as part of DDT’s relationship with the UK promotion. He brought up a potential Moonlight Express Vs CCK match if Brookes’s original partner Kid Lykos ever comes back. Their message is loud and clear. “Hey Martin Zaki, book The Moonlight Express!”

Yukio Naya came out all guns blazing but was quickly extinguished by Hideki Suzuki. The rookie’s power kept him in the match and gave him some moments of hope. That ended when Suzuki put him in a Necklock, transitioned to the V1 Armlock and wrenched it in until Naya gave up. Suzuki says the match went exactly how he thought it would. It wasn’t beautiful but it was messy. What’s important is how will Naya respond to this? Naya knows his lack of experience was a big factor in his defeat but Suzuki told him not to give up wrestling.

Moments before the Battle Royal took place, Toru Owashi was seen breaking up an argument between Gorgeous Matsuno and Furitsuke Kamen backstage. The two elderly gentlemen began fighting until Kamen was unmasked. Owashi was shocked to learn that Kamen is Lucky Ikeda in disguise and everyone piled on top of him to get the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. A three count was made and Kamen/Ikeda was declared the champion because he was directly on top of Owashi. In the Battle Royal itself the belt moved around a few times from Kamen to Matsuno to Tomomitsu Matsunaga to Mad Paulie and then to Kazuki Hirata. The pervert Kurochan chased around Yuki Kamifuku trying to lick her until Yukio Sakaguchi came in and kicked him away. Joey Ryan eliminated both Kurochan and Kamifuku with lollipops. He also did a massive Dick Flip in sync to Hiroshi Yamato’s singing. Pokotan lost its head and was revealed to be wearing a Toru Owashi rubber mask underneath. Shiro Koshinaka came in and Hip Attacked everyone. Antonio Honda needed to power up Gongitsune so he invited Makoto Oishi, Hisaya Imabayashi, Inoue Mic, and a bunch of other wrestlers to fuse together while the theme to the “The Avengers” played in the background. Sakaguchi wanted to be involved too but he was ignored. Good thing too because the combined forces were wiped out by another one of Koshinaka’s Hip Attacks. Sakaguchi won the Rumble when he last eliminated Hirata with the God’s Right Knee. Michiaki Nakano from Souken Holdings presented Sakaguchi with the match prize then tried to roll him up to win the Iron Man Title. Sakaguchi easily stopped him with a stomp.

Safety and ring awareness was of the upmost importance in the IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match. Mizuki Watase and trainee Keigo Nakamura demonstrated the rules to everybody using a baseball bat before the match began. The Lighttube even got its own entrance to the tune of “Tomaranai Ha~Ha” by Eikichi Yazawa. The challenger Asuka was left frustrated by Akito shielding himself with the Lighttube. When the action got going both wrestlers did what they could to avoid breaking or landing on it. Things got so overwhelming that Asuka focused so much on a strike exchange she didn’t realise Akito held up the Lighttube to block a Middle Kick. Asuka smashed the Lighttube with her kick, meaning she lost the match! Akito apologised to Asuka for any insults he made about her in the buildup to the match. It’s okay if she hates him as long as she likes DDT more and more. Akito then announced he will be choosing his next challenger for the DDT Extreme Title.

Saki Akai had a few brief chances at beating Yoshiko. She hit the Rookie Award after Yoshiko missed a Diving Senton. She also gave her the Quetzalcoatl but Yoshiko was able to grab a rope to break the pin. Akai kicked out of a 2nd rope Diving Senton but another one from the top put her away. Yoshiko stepped on Akai’s head while flipping everyone off after the match. In her post-match interview she called the Quetzalcoatl a shallow move. Akai disagrees. Her move has a 100% success rate and Yoshiko only avoided defeat because she landed close enough to the ropes. As far as Akai is concerned, her finishing move hasn’t been beaten yet.

Kota Umeda pulled double duty for one of his few remaining DDT appearances left. His tag match was a DNA reunion with Kouki Iwasaki, Kazusada Higuchi and Ryota Nakatsu. Higuchi got the win for his team by cutting off Umeda’s kicks with a Lariat. He used his old Goten finisher to get the three count as well. The four of them reminisced about DNA backstage after the match. Higuchi mentioned the DNA shirt he wore to the ring was something he kept because it was so important. Today was his chance to wear it again.

The proper show opener saw Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase defeat Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani. Katsumata & Iino were pleased to win a match on the big stage. Watase was the odd man out in the match because he is not a part of a unit. However he is still connected to the others through DNA so he was able to channel that energy to mesh with the ALL OUT wrestlers.

There were two pre-show matches. The latter one was presented by Tokyo Joshi Pro. The trio of Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino were victorious over Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi.

The other pre-show match was an exhibition bout between Kota Umeda and trainee Keigo Nakamura. Rather than beat him with a Crab Hold, Umeda just kicked the rookie in the chest instead.

Part of the introduction video involved a comedy skit between Ryota Yamasato and Danshoku Dieno. Yamazato was reminded to behave or else he will get fireworks shoved up his backside as ordered by his new wife.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” Preview

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”, 15/07/2019
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura
0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi
1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko
4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku
6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya
7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

For the first time DDT’s annual supershow is being held inside Ota Ward Gymnasium for an ambitious experiment. This year’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN” will be a free show with tickets being given out through DDT’s website. At the time of writing two of the three sections advertised are sold out, the Arena seats and the A Stand seats. The B Stand seats are still available and whatever is left on the day of the show will be given out one way or another so expect a packed venue. Just ignore that there is a 350 yen processing fee, because of course there’s a processing fee. The goal of this event is to spread the name of DDT and the best way to do that is hold a free show inside a big building to attract fans new and old. DDT’s connections with CyberAgent and AbemaTV helped make this happen.

This show also kickstarts DDT’s goal for 2020, to approach the level of New Japan without sacrificing what makes DDT, well, DDT. During an interview with Yahoo Japan/Weekly Playboy, it was mentioned that DDT’s last peak happened five years ago. Seeds have been planted since then with the new generation of DDT wrestlers. If it takes five years for a new boom period to begin then DDT believes now is the time to strike! If it doesn’t work, then no matter. The show must go on and DDT will do what they can to avoid being repetitive.

So what is happening on the card? There is the return of this generation’s biggest feud over the top championship, a heel aims to destroy his babyface past, an MMA superstar faces the heart of DDT, a new championship for senior wrestlers is created, the next No. 1 Contender is being kept busy, the grandson of a famous sumo wrestler takes on one of the most skillful wrestlers around, a wacky Battle Royal will happen, only one lighttube will get smashed, a joshi rivalry is reignited and a class reunion leads to a farewell.

0. Hotel Saint Inn Kurashiki Presents Exhibition Match: Kota Umeda Vs Keigo Nakamura

Kota Umeda is pulling double duty. His match on the main card is more important but DDT wants to give their newest trainee Keigo Nakamura some ring time so Umeda gets to wrestle twice. Also DDT has sponsored pre-show matches that need to be filled. Nakamura has had two previous exhibition matches and played minor roles in a few street wrestling matches this year so he is quickly getting the DDT experience.

0. Nihon Partner Kaikei Services Presents Tokyo Joshi Pro Under Match: Rika Tatsumi, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi

The Tokyo Joshi Pro midcard get the Ota Ward spotlight this time around. Seems fair since the main eventers have now reached the level where they are getting bookings in America and Europe. While they are out flying the flag abroad, they are plenty of others around to represent TJPW at DDT’s biggest show. Rika Tatsumi is still finding her footing since coming back from an arm injury back in February. Her efforts to get into the title scene had been disrupted by drama over her former friend Hyper Misao joining the dark side. She also has her hands full wrestling the HiSPC class girls that came after her. The Bakuretsu Sisters may be going into Ota Ward as the new Tokyo Princess Tag Team Champions if things work out for them. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino have a title shot two days before “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. Natsumi Maki’s time in Tokyo Joshi has been free of the controversy that followed her when she debuted for the company in January. She formed the Pandemic Boo-Boo tag team with Hikari Noa and rarely takes the fall in losses. Yuna Manase is fresh out of reaching the Tokyo Princess Cup final. Her performance in that tournament seems to have breathed new life into her career so now the world is her oyster. Himawari Unagi won a fan vote to get into the Princess Cup and has gathered a following online over her love of bubble tea. She also teams with Manase a fair bit whenever she isn’t put with the rest of her classmates.

1. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Nobuhiro Shimatani

The redundant DNA brand has its fingerprints all over the first two matches on the main card. Shunma Katsumata returned from his cheek bone fracture and with Yuki Iino got deep into the feud between ALL OUT and the Sendai Girls. Both of them are heading into this match as two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Joining them is Mizuki Watase who is still struggling to find a higher place on cards without Shigehiro Irie being there to prop him up. There is talent in Watase but a lot is still missing for him to step up. I don’t know if a move to BASARA or Ganbare☆Wrestling is needed to solve this problem but he looks like a man without a country right now. The other team is an unholy mix of DISASTER BOX and DAMNATION. The pair of Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura have to team with Nobuhiro Shimatani after they failed to become tag champions. Other than that things have been working out swimmingly for the two ever since Yoshimura joined DISASTER BOX. Shimatani has the most important job out of all the DAMNATION wrestlers on this show and that is to carry around the DAMNATION signboard.

2. DNA First Life Alumni Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki

The other DNA match involves multiple brands and is the last time Kota Umeda will wrestle in a big venue before he leaves the profession. Umeda is quitting DDT on 21st July to work for his family’s business in Kumamoto. Family has always been important to Umeda and he was going to go as far as retire from pro wrestling for them despite only being 24 years old. However DDT convinced him just to quit the company so if he ever wants to come back, he won’t be breaking any retirement vows. Umeda’s partner for his second last match is Kouki Iwasaki. He hasn’t looked back since joining Ganpro and spreading out to other promotions. Their opponents are probably the two top graduates from DNA. Kazusada Higuchi has now firmly found his balance between heavyweight wrestling and wacky comedy behavior. Ryota Nakatsu is coming off of a strong Union MAX Title run in BASARA. He won’t have his Sparky stablemates with him but he never really needed to rely on them either.

3. Super Joshi Pro Wars 2019: Saki Akai Vs Yoshiko

Throughout Saki Akai’s wrestling career there has been one figure who she thinks has played an important role as a rival. That’s Yoshiko. She was one of Akai’s debut opponents and Akai was her first challenger when she was the World Of Stardom Champion. In another world the two could have been childhood friends like Sakisama and Yoshiko-sama are. But whenever Akai gets the opportunity to make her own match, Yoshiko’s name usually pops up as an opponent. This is what’s happening here. Akai wanted a singles joshi match on DDT’s biggest show of the year and decided now is the chance for her to surpass Yoshiko. Maybe it’s possible because the match is happening a few days after Yoshiko was in a big Beyond The Sea Tag Team Titles defence in SEAdLINNNG. Her entire focus was on that match and she admits she didn’t have much time to think about Akai. But what she can promise is she will show everyone in Ota Ward how harsh and pitiful Akai really is. Akai on the other hand has had time to plan and think about this match. She will use her feelings as a pro wrestler to power her way to victory!

4. DDT Extreme Title – IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Asuka

Akito is the DDT Extreme Champion but he is also fighting to answer a simple question that’s been bothering him lately. Is he boring? He has the skills for sure but his challenger Asuka thinks he is dull as dirt (it could be worse, he could be as boring as the current WWE or ROH main event scenes). Asuka thinks the Extreme Title would be a much better fit for her than Akito. She wanted a death match with hundreds of lighttubes involved to prove it but Akito turned it around by making her fight in an IPPON Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match instead. There is only one lighttube and whoever breaks it is the loser. Akito explains that the fear of only breaking one lighttube rather than smashing through hundreds of them is what makes this match type more thrilling. Plus with no pinfalls needed to win, Akito can feel more relaxed in the ring and not worry about getting rolled up. See, he put a lot of thought into this. Would a boring man act that way? Asuka is at a disadvantage because she is struggling to understand the point of the match even after watching videos of the previous times the rule was used.

5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Kurochan Vs Shiro Koshinaka Vs Furitsuke Kamen Vs Joey Ryan Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Mad Paulie Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hiroshi Yamato Vs Pokotan Vs Yuki Kamifuku

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title has had a little bit of a quiet 2019 so far. Don’t get me wrong there was some eventful title changes that happened. The belt swapped hands a bunch of times in New York, the Governor Of Ehime became champion and a chair held the title. But other than that it’s been the usual stories about the championship. Maybe there’s not much to do because it’s been overshadowed by the new WWE 24/7 Title. But like I said at the start, the show must go on. Toru Owashi is the champion as this is being written and DDT is selling a rubber mask of his face at the show. Kurochan is the comedian from the Muscle show at Sumo Hall back in February. Shiro Koshinaka celebrated his 40th anniversary in wrestling at the start of the year. Other than an office pro wrestling cameo this is his first proper match in DDT since November 2017. Furitsuke Kamen is the pro wrestling alter ego of celebrity choreographer Lucky Ikeda. He showed up in DDT for a dance match back in March. Joey Ryan is back in DDT and is in a new stage of his career where he has no contracts to worry about. His matches still gives Jim Cornette material for his podcast. Yukio Sakaguchi went through a roaring rampage of revenge against DAMNATION in the early summer but wound up empty handed. Makoto Oishi had a little time in the spotlight in April when he was chosen for a title match. He was supposed to be an easy defence but proved to be anything but. Antonio Honda won the Extreme Title in a Panty☆Hunt Tiger Cub Rope Death Match but lost the belt to Akito in his first defence. Kazuki Hirata continues to dance and feud with an 11 year old. Mad Paulie has been trusted by the rest of DAMNATION to win the Iron Man Title so the unit will sweep all of their title matches on the show. Tomomitsu Matsunaga’s highlight of the year has been… I don’t know, losing to Bull James or something? Gorgeous Matsuno has taken a step back from his gatekeeping duties and only appeared in DDT for special occasions. Hiroshi Yamato has begun to proudly talk about the amount of different promotions he wrestles in. If you don’t see him wrestling, you’ll see him singing or shilling his erotic fiction instead. The DDT mascot Pokotan hasn’t been perfect since its debut. It often loses its head during matches which makes it violently malfunction. Last but not least there is Yuki Kamifuku. She was added to the match when Kurochan asked for a woman to be included. Kamifuku agreed to take part but got cold feet when she figured out Kurochan only wanted a woman included so he could act the pervert. He wants to hit three birds with one stone: win the Iron Man Title, kiss Kamifuku and then go get married together.

6. Human Windmill 2nd Generation Vs Taiho 3rd Generation: Hideki Suzuki Vs Yukio Naya

Yukio Naya made his DDT debut at “JUDGEMENT 2019” in Sumo Hall. He liked the experience so much that he signed with the company three months later! The grandson of sumo yokozuna Taiho Koki didn’t waste any time picking his targets. He wants to be the best heavyweight in DDT so he immediately set his sights on the big boys like Higuchi and Mad Paulie. A lack of experience lets him down but Naya has been picking up wins against smaller competition. His next big match is against Hideki Suzuki, a frustratingly talented veteran. He hasn’t watched any of Naya’s matches, only saw pictures of his bout with Higuchi and has no special thoughts about his opponent. He does have some criticism though. Naya has said in interviews that he does not expect to beat Suzuki but wants to do his best to at least make the match enjoyable. Suzuki thinks if Naya is not wrestling to win then he shouldn’t be wrestling at all. Otherwise this match is just a waste of time. If Suzuki has to teach him that lesson in the ring then so be it.

7. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

At first this match seemed a little throwaway and was positioned further down the card. But when Chris Brookes instantly became DDT’s new favourite adopted son things changed. The English wrestler has only been in DDT for a month but he has taken the company by storm in ways I have not seen since El Generico’s run in the company seven years ago. He took to the street wrestling matches like a duck to water (partly because one of those matches was in a pool )and in his spare time lived a dream puroresu holiday that would leave even the most hardcore wrestling fan green with envy (shhh, don’t tell Will Ospreay that). The crowning achievement of this tour may not have happened yet. On 21st July Brookes will be challenging for the company’s main championship so he will definitely keep a close eye on the main event. Masahiro Takanashi’s profile has dropped a little bit ever since Shuten-dōji split up in April but he hasn’t been keeping quiet. There’s been times this year when Takanashi brought in his friends Shota, Yumehito Imanari and Baliyan Akki to disguise themselves as him and distract opponents. It’s been a winning tactic for the most part but not used as often as its success rate would suggest. Brookes & Takanashi have tagged together only once so far but they already have a team name: Calamari Drunken Kings! Facing them is The Moonlight Express, one of DDT’s top tag teams in recent years. MAO & Mike Bailey were at their strongest in the springtime when they held the KO-D Tag Team Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles at the same time. MAO continues to do fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world, which crosses the big boss sometimes. Speedball has been the nice boy he always is but he’s starting to get lost in the crowd with no clear direction for now. Maybe his shot at putting together a Beer Garden show with MAO next month can spark some inspiration.

8. O-40 Title – Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine

Things were looking rough for Sanshiro Takagi on the road to “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. His failure to convert a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet into a championship victory left him absent from the card and frozen out of the show. So imagine how random his luck is when of all things a tweet from TAJIRI not only leads to Takagi getting a match but a rather significant one too. When TAJIRI tweeted about how pro wrestling as an art is split into different tiers with comedy wrestling being in Tier 3, Super Sasadango Machine took offence to that opinion. Particularly, he took offence on behalf of Takagi thinking the tweet was directly aimed at the Big Boss. Takagi doesn’t believe for a second that TAJIRI was talking about him but if Sasadango is demanding to wrestle Takagi in a Weapon Rumble to prove TAJIRI wrong then he may as well go along with it.

It doesn’t end there. Sasadango also asked for a new championship to be on the line for the match. He noticed that there are now many pro wrestlers competing into their forties and that can be inspiring for the DDT fanbase in the same age group. So he has created the O-40 Title (O-40 meaning “Over Forty” of course) with the hopes it will be defended across the wrestling industry. Takagi accepted the proposal and thinks it is a nice parallel to the main event being between two wrestlers in their twenties. Both men have their weapons prepared to be at their most devastating, both physically and mentally. But what of TAJIRI? Will he be there? Sasadango had been expecting to get an apology from him but has heard nothing since the match was announced. He knows TAJIRI is touring Europe at the moment so maybe he got lost somewhere in Malta.

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Danshoku Dieno

What can Danshoku Dieno do to prepare for Shinya Aoki? Putting himself through a gauntlet of different martial arts gave him some experience of what to expect. Although when some of the representation included swimming and kabbadi then maybe the results are a little suspect. It doesn’t help that Dieno isn’t entirely sure what kind of match he is having with Aoki. It can’t be MMA because everyone knows he’ll get slaughtered. Maybe there’s a chance if it is just a regular pro wrestling match but who the hell would expect DDT to go that direction? Dieno’s tactic should be to bring out the most ridiculous shenanigans he can think of. Aoki can only go along so much with it before he starts losing his mind. But it would be unfair to assume Aoki’s tolerance for wackiness is limited. He had no problem disguising himself as Pokotan to sneak attack Dieno a few weeks ago. Who knows what silly ideas of his own will be brought to life here.

10. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Souken Holdings Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano

What was once happy memories for Soma Takao are now nothing more than horrible nightmares. There was a time when he was in a unit called Smile Squash with HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano. The group fell apart when Urano left DDT to go freelance and Takao stabbed HARASHIMA in the back to join DAMNATION. But if you take Takao’s word for it, his time in Smile Squash was terrible to the point where even saying the unit name out loud makes him cry. It was Takao’s dream to have a championship match in his hometown but Smile Squash just had to come back and ruin the moment for him. But luckily for Takao he has Daisuke Sasaki looking out for him with a solution. When they successfully defend the KO-D Tag Team Champions, Sasaki & Takao will become the newborn Smile Squash! Of course, DAMNATION’s comments should be taken with a lot of salt. HARASHIMA & Urano are the same good nurtured wrestlers they always are. Urano is extremely happy to compete for a DDT championship again which is something he did not expect when he left the company two years ago. Sasaki made fun of Urano at the contract signing for looking like he hadn’t changed a bit since he left. Urano thinks he doesn’t need to change because he’s always been himself. If he does change anything, it will be him winning the tag titles with HARASHIMA!

11. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACK OUT Presents: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Two years ago this match main evented Sumo Hall with Konosuke Takeshita defending the KO-D Openweight Title against Tetsuya Endo. This time around the positions are reversed and what a road it took to get here. When DDT went to New York in April, Takeshita lost the KO-D Title to Daisuke Sasaki. That by itself would be one of the biggest DDT stories of the year but another title change happened minutes later when Endo fell to temptation and cashed in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet to become the champion at his leader’s expense. Endo came back to Japan as a newly reborn New Yorker and has defended the title four times. His reign has brought stability to the championship after a crazy eight months of title changes. Meanwhile Takeshita earned his spot by winning the King Of DDT tournament and closing out an inter-promotional feud with the Sendai Girls.

This isn’t a rivalry because according to Takeshita rivals are meant to motivate each other to do their best against each other. What he has with Endo is more of a grudge or in Endo’s case outright hatred. The two have not been in each other’s good books ever since Endo joined DAMNATION back in the summer of 2016. In their singles matches Takeshita has usually gotten the better of Endo but they have only had two singles bouts since “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017” and Takeshita won neither of them. Endo has also gotten over on Takeshita with some mind games during the build up. An ankle injury prevented Endo from competing in a 3 Way with Takeshita and Endo at the last Korakuen Hall show. But when the match was over Endo attacked Takeshita and showed his injury wasn’t as bad as it seemed. He’s also gotten into the habit of throwing Takeshita out of the ring from a Torture Rack to the floor. Whoever wins they won’t have much time to recover. In a week’s time the KO-D Champion will be defending against Chris Brookes and he doesn’t care who he faces. Whatever happens after that is anyone’s guess!