DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA 389 Fans
1. Vert Vixen, Yuki Kamifuku & Moka Miyamoto defeated Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo when Vixen pinned Endo with a Sit Down Power Bomb (8:38).
2. Bryan Keith defeated Shota with the Diamond Dust (7:59).
3. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher defeated Amira & Danika Della Rouge when Itoh pinned Rouge with the I.S.D (8:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Randy Myers ended in a No Contest (9:32).
5. Miu Watanabe & Suzume defeated Mizuki & Wakana Uehara when Watanabe pinned Uehara with the Tear Drop (10:33).
6. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Mother’s Milk (14:08). *V4 for Marina Shafir.
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Yuni with the Wagamama (12:14).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Gringo Loco defeated Miyu Yamashita (c) and Nick Wayne when Loco pinned Yamashita with the Base Bomb (17:08). *Miyu Yamashita fails in V1. Gringo Loco becomes the 16th DDT Universal Champion.
9. Special Tag Match: Judas Icarus & Travis Williams defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Icarus pinned Bailey after the Sudden Silence (22:06).
The Seattle weekender came to an end with DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro and DEFY all getting together for one big finale. The Moonlight Express were back together as a tag team after being opponents yesterday. Sadly for them their reunion was spoiled by Sinner & Saint. The DEFY team came out on top and think it won’t be the last time you’ll see them in DDT. Afterwards backstage MAO asked Mike Bailey when will he wrestle for DDT in Japan again because the last time he came back to the country it was for another company. Bailey doesn’t know but The Moonlight Express would like to team up in Japan one more time.
Easy come, easy go. Miyu Yamashita’s surprising reign as the DDT Universal Champion has already come to an end when her decision to compete in another 3 Way championship match this weekend blew up in her face. She was able to knock Nick Wayne out of the way with the Skull Kick but still had Gringo Loco to deal with. Loco gave her the Fire Thunder and pinned her with the Base Bomb to become the new Universal Champion! Loco said he is on top of the world and nobody can stop the wave he is riding on. Wayne hates that he lose but also called Yamashita the best joshi in the world and Loco the best luchador. He wants to come back to DDT and win the Universal Title. Yamashita was so shocked over the loss she didn’t give any post-match comments.
The teacher Konosuke Takeshita gave his student Yuni a big test today. Yuni had to fight him one on one to show how much he has grown since their last match together. Yuni gave it his best shot including doing a Dragonrana to Takeshita outside the ring. Takeshita ended up winning and told Yuni to go find a style of wrestling that only he can show to everyone else. When he finds it, the KO-D Openweight Title will be in his reach!
Shoko Nakajima put up a strong challenge for Marina Shafir on short notice but wasn’t able to win the DEFY Women’s Title from her. Shafir said Nakajima will never understand the sacrifices that were made for her to keep this title and she plans to retire undefeated as the champion. Nakajima calls Shafir a monster fighter and she hopes to get a rematch some day.
Miu Watanabe is happy she gets to leave Seattle with some happy memories. After being beaten by Zara Zakher yesterday, Watanabe was able to get a win today with Suzume on her side. Their opponents Mizuki & Wakana Uehara also had a fun time despite losing.
Match #4 was thrown out thanks to the lewd antics of Danshoku Dieno, Randy Myers and also Yoshihiko. Actually it wasn’t just them because Kohei Kinoshita joined in on their shenanigans too much to Daisuke Sasaki’s dismay. Sasaki wants to know why Kinoshita came all the way to Seattle to do even worse things than what he does in Japan? Sasaki will challenge them all to a 3-on-1 Handicap match if he has to get revenge that way!
At least Maki Itoh can say her weekend was all highs with no lows. She teamed up with Zakher and had their hands raised in victory. Zakher wants to continue the momentum when she travels to Japan next week. She plans to bring the Princess Of Princess Title back to America with her. Meanwhile Danika Della Rouge blamed Amira for losing the match and swears she will never team with her again.
It’s been around seven months since Shota went freelance and he admits he’s been struggling to break out. He lost to his friend Bryan Keith today after they weren’t on the same page as a team the day before. He hopes the ass kicking he took today will help motivate him from now on. Keith warned Shota not to go about making him his enemy. He also misses DDT and believes it is only a matter of time before he goes back there to hunt for gold.
Unusual trios were the name of the game for the opening match. Yuki Kamifuku didn’t know what to expect teaming up with Vert Vixen & Moka Miyamoto but they pulled out the win in the end. The other team however were in a bad mood for losing. Arisu Endo is frustrated she took the fall, Yuki Aino felt like she didn’t give it her all and Rika Tatsumi is mad her win rate in America is so bad!
DDT/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/DEFY “TRIANGLER DTD”, 10/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Maki Itoh & Zara Zakher Vs Amira & Danika Della Rouge
2. Bryan Keith Vs Shota
3. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo Vs Vert Vixen, Yuki Kamifuku & Moka Miyamoto
4. Miu Watanabe & Suzume Vs Mizuki & Wakana Uehara
5. Daisuke Sasaki & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Danshoku Dieno & Randy Myers
6. Special Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Judas Icarus & Travis Williams
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuni
8. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima
9. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Nick Wayne Vs Gringo Loco
The busy weekend comes to a close. DDT, Tokyo Joshi Pro and DEFY all join forces to end their series of shows with a bang. Miyu Yamashita is the brand new DDT Universal Champion but she’s taking a big gamble putting the belt on the line on short notice against both Nick Wayne and Gringo Loco. Also Shoko Nakajima shows how brave she is by challenging the seemingly unstoppable Marina Shafir for the DEFY Women’s Title.
Friend might become enemies when Bryan Keith faces Shota based on their tag team falling apart yesterday. Keith doesn’t want to bring out the new side of him that could put his buddy in danger but differences between them need to be settled somehow. Meanwhile Danshoku Dieno & Randy Myers have gone the other way as opponents becoming a tag team. If that’s not enough then what a sight it will be to have Maki Itoh and Zara Zakher teaming up together.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA 447 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Gringo Loco defeated Yuni with the Base Bomb (10:32).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Randy Myers defeated Danshoku Dieno with a School Boy (8:26 pm). *Randy Myers becomes the 1,691st champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Randy Myers (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (8:01). *Danshoku Dieno becomes the 1,692nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Danshoku Dieno (c) by Referee Stoppage with a Sleeper Hold (8:36 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,693rd champion.
3. Nick Wayne defeated Jack Cartwheel with the Wayne’s World (11:49).
4. DEFY Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas (c) defeated Bryan Keith & Shota and Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson when Rosas pinned Shota after the Combined Pop-Up Power Bomb (10:19). *V2 for C4.
5. DEFY Women’s Title: Marina Shafir (c) defeated Danika Della Rouge with the Mother’s Milk (7:35). *V3 for Marina Shafir.
6. Special Tag Match: Gurv Shira & Harv Shira defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer when Gruv pinned Spencer after a Combined Diving Elbow Drop (15:54).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kohei Kinoshita with an Avalanche Falcon Arrow (12:41).
8. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated MAO (c) and Mike Bailey when Yamashita pinned Bailey with the Skull Kick (21:25). *MAO fails in V1. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 15th DDT Universal Champion!
The packed weekend in Seattle continued on Saturday night when DDT and DEFY worked together for a collaborative show with a shock title change in the main event. Miyu Yamashita has become the first woman to win the DDT Universal Title! The belt was on the line in a 3 Way Match with Yamashita being the third wheel against The Moonlight Express. However MAO and Mike Bailey both fought the match all against each other, which is probably why it costed MAO his championship in the end. He had given Bailey the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II when Yamashita cut him off and then hit Bailey with the Skull Kick to win the match and become champion.
Yamashita already has a match against Gringo Loco scheduled for tomorrow and he quickly challenged her to put the Universal Title on the line. Yamashita accepted until Nick Wayne got in the ring and challenged her too. Yamashita also accepted his challenge and said she will crush both opponents tomorrow in a 3 Way Match! Backstage Yamashita said now is the time not to set her own limits and she wants to defend the titles as many times as she can. Bailey called Yamashita and MAO two of the best wrestlers in the world. He is grateful he got to main event a DDT show again. MAO said he only wanted to defend the title against people he wouldn’t regret losing too and Yamashita is one of those people. He is also happy he got to have a title match against Bailey. He is interested in seeing what Yamashita will do with the Universal Title so he is moving on from that championship for the time being.
Konosuke Takeshita wrestled at an American New Japan show yesterday and an American DDT show today. His opponent Kohei Kinoshita is someone he has known since they were kids so this match meant a lot to those two. Takeshita said matches like these make him feel like a candle in his heart is being lit. If he keeps getting matches like these then a big dream will be waiting for him. Kinoshita was influenced by Takeshita to fall in love with American pro wrestling so it motivated him to pursue it.
Normally it is Daisuke Sasaki who likes being the heel but he got a taste of his own medicine against The Bollywood Boyz when he was given a Low Blow. Gurv Shira & Harv Shira went on to beat Artemis Spencer. The Boyz hope this win will open the door for them to go wrestle in Japan. They are even eager to have a rematch against Sasaki & Spencer in front of the Japanese fans.
Marina Shafir’s appearance on the show was to defend the DEFY Women’s Title against Danika Della Rouge. She won without too much of a threat so Shoko Nakajima came out and challenged her to a title match on tomorrow’s show! She told Shafir she will become the champion because she is the Big Kaiju! Shafir’s response is Nakajima has a small brain and will go home tomorrow in a bag!
The emotions coming out of the DEFY Tag Team Titles match were both high and mixed. The champions C4 retained the belts and called themselves the “Dramatic Dream Team” that wants to come to Japan! Midnight Heat were furious over losing the match without dropping the fall. They had plenty of bad things to say about DDT and Japan. The team that did drop the fall was Bryan Keith & Shota. Keith blamed Shota for losing the match and demanded a singles match against him tomorrow to settle their differences! They’re still friends but Keith warns Shota not to bring out Keith’s new side tomorrow.
High flying action was on the menu for what could be the very first match between an AEW wrestler and a WWE ID wrestler since the reveal of WWE’s new scouting initiative. Wayne ended up winning the match but it wasn’t without a big scratch on his face. He is feeling energized to wrestle in DDT and DEFY again which is what encourage him to challenge for the Universal Title later in the show. Jack Cartwheel wants DDT fans to know that he is the king of cartwheels and they only look funny until they come at your face!
There was an Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title change between Danshoku Dieno and Randy Myers before their match even began. Myers made the smart move of ambushing Dieno during his entrance and pinning him on the floor to win the belt. What Myers didn’t count on was for the match to go ahead anyway and Dieno won the belt back with some unexpected help from Yoshihiko. However Yoshihiko then turned on Dieno after the match and choked him out with a Sleeper Hold to win the title from him!
Gringo Loco thinks Yuni has a great future ahead of him but the present belongs to the “Base God”! He has higher mountains to climb, as shown when he challenged Yamashita for the Universal Title at the end of the show. Yuni is pleased that his dream of wrestling in America came true and Loco is an opponent he had always wanted to face. He is pumped to fight Takeshita tomorrow and even more pumped to beat him!
DDT “AKOS X DDT EKIMAE PRO WRESTLING”, 26/10/2024 Saitama AKOS Event Square
1. Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Shunma Katsumata Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi
2. Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
The weekend begins with a short and free DDT show over in a Saitama plaza.
DDT “FUKUSHIMA ADATARA ONSEN HOTEL PARADISE HILLS BOX OFFICE”, 27/10/2024 Fukushima Adatara Onsen Hotel Paradise Hills Sakura Campground Special Venue
1. Yukio Naya Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. MJ Paul Vs Yuki Ishida
3. Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs To-y & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Makoto Oishi Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
5. Yuki Iino, Akito, Yuni & Yuya Koroku Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON, Demus & Ilusion
6. Sakura Campground Will Be Used In Its Entirety! Paradise-Style Falls Count Anywhere 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda
This is going to be an outdoor show. If the weather in Paradise Hills is bad on Sunday then the ring will be moved to an area with shelter.
DDT “DDT PRO WRESTLING IN SHINGASHI”, 02/11/2024 Saitama Takashina Elementary School
1. Shunma Katsumata, To-y & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yukio Naya, Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida
2. Special Tag Match: Makoto Oishi & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Akito & Kaya Toribami
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA & Tetsuya Endo Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Keigo Nakamura
Next weekend DDT will be doing another outdoor free show in Saitama, this time at an elementary school. Yoshiko Hasegawa and Kaya Toribami are coming along for the ride too.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “MAHIRO KIRYU TRIUMPHANT RETURN ~TOKYO JOSHI SHINOYABO~”, 03/11/2024 Gunma G-Messe Main Hall C (Takasaki City)
1. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo
2. Suzume & Haruna Neko Vs Kaya Toribami & Toga
3. Maki Itoh & Kira Summer Vs Shoko Nakajima & HIMAWARI
4. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Uta Takami
5. Next Generation Tournament ’24 – Round 1D: Wakana Uehara Vs Chika Nanase
6. Miu Watanabe, Raku & Shino Suzuki Vs Mizuki, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
7. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
Gunma is Mahiro Kiryu’s territory so she gets the main event spot. She is also teaming with Yuki Kamifuku which means Toyo Mates are back together for the first time in a long while. The Karate Tag pair of Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto will be their opponents.
DDT/DEFY “DDT IN UTERO”, 09/11/2024 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Danshoku Dieno Vs Randy Myers
2. Gringo Loco Vs Yuni
3. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Artemis Spencer Vs Gurv Shira & Harv Shira
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas Vs Bryan Keith & Shota Vs Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson
5. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: MAO (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs X
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kohei Kinoshita
Seattle is where MAO will have his first defence of his latest DDT Universal Title reign. It’s going to be a 3 Way Match and Yamashita is one of the opponents, making it her first time she will be properly fighting for a DDT championship (other than the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title). The other opponent is a mystery for now.
One of the other new matches on the show is on the DEFY end of things. Cody Chhun & Guillermo Rosas are known together as C4 and they are the current DEFY Tag Team Champions. One of the other regular teams is Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson, aka Midnight Heat. The third team have previously been opponents against each other. Bryan Keith was somebody that Shota faced during one of his American excursions two years ago.
Marina Shafir will be on the show. If Kazuki Hirata isn’t her opponent then what are we doing here (I’m predicting Yoshihiko is in the 3 Way Match)?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LOOKING AROUND THE WORLD, ISN’T JAPAN AMAZING AFTER ALL!?”, 10/11/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
2. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
3. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
4. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X Vs X
5. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X & X Vs X & X
6. Rakuhan Vs Pom-chan Army: X & X Vs X & X
Around a dozen wrestlers from Tokyo Joshi Pro will be in Seattle for the DEFY weekend in November. Meanwhile everyone else left behind in Japan will be running a TJPW show built around a team challenge with a luxurious prize on the line. Raku and Pom Harajuku will each captain a team and will draft their members out of a pool of 16 wrestlers (14 from TJPW plus 2 guests). The teams will be drafted this Sunday before that day’s show begins.
DDT “GET ALIVE 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 16/11/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Keigo Nakamura Vs Akito, Yukio Naya & Diego
3. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y
Once “CHARISMANIA” is over and done with, Diego will be sticking around for another DDT show.
DDT “MAO TRIUMPHANT RETURN! DRAMATIC DREAM TAISEIKAN ~THE VILLAGE IS WHERE THE SCHOOL IS~ 2024”, 17/11/2024 Miyagi Osaki City Matsuyama B&G Marine Center
1. Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Keigo Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
3. Special Tag Match: MAO & Yuki Ueno Vs Minoru Suzuki & Chris Brookes
Imagine coming home to wrestle in front of your friends, family and adoring fans but Minoru Suzuki is also there and he wants to kill you. That will keep MAO on his toes.
BJW “KING OF DEATHMATCH WORLD GP TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
The annual New Year’s Eve show that Big Japan, DDT and others have held together for almost two decades is not going ahead this year. Instead of doing a Shuffle Tag Tournament with DDT, Big Japan will instead hold their own one night international death match tournament. BJW’s president Eiji Tosaka wants to show the power of Japan’s death matches to the world especially since next year will be the company’s 30th Anniversary. He asked DDT for their blessing and they agreed to let him do this show at Korakuen Hall instead of the usual Shuffle Tag Tournament.
It’s a disappointing decision but also one I understand. DDT will be running Sumo Hall a few days before New Year’s Eve so that will be their priority for the end of 2024. Also the New Year’s Eve show itself has been dwindling in popularity and interest over the last few years, particularly coming out of the covid pandemic where the show can’t even be held close to midnight anymore. So while I will miss the Shuffle Tag Tournament, the truth is it’s time to try something different. Big Japan’s idea kind of reminds me of the annual “BLOOD X’MAS” shows that FREEDOMS and Jun Kasai both produce every Christmas. Can they reach the same heights though? If there are any DDT wrestlers entering the tournament (Shunma Katsumata would be the likely choice) I will post updates and the show results when they happen. If not then at least that’s less stuff for me to worry about on New Year’s Eve.
Even with WrestleMania Week out of the way there is so much to talk about what happened in April. It’s probably going to be a month Yuka Sakazaki will want to forget. She finally returned to TV screens only to possibly find her way back to the injury list. It only happened two weeks ago so there’s been no update to her condition. All she has tweeted since the match happened is a zombie emoji. She was being set up for a match with Serena Deeb in AEW but that seems to have gone to the wayside because Deeb is already moving ahead in the AEW Women’s Title picture. Just have to wait and see if it was just a knock to the knee or something worse.
In more uplifting news, Konosuke Takeshita is showing interest in taking the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from Jon Moxley. This is going to be facinating watching a DDT affiliated wrestler in an AEW storyline built around New Japan’s top championship. Does he have any realistic chance of becoming champion? Not unless Moxley gets legit knocked out during the match again. New Japan have clearly set their own story over Moxley’s IWGP Title reign. Their roster led by “The Reiwa Musketeers” are all showing frustration over their company playing second fiddle to AEW. Whether it is Moxley not taking part in the Japan tours or handing title matches out to undeserving challengers in America, the story New Japan is telling does not have Takeshita fitting in anywhere as an important player and I do not expect AEW to make booking decisions that will interfere with it. Still though, Takeshita versus Moxley has been good before and the addition of the IWGP Title is a novelty that got me more interested in the rematch.
Wrapping up the month is the Tokyo Joshi Pro portion of appearances. Maki Itoh finished up her latest American tour and got to defend the GCW Extreme Title. Not sure when she is due back in GCW other than we certainly won’t be waiting long to find out. Miyu Yamashita returned to a bunch of familiar promotions from last year’s excursion. The big one was a visit to TNA where she main evented their TV taping. Most important of all, Kaya Toribami stepped in for an injured Hyper Misao to help save the world from a kappa invasion. That’s a good bird.
Oh and there was also the crazy happenings that went on when Kazusada Higuchi and Mecha Mummy went to West Coast Pro. Let’s get to that.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024 Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Emi Sakura
PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Trish Adora
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Results
WEST COAST PRO “CHRIS HERO’S PRO WRES MIXTAPE”, 14/04/2024 Don Quixote Event Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Chris Hero Vs Kazusada Higuchi ended in a No Contest (12:23).
2. Tornado Tag Team Match: Chris Hero & Bryan Keith defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Mecha Mummy when Keith pinned Mummy with the Emerald Tiger Driver (13:45).
This was not how I thought things were going to go between Higuchi and Chris Hero. I mean the first ten minutes, sure. They hit each other hard and Higuchi no sold hitting the ring post head first. That was all well and good. He even used his own head to block one of Hero’s Elbow Strikes. Unfortunately as they kept fighting in the corner the referee stepped in one too many times and got knocked out with a Lariat. Higuchi kept attacking Hero until Bryan Keith made his entrance and started squaring off with him. Hero & Keith joined forces so Higuchi now found himself needing help. Suddenly Mecha Mummy appeared!
There were plans for a Keith Vs Mummy match to happen on the show but now the fans got a Tornado Tag match between the four fighters instead! Mummy gave Keith an Atomic Drop onto the Mecha Fist but Keith returned fire by giving Mummy a Drop Toe Hold, destroying the fist on impact. Keith then challenged Mummy to a duel but it ended with them giving each other and the referee Low Blows. The ref also got impaled with the Mecha Drill by accident. Hero then fought Mummy all the way up to the balcony where Higuchi followed. Mummy fired the repaired Mecha Fist at Keith from the balcony and raced down to pin him for a nearfall. Hero returned with bottles of water but Higuchi stopped him from pouring it over Mummy. Keith however took a big drink of the bottle and spat it all over Mummy to make it go haywire. He then gave it the Emerald Tiger Driver to win a crazy match.
PRESTIGE “ROSELAND 8”, 14/04/2024 Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Kylie Rae with the Skull Kick (15:30).
Yamashita’s good run in Prestige continued when she beat Kylie Rae in a hard fought match. Hitting the Return Crash seemed to fire up Yamashita in particular. With that boost she broke out of Rae’s Crippler Crossface and kicked out of a Super Kick at one. She then rolled Rae into a Buzzsaw Kick for a nearfall before putting her down for the count with the Skull Kick.
ROH “ROH ON HONOR CLUB”, 17/04/2024 (Aired 25/04/2024) Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Leila Grey with the Magical Girl Splash (4:44).
Oh yikes this was bad. There was an awkwardly timed replay segment too right before the finish which only makes me wonder what was cut out because what was left in is the kind of stuff those anti-AEW Twitter accounts would salivate over if people gave a shit about ROH. There was an Elbow Strike exchange that looked like both didn’t want to sell and then Sakazaki tried to do a rope-assisted German Suplex that did not work at all. She was able to beat Leila Grey with the Magical Merry-Go-Round followed by the Magical Girl Splash but that match was one to forget. Or at least it would be if she hadn’t gotten injured in her next match during the month.
UPRISING “UPRISING: WOMEN ATHLETES 2”, 19/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Maki Itoh defeated Black Swan with the I.S.D. (9:22).
2. Hyan defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Glam Slam (11:27).
It looks like Hyan is one of the few opponents who seems to have Yamashita’s number whenever Yamashita goes over to America. This was their second singles match and there is a tag match to come later this summer. Hyan has beaten Yamashita both times now but it’s been no easy feat. This time Hyan was overwhelmed by Yamashita’s kicks but found ways to avoid the Attitude Adjustment. The last counter led to Hyan giving Yamashita the Glam Slam to win the match.
Itoh was given an opponent who is just as much of a dramatic attention seeker as she is in the form of Black Swan. They spent part of the match fighting outside where Swan threw Itoh into the barricade and then Itoh Body Slammed Swan onto the floor. After going back and forth in the ring, Itoh dropped Swan with a DDT and then got the win by hitting the I.S.D. off the top rope.
DREAMWAVE “ANNIVERSARY IX”, 20/04/2024 Knights of Columbus, LaSalle, Illinois, USA
1. Megan Bayne defeated Miyu Yamashita with a Tombstone Piledriver (9:52).
The next night Uprising’s main promotion DREAMWAVE put together the surprise matchup of Yamashita against Megan Bayne. She is one of the stronger booked wrestlers on the independents right now and her momentum continued here with a clean win over Yamashita. The result seemed to have put Yamashita in a bad mood afterward because she refused to shake Bayne’s hand after the match and left the ring with a sour look on her face.
AEW “COLLISION”, 20/04/2024 Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA
1. Bunkhouse Brawl: Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita when Danielson submitted Fletcher with the Chain Assisted LaBell Lock (16:03).
Add the Bunkhouse Brawl to the list of violent matches Takeshita is finding himself in over at AEW. He was all dressed up for the occasion too as one should be for a stipulation like this. Chairs and chains were used by everyone and things got even more chaotic with interference from Powerhouse Hobbs and Moxley. The presence of Hobbs tipped things in favour for The Don Callis Family even when Moxley came down to get rid of him. Things then went south when Bryan Danielson countered Takeshita’s top rope Power Bomb with a Hurricanrana onto a chair set up in the middle of the ring. Claudio Castagnoli then covered his arm with the chain and hit Takeshita with a Charging European Uppercut. Danielson won the match by hitting Kyle Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee followed by putting him in the LaBell Lock for the submission.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 20/04/2024 Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Emi Sakura with a Sliding German Suplex (9:31).
And here’s where Sakazaki’s return hit a big bump on the road. During her match with Emi Sakura, Sakazaki tried to do a cartwheel from the top rope onto the ring apron to avoid an attack. She missed landing on the apron and crashed onto the floor outside, hurting her knee in the process. Sakura bought some time with some improvised heel work ringside while Sakazaki tried to walk it off. They were able to continue the match but Sakazaki was still clearly shaken up and using the Sliding German Suplex for the finish was definitely not the original plan. Credit to her for gutting through it and still being able to do most of her moves but she couldn’t hide the upset look on her face after the match.
GCW “HOW HIGH”, 20/04/2024 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. GCW Extreme Title: Maki Itoh (c) defeated Sandra Moone with the I.S.D. (8:55). *V1 for Maki Itoh.
GCW is keeping us on our toes when it comes to Itoh defending the GCW Extreme Title. It wasn’t until the show took place when they announced her match with Sandra Moone would have the title on the line. No worries! Itoh beat Moone in her first defence and they left the ring together shoulder to shoulder.
TNA “IMPACT!”, 21/04/2024 (Aired 02/05/2024) Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Knockouts World Title: Jordynne Grace (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Juggernaught Driver (?:??). *V7 for Jordynne Grace.
Last year Yamashita got to wrestle in Impact for the first time. Now it’s a year later and Impact has gone back to being called TNA. No matter what name it’s under now, she was back to fight Jordynne Grace. The stakes were then made higher when TNA decided to make the match for the Knockouts World Title. Yamashita tried something a little bit new in the match when she hit the Skull Kick to the back of Grace’s head buzzsaw style but Grace recovered and used the Grace Driver to retain her title.
PRESTIGE/PRIDESTYLE “PRIDE & PRESTIGE”, 26/04/2024 Meet Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Trish Adora with the Skull Kick (10:33).
Yamashita’s next Prestige match was at an event co-promoted with PrideStyle Inclusive Pro in Las Vegas. She defeated Trish Adora in a match I haven’t seen the VOD of yet.
DAIKAIJU PRO “VOL. 2 – KAPPAS COUNTERATTACK”, 27/04/2024 White Eagle, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. Kaya Toribami defeated Ultramantis Black with the Sento Choryu (?:??).
This was originally supposed to be Hyper Misao coming back to America to protect the land from UltraMantis Black and his kappa army. Unfortunately an ankle injury forced a change of plans. Depending on who you ask she either got injured during her match against Steph de Lander at the “GCW VS TJPW” show or she was the victim of an ambush attack put together by the devious UltraMantis. Either way she sent Kaya Toribami to Daikaiju Pro in her place because they still needed a hero to fight for them. During the match Mantis called upon his kappa army for help but Toribami had backup from all of the other babyfaces to even the odds. In the end good prevailed over evil and Toribami successfully hit the Sento Choryu on Mantis to get the victory.
INSPIRE A.D. “THE EVIL WE DO”, 28/04/2024 Empire Control Room, Austin, Texas, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Maya World (?:??).
The last time Yamashita was at Inspire A.D. she took a surprise upset loss to Killa Kate. That wasn’t going to happen again when she fought Maya World in her return to the promotion.
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Upcoming Appearances
GCW “RATHER YOU THAN ME”, 03/05/2024 Egypt Shrine Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Joey Janela
She got a taste of GCW earlier this month with the “GCW VS TJPW” show and is coming back for a proper go this time around. Yamashita is getting thrown into the deep end for her proper GCW debut. Joey Janela is chomping at the bit to break her into pieces so he can rub it in the faces of joshi fans afterwards.
Will Yuki Kamifuku beat Alexis Lee for the VPW Women’s Title so it can go along with her Queen Of Asia Title?
MLW “AZTECA LUCHA”, 11/05/2024 Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, USA
1. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title – 4 Way Match: Janai Kai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Zayda Vs Delmi Exo
Well Yamashita wasn’t able to win the Knockouts Title in TNA but she has another title match to look forward to in May. She returns to MLW where Janai Kai is defending the MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title in a 4 Way Match. The other challengers are Zayda Steele and Delmi Exo but Kai’s previous title defences have mostly been against joshi wrestlers and TJPW wrestlers in particular. She’s beaten Yamashita before outside of MLW. Can she do it again when her MLW Title is on the line and she needs to have eyes on the back of her head?
DPW “LIMIT BREAK”, 19/05/2024 Durham Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita & Lady Frost Vs Hyan & Vert Vixen
It’s back to Deadlock Pro! Yamashita’s first time in the ring with Lady Frost is as a team together and they are both familiar with their opponents. Hyan is now a regular presence in Yamashita’s US tours and Yamashita teamed with Vert Vixen the last time she was in DPW.
LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT ONE”, 24/05/2024 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Abadon Vs Miyu Yamashita
This isn’t the first time Yamashita will be fighting a zombie. She used to do that all the time when Maho Kurone was still wrestling. Abadon though is a bit more intense when it comes to that sort of stuff.
LLL “HIGH STRANGENESS – NIGHT TWO”, 25/05/2024 The Oriental Theater, Denver, Colorado, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
What else is Lucha Libre & Laughs going to throw at Yamashita?
SETUP “CLASH OF THE TITANS”, 25/05/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. SETUP All Asia Women’s Title: Matcha (c) Vs Monomoth Vs Mizuki
How possible is is that Mizuki wins the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title and then brings it along for her Queen Of Asia Title shot that is due anytime soon? Add the VPW Women’s Title then we end up with an Asian Triple Crown of women’s championships.
GCW “TOURNAMENT OF SURVIVAL 9”, 01/06/2024 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Tournament Of Survival 9: Shunma Katsumata Vs X
One of the big death match tournaments of the year is held by GCW over in America. The 9th annual Tournament Of Survival will have Shunma Katsumata as one of the Japanese entrants along with Big Japan wrestlers Hideyoshi Kamitani and Yuki Ishikawa.
REPUBLIC OF LUCHA “ROL7: HIT THE LIGHTS”, 01/06/2024 The Temple, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X
The first two seasons of Lucha Underground was a magical time. Season three was good too but the show suffered from taking a massive break mid-season but that’s a conversation for somewhere else. The warehouse that was used to house The Temple for the show tapings is going to host a wrestling show for the first time in seven years. I don’t expect it to look anything like it did in the old days because a lot of that setup was just a TV set but Takeshita getting to wrestle there is pretty neat nonetheless.
This is still for now the last date on Yamashita’s schedule before she goes back to Japan.
IWA JAPAN “HARDCORE FOREVER”, 27/07/2024 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X & X
This year is the 30th anniversary of IWA Japan’s launch. What a weird existence this promotion has had. To celebrate there will be a memorial show held by SETUP taking place in Thailand using the IWA branding. CDK will be there to defend the SETUP Tag Team Titles since those belts are also affiliated with IWA Japan. Will Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi have to defend the belts against a pair of kaiju or will they be fighting more normal looking opponents?
DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos defeated Bryan Keith & Shota when Lykos pinned Shota with the Brainbuster (8:28).
2. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett with the Burning Star Press (11:33).
3. Chiitan☆ defeated Dan The Dad with a Superplex through a Board (5:27).
4. Special Single Match: Yoshihiko defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Reincarnation (5:30).
5. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz ended in a Draw after a Double Pinfall (10:55).
5a. Rock Paper Scissors: MAO (c) defeated Billie Starkz when Scissors beat Paper. *V7 for MAO.
6. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada when KANON pinned Masada after the Freedom Call (7:11).
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Walls Of Takeshita (9:41).
8. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Mike Bailey with the WR (18:52).
We can get used to this being an annual thing, you know. DDT came back to America for another WrestleMania Week, this time arriving in Philadelphia to join in the festivities. In the main event Yuki Ueno took on an important figure from the last decade of DDT who doesn’t get to appear in Japan that often nowadays. Mike Bailey has taken on a lot of other stuff lately but getting a non-title match against the KO-D Openweight Champion just had to be fitted onto his schedule one way or another. The ring apron was used as an effective landing point for some big moves. Bailey used the Ultima Weapon and Green Tea Plunge for nearfalls and could not pull off the Flamingo Driver when needed. Ueno took a page out of HARASHIMA’s book by using the Reverse Frankensteiner and Somato to land deep hits on his opponent. The Dropkick to the face was the key to victory because that opened Bailey up to get pinned with the WR. Ueno wanted to shake his hand after the match but Bailey gave him a kiss on the lips instead. He must have really missed him.
When last we saw Konosuke Takeshita dealing with The 37KAMIINA he was showing tough love to some of his old friends followed by a personal moment to congratulate Ueno on reaching the top of DDT. Here in Philly he fought Shunma Katsumata with both wrestlers having chips on their shoulders towards each other. Katsumata attacked Takeshita during the entrances and there was a little more oompf to their attacks than usual. Takeshita blocked the Totonou Splash and got a nearfall with the Running Knee Strike. Driven to win, he then applied the Walls Of Takeshita to make Katsumata give up. He said it is always fun to wrestle him and it was their first singles match against each other in around 6 years. He is only going to get better so he will be waiting for his friend to try him again. Katsumata cannot figure out what it will take for him to finally beat Takeshita. He lost today but it has now become his goal to surpass his friend.
A reunion for Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada ended poorly when they lost to Daisuke Sasaki & KANON. Wayne was on fire leading up to a Quebrada onto his opponents outside the ring. However Sasaki kicked Masada below the belt, allowing KANON to take him down with a Lariat. The two DAMNATION T.A wrestlers then finished him off with the Freedom Call. KANON suggested to Sasaki after the match that they should invite Wayne to join DAMNATION T.A. He can clearly sense a bad side to him. If Sasaki didn’t get too drunk to forget the idea he will ask Wayne the next time he sees him.
No Rules were needed for the DDT Universal Title match between MAO and Billie Starkz. That led to a problem when all of the chaos they caused together in the ring ended in a Double Pinfall draw. A solution was needed and they quickly agreed to decide the winner via a game of Rock Paper Scissors. They tied the first two tries but on the third MAO used Scissors to beat Starkz and her Paper. MAO said he always stays one step ahead of everyone else which is why he is so universal. Although he realises he would have saved a lot of time if they just went straight into Rock Paper Scissors from the beginning. Starkz wasn’t pleased to have the result be decided that way. She hopes to return to Japan and fight MAO for the belt again over there.
A true trademark DDT match was promised and delivered to the Philly crowd when Kazuki Hirata fought Yoshihiko one on one. Hirata used all of his might to give Yoshihiko a Power Bomb from the top turnbuckle but only got a two count out of it. Yoshihiko then sent him on a ride in an unstoppable Locomotion German Suplex. Hirata kicked out of the pin in a final show of life until he was put down for the count with the Reincarnation. The two shook hands in a show of good sportsmanship afterward. It was a match Hirata always wanted to bring to America. Next time they can team up in the USA or even just a 3 Way Match would do. Yoshihiko backstage said Philadelphia was awesome.
I was going to say the above match was unlike anything else that weekend but the one before it was just as wild and unexpected. American indie wrestler Dan The Dad entered the ring demanding a match against anyone backstage. The fighter to answer the challenge was the psycho mascot Chiitan! It knocked Dan’s favorite mug out of his hand and the two brawled. A board was precisely placed on top of chairs and Chiitan Superplexed Dan through it for the victory. The mascot’s celebration was cut short when Chris Brookes suddenly attacked it from behind. It turns out Brookes still hates Chiitan to death! Dan joined in the beating causing Yoshihiko to make a rescue and chase them out of the ring. That was not the end for Chiitan’s woes during this show. At the very end of the event Takeshita knocked Chiitan out with an Elbow Strike just because he felt like doing it.
The Burning Star Press beats a giant’s Shooting Star Press. Whatever size difference existed between Tetsuya Endo and Andrew Everett was a challenge he could overcome. Endo kicked out of the Choke Slam and later countered the move into a Canadian Destroyer. He needed a giant move to put his opponent away so Endo did the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb from the top rope to set up the Burning Star Press for the victory. It is a matchup that Endo wants to experience more of whether it is in DDT, USA or anywhere else. Whenever they fight Endo wants to beat Everett with the best Shooting Star Press in the universe.
Shota’s first match as a freelancer put him in a familiar company but at an unfamiliar setting. He’s wrestled a bunch of times for DDT and GCW but it was a fresh experience getting to team with Bryan Keith to take on CCK. The tag team experience of CCK was unmatched though and Kid Lykos pinned Shota with the Brainbuster for the win. Shota is still happy with his lot in life. He is making some really great friends in wrestling such as the people he was in the ring with today. Keith is also feeling the love for DDT and wants to come back.
1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz
So you have tickets for DDT’s show in Philadelphia this week but you’re out of the loop on the current product. Maybe you only have surface level knowledge of DDT or just know it as that wacky wrestling company from Japan. Need a hand in knowing what to expect? Then here you go! It is the craziest week on the pro wrestling calander and DDT wouldn’t miss it for the world. They have a show going on in conjunction with The Collective mixing together their own talent with a few international guests who have worked with them before. Tiny bits and pieces of DDT can be found in Philadelphia’s history of independent wrestling. They have played parts in Chikara’s massive tag tournaments back when they were a yearly highlight of the East Coast indies. Things are a very, very different nowadays and DDT find themselves among a loaded week of shows going on. They even face competition from their own sister promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro. So what do they have to offer this time around? Let’s have a look.
When and where is the show taking place?
This week “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!” will be held at Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium in Philadelphia on 4th April. The show is scheduled to begin at 8:00pm Eastern time.
Where can I watch it online?
The show will air live on Triller TV (you know, FITE) with English commentary through the TrillerTV+ subscription service. The on-demand version of the show will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe sometime after the live broadcast.
Is this a proper DDT show?
It’s missing some of the big veteran players in order to highlight wrestlers from the modern generation but I think it’s a decent lineup. Sort of similar to what was offered last year where half the card focuses on DDT Vs The World. The mistake made last year was all of the wacky stuff being frontloaded to the first third of the show. The rest of the show wasn’t bad but doing so many regular matches in a row did not stand out the way people expect a DDT show would. So assuming this is the confirmed match order they made the right move to make sure the craziest match on paper is happening near the end. Two of the straight forward singles matches have the potential to be highlights of the week and also be suitable for those with a distaste for comedy wrestling.
Will The Steiner Brothers be at the show?
No.
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1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
DDT’s resident heel group opens up the show by getting into a fight with some young wrestlers who have high expectations to live up to based on their future potential. Daisuke Sasaki has been DDT’s main heel wrestler for years now but it’s been a while since he was put in main event level programs. His tag partner KANON has been getting more focus lately and might find himself getting placed into bigger spots on the card in the years to come. Nick Wayne is currently a heel in AEW but still gets to show off on the indies. Takeshi Masada fought Wayne on last year’s DDT USA show but they have gotten along since then and get to team with each other here.
Daisuke Sasaki – Is there any other heel out there as dirty and depressed as this guy? Sasaki is the leader of DAMNATION T.A and can never be counted out of the running no matter what he himself will tell people. He has the talent and success to reach bigger heights but every time there is a setback it sends him tumbling back down into despair. Maybe he will be in a better mood by the time this show takes place. He will be spending a week in Mexico beforehand looking for lucha libre shows to wrestle in. That’s one of the few experiences he has left nowadays that cheers him up. Moves To Watch Out For: Crossface Lock (includes La Mistica and Crossover variations), Sasaki Hurricanrana, Diving Elbow Drop
KANON – Another heel wrestler with a habit of getting into some wild mood swings. KANON has been learning the DAMNATION ways under Sasaki’s wing for almost two years now. He started out in JTO and was trained by TAKA Michinoku. What could have been a promising young wrestler with a volleyball background has turned into a sadistic little creep. His main talent in the ring is how he uses the Cobra Twist to win his matches. He knows several ways to apply that hold and can adapt it to pin opponents as well as submit them. Moves To Watch Out For: Sleepy Hollow (Twisting Brainbuster), Just Cobra Twist, Vietnam Driver II (Inverted Michinoku Driver)
Nick Wayne – At 18 years old he is one of the youngest wrestlers on the AEW roster but don’t worry, he has a father figure and family support behind him over there. The son of the late Buddy Wayne toured with DDT last year to get himself ready for his move to AEW. It just so happens that DDT has a bunch of young wrestlers too so Wayne has plenty of people from his generation to work with. There will come the day when Wayne is treated by the scene like a grizzled veteran with hundreds of matches under his belt while still being in his mid twenties. It’s a bright future that will only shine brighter once he flicks the switch and puts all the pieces together to become his own wrestler. Moves To Watch Out For: Wayne’s World (Sprinboard Flying Cutter), Inverted Hurricanrana, Snap Dragon Suplex, Fisherman Suplex
Takeshi Masada – The 22 year old made his pro debut only three months into his training, making him the fastest debut in DDT’s history. Has a background in Shorinji Kempo and he uses those skills to develop a kick heavy offence. Motivated to a fault, Masada likes to take on challenges that go beyond his current standing in the company. Even if he’s not ready to for that kind of stuff, his kind of outside the box attitude made him a natural fit for SCHADENFREUDE International when that group was formed last November. Rookies have a bad habit of breaking easily but if Masada continues at the rate he’s going, DDT has themselves a diamond in the rough. Moves To Watch Out For: Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (Cross-legged Falcon Arrow), Triangle Kick (Running Enzuigiri off the turnbuckles)
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
Fans of CCK will be delighted to hear the team is back together for one night only. Chris Brookes has been embracing his SCHADENFREUDE attitude again by putting together a DDT version of the group so teaming with Kid Lykos again must be like putting on an old comfy pair of slippers. Facing them is a mishmash team of two well travelled indie wrestlers from opposite corners of the world. Bryan Keith did well in his DDT appearances earlier this year. The match will also be Shota’s first bout since becoming a freelancer again. He’ll be looking to make a good impression to get his name out there. Too bad he’s going against a team that likes to take the piss out of their opponents.
Chris Brookes – An English wrestler who has carved out his own niche over in Japan by sticking his finger in a whole lot of pies. When not wrestling in DDT you can find Brookes causing trouble in ChocoPro, teaming with Masahiro Takanashi across southeast Asia or running his own group of crazy shows called Baka Gaijin + Friends that is held in a small Tokyo bar once a month. His love for a certain brand of Japanese wrestling gradually turned him into an essential figure in DDT, at one point even standing at the very top of the mountain. All of that takes a lot of work and effort though so lately he is taking a different direction and doing whatever he wants with his pro wrestling friends in SCHADENFREUDE International. But long before all of that happened, Brookes was once best known for being in a tag team with a shitty little wolf. Moves To Watch Out For: Praying Mantis Bomb (Double Arm Piledriver), Octopus Stretch, Death By Roll-Up
Kid Lykos – That shitty little wolf has grown up a little bit. The British wrestling scene was in a dire state coming out of the pandemic but one key figure who stuck with it through thick and thin was Kid Lykos. Along the way he found another Kid Lykos to team with, got to fight Brookes in a dramatic match between friends and lose his mask on the way to finally obtaining singles glory by becoming the Progress World Champion. He got a brief tour with DDT in Japan during 2022 and that was the last time CCK teamed together. Until now that is. Moves To Watch Out For: Captain Midnight’s Revenge (Swanton Bomb), Brainbuster, Casanova (Somato), Triple Back Drop
Bryan Keith – This bounty hunter has been making some waves lately. It’s an intimidating sight seeing the man wearing the Black Halo come to town looking to collect. That kind of mercenary life has taken Keith from Texas to all points of America before sending him over to Japan. A stay in DDT at the start of the year allowed him to sharpen his skills further before moving on to AEW where he currently resides. The bounty hunter aesthetic hides a clear love for Japanese pro wrestling. His moveset along with where in the ring he likes to attack are dead giveaways to what his in-ring influences are. Moves To Watch Out For: Emerald Tiger Driver, Exploder Suplex (sometimes into the turnbuckles), Power Bomb, Knee Strike
Shota – He is a long time journeyman of the Japanese indies and for many years wrestled for Ganbare☆Pro, a spin-off promotion from DDT that until now was also under the CyberFight banner. But big changes have come for him this year. GanPro has gone independent from CyberFight and Shota decided he too will live the independent life once more. One of his first big moves as a freelancer is take some American dates starting with this one. In his previous American excursions he wrestlers for some of the most obscure indies I’ve ever heard of. “Mr. Showtime” is a savvy veteran who thinks one step ahead to outsmart his opponents. Moves To Watch Out For: Gannosuke Clutch, Frog Splash, Sharpshooter
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
You’re getting classic DDT right here! Kazuki Hirata is a cult favourite for both his comedy act as well as his underdog performances against much stronger opponents. In a way they don’t come much stronger than Yoshihiko. The battle doll is one of DDT’s most infamous gimmicks known worldwide. You ever hear in interviews when a pro wrestler is described as being so good they can have a four star match against a paper bag? Yoshihiko is that theory put into practice. And trust me, Hirata understands how to wrestle against Yoshihiko more than almost anyone else.
Kazuki Hirata – You know when a parody outlives the source material and probably becomes more well known to modern audiences than the original? I think that applies to Hirata. Puro fans might remember one of Dragongate’s early stars was Magnum TOKYO. A key part of Magnum’s presentation was him dancing to his entrance song “Tokyo GO!”. His career in the Toryumon system lasted around a decade. Long after Magnum disappeared from the wrestling industry the DG dojo dropout Hirata took over the gimmick as a spoof in DDT. He’s been doing it since 2014 and I think he has now danced to “Tokyo GO!” for longer than Magnum has! Hirata has been around almost 15 years but remains one of the weakest fighters in DDT. But what he lacks in physical talent he makes up for with a crafty and creative mind. Also he carries around a pair of Hirata GO! glasses that when worn automatically plays “Tokyo GO!” in the room and drives the wearer to dance along to it. It rarely helps Hirata win a match but it’s always a crowd pleaser. What often does work for Hirata is the Miracle One Shot Cradle, a Small Package with a strong success rate especially when Hirata is at his most desperate. Moves To Watch Out For: Miracle One Shot Cradle (Small Package), Egoist Driver (Pumphandle Michinoku Driver), Sliding Kick, Tegatana (a deadly martial arts chop to the neck)
Yoshihiko – The Grave Digger Doll From Hell has been a mysterious force in DDT for almost two decades now. It first showed up as the brother of Muscle Sakai and kept on replacing him in matches because Sakai was constantly getting injured from gun violence backstage (it’s a long story). Yoshihiko vanished after that storyline ended and would reappear years later as Danshoku Dieno’s surprise tag team partner. Over time the doll’s powers have only gotten stronger and it has the ability to transform into powerful wrestlers like The Great Muta, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. You can rip it limb from limb and it will survive. You can drive over it in a car and it will survive. You can throw it off a building and it will survive. To fight Yoshihiko is almost like fighting yourself. Only then can you discover your true talent as a pro wrestler. Moves To Watch Out For: Reincarnation (multiple rotations into a Hurricanrana), Canadian Destroyer, Yoshihiko Destroyer (multiple Canadian Destroyers in a row)
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
A battle of the high flyers that has the potential to turn into a game of one-upmanship. Tetsuya Endo is far away from being the top guy in DDT like he was a few years ago. Instead he is finding success in the tag team division at the moment. He is somebody who has needed a change of scenery for a while now so hopefully a match like this in America can be a fresh breath of air. His opponent Andrew Everett hasn’t gotten to wrestle in Japan again since his DDT tour in 2022 when they discovered he might not actually be a giant. That’s what you get for lying about your height! But if he really is a giant then he will assert his dominance over Endo no problem. If not then we get to see Endo turn into a giant slayer instead.
Tetsuya Endo – Once the top wrestler in DDT, a disastrous concussion caused by a shoot slap from Katsuhiko Nakajima resulted in a major setback for Endo’s career. While he has yet to become the No. 1 guy in the company again he has regained some success by winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Yuki Iino. Endo is currently the leader of BURNING, which is DDT’s attempt at making a current day version of the unit that has roots going back to NOAH and All Japan. He often has Kenta Kobashi’s blessing to represent that legacy and often meets with him to discuss ways to progress his career. With a greay physique and a lot of athleticism, Endo on paper has all of the tools to be a big star. It just never worked out for him that way, especially when you see where his rival is now. But that is not who he has to worry about here. Moves To Watch Out For: Burning Star Press (Shooting Star Press), Tetsuya In The Sky (One Man Spanish Fly), Spinning Torture Rack Bomb
Andrew “The Giant” Everett – Can you believe there are rumours out there that Everett is not a giant? I know, right! He climbs into the ring by stepping over the top rope like giants do. He does Choke Slams his opponents like giants do. He wears a singlet like giants do. He does Moonsaults like Paul White allegedly did. That means Everett is a giant! Deadlock Pro is where you can find him nowadays. He’s wrestled in DDT before but perhaps his biggest accomplishment in Japan is from NewLegacyInc when his abuse of the Loser Leaves Town rule accidentally resulted in multiple clones of himself and Jun Akiyama being created. Moves To Watch Out For: 630 Senton, Shooting Star Press, Moonsault, Choke Slam, Pelé Kick
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
The top babyface group in DDT right now is The 37KAMIINA (“The Sauna Kamiina” because 37 in Japanese sounds similar to sauna and Kamiina is what the stoves are called) and Konosuke Takeshita was originally a member until he turned heel in AEW. Over time he has fought against his friends in separate singles matches and now the time has come for Shunma Katsumata to fight him. Is he up to the task against someone who is approaching best in the world territory?
Konosuke Takeshita – No matter where his career in AEW will take him, Takeshita will always have a home in DDT. He’s kind of living a double life because in AEW he is a heel under the increasingly questionable management of Don Callis. That is why DDT now writes his name in English with all upper case letters. Whenever he comes back to Japan he gets to be more like himself, a good boy who can German Suplex anything. He was part of The 37KAMIINA for a long time but left the group to follow his new career path in America. That means he gets to fight against his buddies but it is ultimately being done with good intentions. Matches like these are done so he can push his friends into improving themselves. If is takes smashing them in the face with his knees and elbows to get that message across then so be it. Moves To Watch Out For: Spinning Falcon Arrow, Powerdrive Knee/Wagamama (V-Trigger style Knee Strike), German Suplex, Blue Thunder Bomb, Takeshita Line (Leaping Clothesline from the ropes)
Shunma Katsumata – Nobody in DDT loves saunas as much as this guy. Don’t let his hobby or his eternally youthful looks fool you though. Katsumata can get crazy violent whenever he wants. He is currently the DDT Extreme Champion, a belt that allows the holder to come up with whatever stipulation they want for their title defences. Just to give an example his most recent defence was called the Painful Jungle Death Match and it was DDT’s bloodiest bout in a long, long time. Yet there are also times when his weapons of choice are Lego and party poppers. The odd strain in Takeshita’s relationship with The 37KAMIINA has ended up with Katsumata being next to fight him. The situation is probably not violent enough for Super Hardcore Katsumata to appear. How he handles this match will depend on how much he will want to take it seriously. Moves To Watch Out For: ¡Hasta la vista! (Lightning Spiral), Totonou Splash (straight Diving Body Press), Aufguss (Diving Foot Stomp to a standing opponent)
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
At the time of writing this match is a non-title bout yet I’m sure these two are going to have a match like it is one. We don’t get to see much of Mike Bailey in DDT anymore. Speedball has one of the more demanding looking schedules going in wrestling right now. He was around while Yuki Ueno was still in the early years of his career and Ueno is a far more developed wrestler now. When it comes to personality I don’t have much to say about Ueno unfortunately. As a wrestler though he is walking the walk as the current KO-D Openweight Champion. These two against each other can tear the house down if they don’t hold back.
Yuki Ueno – The current KO-D Champion which makes him the man to beat in DDT. Ueno has known Takeshita since they were high school classmates together. It was Takeshita’s journey into pro wrestling that convinced Ueno to follow him and give it a go. For most of his career that meant Ueno was stuck standing in his friend’s shadow. However Takeshita leaving DDT for AEW could not have been any more of a benefit for Ueno. Driven to become the ace of DDT, Ueno climbed the ladder and won the KO-D Title at Sumo Hall last November. Since then he has purposely defended the championship against wrestlers who are closely connected to DDT whether they are past aces, beloved personalities or even important management behind the scenes. He does this in order to prove that he is the best person to carry the company forward. Moves To Watch Out For: BME (Best Moonsault Ever), WR (Rolling Wrist-Clutch Blockbuster), Jul.2 (Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher), Half Nelson Suplex, Dropkick to the Face
Mike Bailey – There’s been a couple of talented Canadian wrestlers who became big deals in DDT. You can count Speedball among that elite group. Nowadays he is signed to TNA but you never have to look far throughout the North American indies to find him wrestling on the card. Go look up his schedule for the weekend, he has like half a dozen bookings and four of them are on the same day! Bailey has been in the ring with Ueno a bunch of times but never in a singles match together. How this guy hasn’t destroyed his knees yet from the apron bumps in every match I will never know. Moves To Watch Out For: Ultima Weapon (Shooting Star Double Knee Drop), Flamingo Driver (Cross-Legged One-Winged Angel), Green Tea Plunge (Standing Moonsault Fall Away Slam), Machine Gun Kicks
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz
The only title match on the show is going to be off the wall. The DDT Universal Title is a secondary championships that was intentionally created to be defended overseas in order to promote the company abroad. The current holder MAO is eager to go that direction at a time when he as a performer has never been better. When he set his sights on having a title match in Philadelphia, DDT thought outside the box and picked Billie Starkz as his challenger. If her tempo matches with MAO’s then the whole building is going to be left in a mess by the time the show is over.
MAO – Lives by the motto “Fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world!” The high flier feels at his most alive when he is in Falls Count Anywhere situations. He is still immature but in the past year has figured out his own vision for pro wrestling. With that also comes a newly found confidence in his abilities. The result is him becoming a multiple time Universal Champion with a desire to spread DDT and defend the belt around the world. Putting him in the city where extreme wrestling flourished is just asking for trouble. This is a guy who likes wrestling in Circle 6 shows for God’s sake! Moves To Watch Out For: Cannonball 450 (450 Splash), Michinoku Driver, Marines Tornado Splash (Swan Dive Phoenix Splash), Tornado Kick
Billie Starkz – A busy WrestleMania Week scheduled? Why not add a championship match held under no rules to the diary? From what I’ve seen of Billie Starkz over the years a match like this is a chance for her to blow off some steam and just go out there doing some nutty stuff for fun. Just don’t let Athena know what she’s getting up to while she’s on her own. You can’t replace Minions In Training that easily. Starkz has wrestled for TJPW before but this will be her first time stepping into a DDT ring. I’m sure she’ll feel right at home. Moves To Watch Out For: Swanton Bomb, Sugoi Driver (Double Legged One-Winged Angel sometimes on the ring apron), Starkz Driver (Tombstone Piledriver), Star 10 (CRII)
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There will be other chances to see a few DDT wrestlers in action across Philadelphia that week. Mainly MAO. You are going to get a lot of MAO.
CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024 The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. MAO Vs X
Let’s get started with Wrestlemania Week! Out of all the DDT wrestlers heading to Philadelphia it will be MAO who has the lion’s share of bookings. On the Wednesday night he and Chris Brookes are both going to a No Ring show held at a nightclub by Circle 6. It’s a dangerous way to begin one of the most schedule intense weeks of the wrestling calander.
Thursday is even nuttier. MAO has four bookings in one day! It begins with a DEFY show where MAO and Mike Bailey reunite as Moonlight Express to face CCK.
SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024 Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO
When the DEFY match is done with MAO then goes over to another venue where he will wrestle Matt Makowski. On paper that sounds like a straight forward match but some really wacky things have happened at Sean Henderson Presents shows in the past. Don’t let your guard down, MAO.
GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024 Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1. Shota Vs X
2. 4 Way Tag Match: Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater Vs MAO & Yoshihiko
The final show of the day if you go by the starting time being in the very last minute (yeah right like it won’t be delayed). GCW and its sister promotion JCW have invited the world to take them on. MAO & Yoshihiko will be joining forces to enter a 4 Way Tag Match against GCW’s top team from Mexico Los Macizos, the wXw duo from Germany Amboss and Britain’s own Boisterous Behaviour from NORTH Wrestling.
Also on the show is Shota taking his first independent booking since going freelance from GanPro. His match has not been announced yet. Since this is a GCW show it will probably be a Scramble Match since there are a bunch of other wrestlers also advertised with no match yet.
I’m including this because there are apparently going to be 88 contestants entering this year’s annual Clusterfuck Match. Surely that means the odds are good for a few DDT wrestlers showing up somewhere on the show?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 16/03/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Uta Takami
2. Kaya Toribami Vs Kira Summer
3. Maki Itoh & Shino Suzuki Vs Moka Miyamoto & Chika Nanase
4. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & HIMAWARI
5. Wakana Uehara & Toga Vs Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
6. Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki & Shoko Nakajima Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
This will be the last proper Tokyo Joshi Pro show before “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” at the end of the month. There’s a few small scale sideshows coming up but this is pretty much the go home show. So it’s the final chance for Miyu Yamashita and Miu Watanabe to square off in non-title action as well as Yuki Aino against Daisy Monkey.
The show also has some returns. Maki Itoh will be back from America as the brand new GCW Extreme Champion. Also Runa Okubo has her first match since the start of January.
Hyper Misao is still out of action with a lower back injury. She hasn’t been booked for either of the side TJPW shows coming up so her return will be at Sumo Hall.
1. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
2. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
Two more matches added to the DDT USA show. The big one is Konosuke Takeshita facing his old buddy Shunma Katsumata! Last year’s show was a chance for Takeshita to see what Yuki Ueno is like without him. Now it is Katsumata’s turn to step up to him.
A CCK reunion is on the card! Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos are back together for a match against the wild card pairing of Bryan Keith & Shota.
DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs X
Two Beer Garden shows will be happening right before Danshoku Dieno’s birthday. He is getting a special match on the second show to celebrate it.
GLEAT/DDT “GLEAT VER. &”, 06/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
This was announced earlier today during the GLEAT show at Korakuen Hall. Their 6th June show at the same venue will be a collaboration with DDT wrestlers. I’ll wait and see how much of the show will be built around GLEAT Vs DDT matches.
Heads up, my home internet hasn’t been working all week and I don’t know how long it will take for the problem to be fixed. I’ve been using my phone as a hotspot to write up reports in the meantime but it’s been a slow and unreliable experience. So there might be more delays posting results and other news over the next few days.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 4TH “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shino Suzuki Vs Haru Kazashiro
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Ram Kaichow
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
4. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki Vs Zara Zakher
6. Miyu Yamashita & Toga Vs Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino
7. International Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Juria Nagano
8. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
Should be an eventful show tomorrow. We have the Max Heart Tournament final and maybe a few announcements for what is in store for Tokyo Joshi Pro this Spring.
BASARA “BASARA 241 ~TAKAGARI 22~”, 10/02/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Masahiro Takanashi
2. FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato Vs Masato Kamino, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Ryuichi Sekine Vs Takato Nakano
4. Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT
5. IRON FIST Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs KUBITO & Yasu Urano
The IRON FIST Tag Team Titles are being defended tomorrow.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 11/02/2024 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. MJ Paul Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuki Hirata & Tsutenkakka
3. Special Single Match: Makoto Oishi Vs Yoshitatsu
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchu, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
5. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Akito
6. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
This is the match order for Sunday’s DDT show.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGOYA”, 12/02/2024 Aichi Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center
1. 3 Way Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Toru Owashi Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Hideki Okatani
3. Nagoya Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya Vs Lowther, Jack Kennedy & Kazuma Sumi
4. Jun Akiyama & Rukiya Vs HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi
5. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Makoto Oishi
6. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Akito
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
There is a DDT show on Monday too.
DDT “PRO WRESTLING WINTER FESTIVAL 2024 IN JOETSU DAY 2 – INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NIIGATA”, 18/02/2024 Niigata Dúo CEREZO
1. Toru Owashi Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuki Iino & Rukiya
3. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
4. Kazuki Hirata Vs Toy Kojima
5. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshitatsu Vs Tetsuya Endo & Makoto Oishi
6. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
The main event is a little preview of the upcoming DDT Extreme Title match in March.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 23/02/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Kazusada Higuchu & Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs MAO & Kazuki Hirata
3. Danshoku Dieno Vs Rukiya
4. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs Soma Takao
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) Vs Maya Yukihi, Ram Kaichow, Rina Yamashita, Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
DDT decided to put Rukiya up to the ultimate test. Put him in the ring on his own against Danshoku Dieno!
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 06/03/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Rukiya Vs Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai & Ryo Inoue
The DDT Vs AJPW rivalry continues with some upcoming matches being built around DDT’s BURNING against All Japan’s New Period. Rukiya and Ryo Inoue are showing up too.
GANBARE☆JOSHI “GANJO SUPER DARIUS ’24”, 09/03/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Mixed Tag Match: Riara & Shota Vs Alex Lee & Tyson Maeguchi
For now this is the last regular Ganbare☆Joshi show on the schedule. Both Riara & Shota will be leaving Ganbare☆Pro soon so this may be the only time they will team together. During the week Riara made her debut for WAVE so there is one possible landing spot for her when she moves on from GanPro.
Banny Oikawa will be on the show.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Tsubasa Suzuki Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Ken Ohka
3. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuma Aoyagi
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai
5. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hideki Okatani
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X
The last time Shunma Katsumata and Hideki Okatani fought for the Extreme Title, Katsumata won the match but also fractured a bone in his foot. That forced him to vacate the title. Ever since then both he and Okatani dreamed of having a rematch with the same championship on the line. That has now become a reality after Okatani became the No. 1 Contender this week. Katsumata said he will come up with a match stipulation that both of them will approve of.
Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino are the new KO-D Tag Team Champions and want to defend the belts against anyone no matter where they come from. Well here comes Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai from AJPW! They had fun wrestling in DDT earlier this week that they want to fight in DDT even more and against stronger opponents. Endo & Iino promised to show them just how much depth DDT has.
Before GanPro goes independent, Ken Ohka must fight his soon to be ex-boss Sanshiro Takagi! Ohka feels the need to face Takagi and defeat him in the first step towards making GanPro grow bigger than DDT. For Takagi this is the biggest test he can give Ohka to see if he will handle his upcoming responsibilities with all of his effort. If Ohka does this half-heartedly then Takagi will destroy him and that could mean DDT will destroy GanPro too!
GANBARE☆PRO “TONIGHT ON THE HILL WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE MOON 2024”, 28/03/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Ueno Special 6-Man Tag Festival: Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Shota, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Tominaga
The final GanPro show under CyberFight’s management is inviting Yuko Miyamoto and Isami Kodaka over for fun. It’s been established that Munetatsu Nakamura adores both Miyamoto & Kodaka so getting a chance to team with Yankee Two Kenju must be a dream come true for him.
The next set of wrestlers announced for the show are all familiar faces from the AEW circuit. Nick Wayne, Bryan Keith and Billie Starkz will all be there.
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.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 