Higuchi Vs Ueno All Month, Full Of Mizuki, Spring 2023 Title Match Schedule

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

1. FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato Vs Lil’ Kraken, Akira Jo & Leo Isaka
2. No DQ 3 Way Tag Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Shiori Asahi (w/ Gouma Ryu) Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
3. Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita Vs Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT
4. Daiki Shimomura Vs Atsuki Aoyagi
5. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano
6. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Fuminori Abe

This is the full card for BASARA’s last visit to Korakuen Hall this year.

DDT “DDT FREE -DECEMBER-”, 14/12/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Tryout Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Anarko Montaña
2. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito, MAO & Kazuma Sumi
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Soma Takao, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Naya Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada
6. Road To NEVER MIND 2022! Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
7. Road To NEVER MIND 2022! Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima

The rest of the month is going to give Kazusada Higuchi and Yuki Ueno plenty of matches against each other to prepare for the KO-D Openweight Title bout on 29th December. Harimao, The 37KAMIINA and a few others are getting pulled into the action too.

Saki Akai has a warm up match against her opponents for Tokyo Dome City Hall as well. Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata are coming over early for a tag match, except here Akai is teaming with Yoshiko Hasegawa from Ganbare☆Pro instead of Yuki Arai.

It was eight years ago when Anarko Montaña was last in DDT. The masked wrestler from Chile was brought over by his friend Guanchulo/Diego back then but that was his only appearance for DDT. He is coming back next week for a tryout match with Shunma Katsumata. A good performance here and he may get to stick around.

The vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles will soon find its new champions. The teams competing for the belts on 3rd January will be revealed on this show. There will also be an announcement naming the wrestlers in the running for a future DDT Universal Title shot.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ANGEL AND RABBIT”, 15/12/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Shoko Nakajima Vs Julia Nagano
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Hikari Noa, Raku & Kaya Toribami
3. Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto Vs Rhio & Maki Itoh
4. 10th Anniversary Debut “Full Of Mizuki Battle Royale”: Miu Watanabe Vs Miyu Yamashita Vs Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku Vs Suzume Vs Arisu Endo
5. Mizuki Debut 10th Anniversary Match: Mizuki & Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Nao Kakuta

Is the show not Mizuki enough? Have a Battle Royale full of Mizuki then!

Will Rhio have reclaimed the EVE Title by the time she gets to team with Maki Itoh?

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

1. 3 Way Match: Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani
3. Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada Vs Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi (w/ Yoshihiko)
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. Kumamoto Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi

Higuchi and Ueno will have other matches away from each other to look forward to. Harimao are teaming with Chris Brookes against Ω while Ueno leads The 37KAMIINA against BURNING.

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

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & MAO
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai & Toi Kojima
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
5. Fukuoka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Toru Owashi, Azul Dragon & Hideki Okatani
6. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata

The Ω unit are trying to ge themselves back to full strength before the end of the year. I don’t know if winning a match against a team with Azul Dragon is worth anything but I guess beggars can’t be choosers here.

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

1. DDT Universal Title Next Challenger Decision Battle: X Vs X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: X & X Vs X & X

DDT have laid out their schedule of championship matches taking place throughout the Spring. 2023 starts off with the vacated KO-D Tag Titles being brought back along with the No. 1 Contender for the Universal Title being determined.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU ~FIRE!~”, 13/01/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Winner Of 3/1 Decision Match

Ueno’s plan if he becomes a double champion is to defend both the KO-D Title and Universal Title once a month in separate matches for as long as his body can take it. He also wants to take the Universal Title overseas. That plan can be done without the need for the KO-D Title but Ueno is determined to do everything he can to become the unquestionable face of DDT.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 21/01/2023
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs X

Either Jun Akiyama or Super Sasadango Machine won’t have to wait long until the next DDT Extreme Title defence.

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

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs X, X & X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: X & X (c) Vs X & X
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

The first KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence of 2023 will have either Naruki Doi & DISASTER BOX as the defending champions or maybe it will be BURNING with Kotaro Suzuki instead.

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

1. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs X
2. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

Nagoya is getting two title matches.

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

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs X, X & X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: X & X (c) Vs X & X

DDT spent February 2022 building them month around the Ultimate Tag League. That doesn’t seem to be the case for 2023. The 2021 league took place in May and it’s only a young tournament. It hasn’t established its annual schedule yet.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2023 ~LONGEST 5 HOUR SPECIAL IN KORAKUEN HISTORY~”, 21/03/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

DDT’s 26th anniversary show is taking place in Korakuen Hall and the goal is for it to be 5 hours long. Around 14 or 15 matches is the expected amount being planned for the event.

There will be other championship matches happening on this show. Which ones are yet to be determined. But if there is any company that can fill a 15 match card in this day and age with nothing but championship matches it’s DDT. I’m sure they still have the Umemura Personal Computer Copy & Paste Title lying around in their office somewhere.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Akiyama’s 1st TLC Match, Kotaro BURNS Again, Rhio Challenges Yamashita For EVE Title

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

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

The long road to Ittenyon has begun. Yuka Sakazaki and Miyu Yamashita have plenty of time and matches with each other to prepare for the Princess Of Princess Title match on 4th January.

Raku has recovered from covid and is cleared to wrestle again. She missed out on the Princess Tag Team Titles match but her team with Yuki Aino continues.

Before Millie McKenzie goes back to England she is getting another match in Tokyo Joshi Pro.

Nao Kakuta is absent again because she is back doing her stage play.

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

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

For the first time in his illustrious career Jun Akiyama is doing a TLC Match! Joey Janela chose the stipulation on purpose for that reason. He also thinks beating Akiyama in a TLC Match will benefit GCW and their expansion into Japan. Akiyama is not familiar with the match type even after his recent appearances in America for AEW. All he knows is it sounds like the kind of match Shunma Katsumata likes to do. Akiyama agreed to do the match and promises to do it with his own style. He hears that Janela has respect for him but he does not believe it.

During the week Akiyama held an interview with Kotaro Suzuki on his Youtube channel. Suzuki revealed his contract with NOAH had just expired and he is now a free agent. Akiyama suggested he come wrestle a match for DDT. He would set everything up for him to do it. Suzuki was a member of a previous version of BURNING so it only makes sense for him to be part of their team in the match against The 37KAMIINA. The sauna boys add Toi Kojima to even the numbers.

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

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Rhio

Here is “The Unbreakable” Rhio making her second tour of TJPW. On the same show that Yamashita won the EVE Title at, Rhio had already thrown her name out as the next challenger for the championship. McKenzie ended up leapfrogging her for to be Yamashita’s first challenger and there won’t be another EVE show taking place until January so Rhio is taking matters into her own hands. She is going back to Japan with the goal of winning the EVE Title and bringing it back home. EVE announced that should Rhio beat Yamashita and become the new champion, Yamashita will get a rematch in London on 7th January. I assume she’ll be doing that date with or without the title anyway.

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

1. Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita Vs Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT
2. Daiki Shimomura Vs Atsuki Aoyagi
3. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano
4. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Fuminori Abe

Yasu Urano is having a career resurgance on the indies. He made it to the final of the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament and currently holds the main championship in JUST TAP OUT. He can add more glory by teaming with Takumi Tsukamoto and winning the IRON FIST Tag Titles from Aijin Tag. The tournament is the connecting point for everyone in the match. Masato Kamino eliminated Tsukamoto in the first round and then beat his own partner Takato Nakano in the next. Urano beat Kamino in the semi final.

The current AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Champion is coming to BASARA. In a first time meeting Daiki Shimomura is defending home turf against Atsuki Aoyagi!

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

1. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
2. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Muscle Sakai

Danshoku Dieno’s pet dog Haku will be a special guest on the show. He is an 11 month old shelter dog Dieno adopted back in September. Haku will do a meet & greet and will have his own merchandise on sale too.

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

1. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
3. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

Shinya Aoki wants his match against Chihiro Hashimoto to be held under Ganryujima Rules, which means the ropes will be removed from the ring. Hashimoto is unsure to accept the condition because she has never wrestled in that kind of environment before. What she is sure about is to beat Aoki by using her German Suplex finisher, the Albright.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022” Results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DDT “GET ALIVE 2022” Results

DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
419 Fans

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Naya pinned Koroku with the Choke Slam (6:02).
2. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! ~ Settling A Grudge! Complete Settlement! No DQ Hardcore Match: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata with La Magistral Cradle (0:12).
2a. Rematch: Kazuki Hirata defeated Toru Owashi with La Magistral Cradle (0:14).
2b. Another Rematch: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Nodowa Otoshi (5:31).
3. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Yuki Ishida defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno after the Throwaway Himawari Bomb from Sanshiro Takagi (7:33).
4. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Takeshi Masada by TKO with the Purgatory (7:48).
5. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA No Touch Rule: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teioh & Shiori Asahi defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Oishi pinned Katsumata with the Luminous Press (10:48).
6. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Toi Kojima with the Shining Driver (4:57).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino defeated HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Endo pinned Takanashi with a Backslide Pin (11:48).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Higuchi pinned KANON with the Brain Claw Slam (19:41).
*V2 for Harimao.
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Shinya Aoki by TKO with a Headbutt (10:57).
*V3 for Kazusada Higuchi. Shinya Aoki cashes in the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere NFT.

The life of a double champion is not easy. You never know when you will find yourself having to do two straight title defences one after the other. That is what happened to Kazusada Higuchi today. The original main event was Harimao defending the KO-D Tag Team Titles against DAMNATION T.A. Higuchi went into the match nursing an injured right hand. The injury was caused by Daisuke Sasaki & KANON in the weeks leading up to this match so the clear plan for the challengers was to target the right arm. But no matter what they did to it, Higuchi fought through the pain. He stopped Sasaki’s chair attack by Headbutting the chair into him. Then when KANON applied the Cobra Twist, Higuchi caused a rope break by biting onto the rope because his arms were both held back. Higuchi then smashed into KANON with the Buchikamashi and got the win with the Brain Claw Slam.

Naomi Yoshimura took the microphone to give a victory speech for his team when suddenly Shinya Aoki entered the ring. He dropped a tablet in front of Higuchi, the one containing the Right To Challenge NFT. He was cashing in his KO-D Openweight Title shot and it will take place right away!

The match began with Aoki aiming his kicks at Higuchi’s injured arm. He fought for submission holds to the arm over and over but Higuchi kept fighting out of them. In a change of tactics, Aoki then went for a Topé Suicida and then back in the ring applied a Manjigatame. Higuchi found a way to power out of the move and counter it into the Brain Claw Slam. He then struck Aoki with a big Headbutt to the face, causing the referee to stop the match via knockout. Higuchi survived the cash in, proved NFTs really are worthless and remains the KO-D Champion!

An exhausted Higuchi was flat on his back in the ring when Yukio Sakaguchi approached him. Sakaguchi told him to get up because they will be fighting each other for the championship on 23rd October. Higuchi got back up to his feet and thanked Sakaguchi for firing him up. He also thanked DAMNATION T.A and Aoki for challenging him in different ways because no matter what obstacles are in his way he will break through them!

Two days ago Tetsuya Endo defeated Masahiro Takanashi in a singles match. However Endo was not satisfied by the result because he thinks Takanashi left a better lasting impression on the Osaka crowd. So today Endo wanted to get revenge by stealing the spotlight from Takanashi. The set up had Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino all give Takanashi, Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA an Exploder Suplex all at the same time. With the the match now down to Endo against Takanashi, the back and forth ended with Endo doing the splits while pinning his opponent with a Backslide. Using a flashy looking pin against the wrestler who likes to use flashy looking pins is one way to get one over on him.

Avert your eyes all you want, you will still get blinded by Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda! He pulled off an easy victory against Toi Kojima to help him prepare for his upcoming DDT Universal Title match against Yuki Ueno. Takeda called the champion into the ring after the match. He said Ueno hasn’t changed a bit while Takeda has evolved into the “Shining Ball” you see before you. Ueno corrected him because in the years that passed since they teamed together, Ueno is now a champion while Takeda remained as a pervert.

There was some confusion over what the Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA was meant to celebrate. It was supposed to mark Makoto Oishi’s 20th anniversary in pro wrestling. However MEN’S Teioh pointed out his own 30th anniversary passed by last month. Shiori Asahi suggested they add them together so the occasion can be turned into a 50th year anniversary. Men’s Club argued about it while they wrestled but eventually made it all to the same page. Oishi & Asahi took out Ueno with the Cactus Flower while Teioh gave MAO the Miracle Ecstasy. He did the same move to Shunma Katsumata and Oishi followed up with the Luminous Press to win the match. Oishi told Ueno and MAO to take what they learned today and use it for the D-Ou Grand Prix. Teioh then announced that the one day revival of Men’s Club has finished and he would like to join The 37KAMIINA instead! Backstage he told Oishi that he originally wanted Men’s Club to win all of the different multi-man championships in DDT but Oishi already won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles with Ω. Oishi promised Asahi if Teioh does join The 37KAMIINA, they will fight to take him back to Men’s Club. Or maybe they replace him with Ueno, they like that idea too.

Sakaguchi’s preparation for his KO-D Title shot was straight to the point. Kick the crap out of Takeshi Masada. The young Masada tried to go strike for strike but ended up getting knocked out with the Purgatory Right High Kick. If both Higuchi and Sakaguchi are both aiming to win their matches by knockout, their title match on 23rd October is going to become a slugfest!

Yuki Ishida’s one year anniversary saw him get caught in the crossfire between Pheromones and Sanshiro Takagi. Before that happened Ishida showed how determined he was to win by wearing multiple trunks as a defence mechanism against Danshoku Dieno. They were all eventually stripped off anyway so Ishida was reduced to wrestling in nothing but a red loincloth. Dieno’s next attacks all missed their mark and he kept knocking out referees. Daisuke Kiso and Yukinori Matsui were both taken out of action. A third referee Yuto Nakata was then stopped by Takagi and the boss decided to sort it out himself. He entered the ring wearing a ref shirt but refused to complete a 3 Count for the Danshoku Driver. Instead he gave Dieno the Himawari Bomb, dragged Ishida on top of him and then fast counted to three. Takagi congratulated Ishida for his first singles win and then promised to end Pheromones on 23rd October. Dieno said if Pheromones must split if they lose their match on the 23rd then Takagi’s team should put something on the line too. He wants Takagi to use his powers to the fullest so if Pheromones win, Yuki Iino gets to become the president of CyberFight for one day! Takagi said Dieno lost his mind and Pheromones have no chance of winning a 2 Vs 5 match so he agreed to the stipulation. Yumehito Imanari warned everyone backstage that when Iino becomes president, the employee ID cards will be replaced with O-back trunks.

For years Toru Owashi had to deal with Kazuki Hirata and his dancing nonsense. They have been tag team partners for what feels like an eternity but the time had come for the two to face off. A match of this magnitude deserved a fitting stipulation so weapons were left around the ring for what would surely be a violent No DQ Hardcore Match. Owashi gave Hirata a Big Boot and pinned him with La Magistral Cradle in 12 seconds. GM Hisaya Imabayashi was furious. All of this build up for that?!? He told Hirata he should quit wrestling but then broke down into tears. He is leaving DDT at the end of the year and wants to see Hirata live up to his potential. He pleaded with Owasahi to allow the match to restart and it went ahead. This time Hirata pinned Owashi in 14 seconds with La Magistral Cradle. Imabayashi got mad again and demanded another restart. It did and the third time was the charm. Owashi and Hirata fought their hardest for 5 minutes. Owashi blocked the Mad Splash with his knees. Hirata kept kicking out of Owashi’s moves until he was finally stopped with the Nodowa Otoshi.

The supposed grudge between Owashi & Hirata was now finally over and done with. Owashi now had an offer for Hirata. He wants the two of them to challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles in Osaka on 12th October. Hirata asked if HARASHIMA would be the other partner? Owashi told him it is somebody else and HARASHIMA already gave his approval to the idea. A video message then played from Naruki Doi! The now former DRAGONGATE wrestler is choosing DDT as his first freelance booking because he heard DDT has a trios championship and he wants to win it. Owashi, Hirata and Doi are combining together as a “Dream Triangle DDT” to win the titles!

The opening match was a 4 Way Tag featuring teams from BURNING, DAMNATION T.A and Pheromones. However it was the unaffiliated team of Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani who became the winners. Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul didn’t know what to make of Pheromones. Yusuke Okada used Pheromones own tricks against them. Naya got the pin in the end by Choke Slamming Yuya Koroku.

The mystery tag team appearing at the Tokyo Dome City Hall show on 29th December was revealed to be Reiwa AA Cannon from Tokyo Joshi Pro! While Saki Akai being on a DDT show is nothing out of the ordinary, this will be Yuki Arai’s first DDT match since becoming a pro wrestler. She previously won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and took part in a Battle Royal back in 2018 but that was when she was just an idol.

Dramatic Dreams And Wrestle Princess This Weekend, Yume Pro Wrestling Exhibitions, Whole Bunch Of Anniversary Matches Coming Up

DDT/ONLY WE “GET ALIVE 2022 TOUR IN CHIBA”, 08/10/2022
Chiba TKP Garden City

1. DDT x ONLY WE Special Tag Match I: Saki Akai & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kaji Tomato & Soma Takao
2. HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
3. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Hiroshi Yamato
4. DDT x ONLY WE Special Tag Match II: Quiet Storm & Yukio Naya Vs Akira Raijin & Hoshitango
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs Pheromones!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda
6. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuki Ishida & Akito Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON (c) Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi

There are two changes to the show that were made during the week. Shogun Okamoto found out he might be a close contact to a covid case so he was taken off the show just to be safe. Hoshitango takes his place in the ONLY WE Vs PERON GRANDES match.

Hibiscus Mii is off the show due to a family situation. Soma Takao takes her place in the opening match.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano Vs Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Nao Kakuta, Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Suzume Vs Ryo Mizunami
4. Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao
5. Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Riho & Hikari Noa
7. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

I couldn’t find the time this week to write up a preview for Tokyo Joshi Pro’s big show in Tokyo Dome City Hall.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 9 ~NO CLOUDS OVER THE MOON~”, 10/10/2022
Osaka Higashinari Ward Community Center

0. The Man Called Supernova & The Man Who Was Once Called Supernova Vs The Men Who Were Never Called Supernova: Soma Takao & Takeshi Masada Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida
1. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A~: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
2. A Song Of Geniuses! Special 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yoshihiko
3. DDT Dotonbori THE NEXT!: Toi Kojima & Harutoki Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
4. Naniwa Earthquake! Super Special 6-Man Tag Match: Magnitude Kishiwada, Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Yukio Sakaguchi & Chris Brookes
5. Special Tag Match Sterness Siege ~Men Of Ice Vs Men Of Melting Ice~: Jun Akiyama & Antonio Honda Vs Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro
6. Special Single Match ~Road Of Former Champions~: Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi
7. Double Main Event I Special Tag Match ~Wrestling Master Jrs Vs The 37KAMIINA~: Daisuke Sasaki & HUB Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata:
8. Double Main Event II Special Tag Match Osaka Monogatari ~ Destruction Demon King Vs The “It Was The Power Of Wrestling That Resolved The Worst Of Their Relationship To The Point Where They Didn’t Even See Eye To Eye. Their Belief Is That There Is Never A Normal Good Match And The Common Denominator Is An Unusual wrestling Head”z~: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Shigehiro Irie & MAO

The final match on the show is something Yukinori Matsui had wanted to do for a long time. He believes if Shigehiro Irie & MAO can get along and be on the same page it could result in an amazing tag team. Irie & MAO had a falling out several years ago when Irie left DDT but their icy relationship began to thaw at the last New Year’s Eve show. Matsui has the happiest of all to see the two repair their friendship and has high hopes the two will work great together. Irie is also close with Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura. He held the KO-D Tag Team Titles one time with Higuchi and spent time with Yoshimura when the two wrestled in Canada together back in 2018.

Yuki Ueno said he is looking forward to facing HUB because he admires him so much. Ueno got into wrestling when his high school classmate Konosuke Takeshita became a wrestler. He quickly discovered Osaka Pro and HUB/Super Dolphin was the person who stood out to him the most. It is why Ueno uses the WR as his finisher because it was originally HUB’s move first.

The last time Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi was supposed to happen both wrestlers held the top two singles titles in DDT. Things have changed a lot since then and now the match is happening under different circumstances. Endo is still hoping to gain something from the match that will help him in the future. Takanashi still represents the older years of DDT that are different to the era Tetsuya Endo broke in with. The match is just as much a clash of two different DDT ideologies as it is two former champions facing off.

DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
3. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuki Ishida
4. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Toi Kojima
5. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takeshi Masada
7. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teioh & Shiori Asahi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

Daisuke Sasaki is spreading lies about Harimao being bad for DDT. He claimed at a press conference Hisaya Imabayashi is expecting the company to decline because Higuchi & Yoshimura are the KO-D Tag Champions so he is begging Sasaki & KANON to win the belts for DDT’s sake. KANON wants to add another title belt to the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and thinks the red tag belts will look better on DAMNATION T.A. The matches building up to the title shot saw Sasaki & KANON target Higuchi’s right hand.

The Men’s Club reunion is supposed to be a one time get together to celebrate Makoto Oishi’s 20th Anniversary. However there’s been a little bit of speculation that if they win against The 37KAMIINA then Oishi & Shiori Asahi might try and convince MEN’S Teioh to revive the unit for a new generation.

Takeshi Masada has been training with a former K-1 World Champion to prepare for his match with Yukio Sakaguchi. Masada approached Hideaki Yamazaki for advice against Sakaguchi’s kicks. Yamazaki inspected Masada’s Roundhouse Kick and agreed to teach him his signature Hanging Kick to use against Sakaguchi.

There was more trickery in the press conference during Yuki Ishida’s interview. Danshoku Dieno showed up disguised as a reporter and kept asking him shameful questions. When Ishida and Imabayashi figured out it was Dieno, he attacked the both of them and left them in a beaten state with their backsides both exposed. Dieno then took over the interview and complained about having another “Final Battle” against Sanshiro Takagi on 23rd October. It wasn’t until he finished and left the room when Matsui revived both Ishida and Imabayashi.

TJPW “YUME PRO WRESTLING -DREAM ON THE RING-”, 14/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Exhibition Match: Risako Vs Rika Tatsumi
2. Exhibition Match: Wakana Uehara Vs Shoko Nakajima
3. Exhibition Match: Himari Manaka Vs Miyu Yamashita

This week’s episode of Yume Pro Wrestling -dream on the ring- on TJPW’s Youtube channel revealed the exhibition matches that Risako, Wakana Uehara and Himari Manaka have spent month training for. Risako takes on Rika Tatsumi, Uehara faces Shoko Nakajima and Manaka goes against Miyu Yamashita. The matches were determined by a random draw.

GANBARE☆PRO “PUNCH DRUNK LOVE 2022”, 22/10/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. GanPro Oji Specialty Secret Captain’s Fall 8-Man Tag Match: Soma Takao, Yuna Manase, Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI Vs Shinichiro Tominaga, Harukaze, Yuna Mizumori & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Just Before 11.3! Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki
3. GanPro Specialty Three Great Singles Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Yuki Kanzaki
4. GanPro Specialty Three Great Singles Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Tyson Maeguchi
5. GanPro Specialty Three Great Singles Match ~Ken Ohka Debut 21st Anniversary Match~: Ken Ohka Vs Keisuke Ishii

Ken Ohka celebrates 21 years in the business, Hartley Jackson and Shuichiro Katsumura get a preview tag match for their Spirit Of Ganbare Title match and newly freelance Yuna Mizumori joins in the party that is the Secret Captain’s Fall match.

DDT “HIROSHI YAMATO 15TH ANNIVERSARY DEBUT ~ KIMI NO WA PRO WRESTLING FESTA”, 30/10/2022
Chiba Kimitsu Shiritsu Shuto Junior High School Gymnasium

1. Hideki Okatani Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Naoshi Sano & Kazuki Hirata
3. Kuishinbo Kamen & Makoto Oishi Vs Chris Brookes & Yuya Koroku
4. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuji Hino & Yusuke Okada
5. Kimitsu Specialty Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Antonio Honda Vs SAKI & Shunma Katsumata
6. DAMNATION T.A Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima
7. Hiroshi Yamato Debut 15th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Yamato, Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida

Another celebration show, this time for Hiroshi Yamato. He teams with BURNING to take on Harimao. There are also special guests like Kuishinbo Kamen, SAKI and Naoshi Sano involved.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022” Results

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (6:37).
1. MAO, Asuka & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award (6:44).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Shunma Katsumata and Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) when Aoki pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch (6:58).
3. Special Tag Match: Akito & Yukio Naya defeated Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Naya submitted Kawamatsu with the Torture Cobra Twist (11:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (11:21).
5. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada when Sakaguchi pinned Okada with the God’s Right Knee (11:18).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Cara Noir with the WR (13:01).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Buchikamashi (18:57).
*V2 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A hard headed effort from Kazusada Higuchi withstood the challenge of Konosuke Takeshita, preventing the KO-D Openweight Title from leaving Japan once Takeshita goes back to America. Higuchi’s iron toughness was on show when Takeshita pulled him by the arms, driving him head first into the steel ring post. Higuchi took a second long pause to register what happened and calmly fired back with a Headbutt that drew some blood from Takeshita’s forehead. Higuchi later attempted a big Choke Slam from the top rope but it was countered into a Frankensteiner followed by the Zahi. Higuhci kicked out of that and also the German Suplex before catching the Jumping Knee. More big bombs were thrown between the two and Takeshita finally hit the Jumping Knee. What he didn’t see coming was Higuchi standing firm and then charging in with the Buchikamashi sumo tackle. That put Takeshita down for the three count and Higuchi remains the champion.

After the match Takeshita gave his approval to Higuchi for being the champion and told him to do his best. He will be in America for around two and a half months before coming back for a DDT booking at the end of the year. Shinya Aoki then came down to ringside but rather than tease cashing in his title shot, he reached through the ropes to give Higuchi a fist bump instead and left. Yukio Sakaguchi then came out during Higuchi’s victory speech. He said Higuchi understands why he came out and he still does not understand true fear the likes of which Sakaguchi is capable of. Higuchi accepted his challenge and the two former “brothers” will fight for the KO-D Title on 23rd October.

You ever hear when wrestling commentators joke about how “it ain’t ballet”? Isn’t that in reality an insult backfire when you think about it? I’ve watched footage of ballet training and that stuff looks like hell on Earth even when compared to pro wrestling drills. Okay, okay, I’m getting distracted because I don’t want to make the usual theatre puns when writing about Cara Noir. The English wrestler performed his big entrance for the fans and then jumped Yuki Ueno with a John Woo Dropkick. Ueno was able to defend himself and escape from the Blackout Sleeper. He then returned with a Dropkick of his own, hitting Noir right in his face. The WR afterwards got Ueno the win and a successful DDT Universal Title defence under his belt.

There is a language barrier between the two but Ueno thanked Noir for coming to Japan after their match. It is a difficult time for Ueno to do what he wants and defend the Universal Title abroad, so he appreciates foreign opponents coming to DDT to challenge him. The three main members of Pheromones then entered the ring. Yuki Iino stepped over to Ueno and then turned around, revealing Ueno’s iPhone sticking out of his butt. Ueno pulled out his phone and found out he got a message from Koju Takeda. He read the message containing accusations that he does not have enough Pheromones. Takeda wants to measure their hormone levels together and so challenges Ueno for the Universal Title on 23rd October. Ueno accepts and wants to see how much Takeda has changed since their days in DNA together.

Sakaguchi cemented his claim for a KO-D Title shot by grabbing the win in Match #5. He was part of a DDT all veteran team against three members of BURNING along with the rookie Takeshi Masada. For some reason Sanshiro Takagi was a target for the opposing team. Tetsuya Endo got some ring time with HARASHIMA but Masada in particular wanted to beat Takagi. Jun Akiyama explained to the reporters backstage it’s because pro wrestling is the only place where it is acceptable to beat up the company president. It’s also acceptable to kick the heck out of Yusuke Okada like Sakaguchi did to win the match. Soma Takao was just kind of there. Even he noticed that he isn’t in any of the match pictures on DDT’s website.

DAMNATION T.A gave some of their next KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles opponents a taste of what’s to come. Minoru Fujita & KANON had their hands full with Naomi Yoshimura & Yuji Hino until MJ Paul got into a brawl with Hino out of the ring and up towards the balcony. Daisuke Sasaki had Makoto Oishi right where he wanted him from there. DAMNATION T.A benefited from the numbers game and Sasaki ended up tapping out Oishi with the Crossface Lock. Sasaki mocked Oishi for being so weak and wanted to injure him with a chair. Suddenly Shiori Asahi’s music began playing and he ran out to rescue his friend, fighting off Sasaki with a skateboard. Together, Oishi & Asahi then gave KANON the Cactus Flower. Asahi said it’s been a long time since he showed up as X on DDT shows. Hino said Ω is getting closer to a complete recovery. They will show DAMNATION T.A what real evil looks like when they take the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles from them!

The politician tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu were back at it again, this time wrestling against Akito & Yukio Naya. Two two are becoming more cohesive by doing double team moves together. However Naya was able to break them apart and submit Kawamatsu with the Cobra Twist. Nishimura gave advice to Kawamatsu by comparing a wrestling career to an election. Elections are the accumulation of everything politicians do day by day. Kawamatsu admits that every time he steps into the ring to wrestle his head goes blank and everything happens at a blink of an eye. Akito thinks this won’t be the last we see of Kawamatsu. Naya meanwhile has more important matters to get ready for.

Aoki had no choice but to put his Right To Challenge NFT on the line against Shunma Katsumata and Yuki Iino in a 3 Way Match. Katsumata dealt with Iino by sticking party poppers into his backside and setting them off. What he couldn’t have anticipated was Aoki turning into a Pheromones gimmick! He reappeared wearing very little and pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch. He still hasn’t publicly told people when he wants to cash in the NFT for a KO-D Title shot. The only hint he gives is it will happen soon.

Romance was unexpectedly in the air during the opening bout. Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda’s grappling gradually turned into them slowly embracing each other for a kiss. That was interrupted by the others but soon some unintentional hugging led to Saki Akai wanting to kiss Asuka and MAO wanting to kiss Kazuki Hirata. Before they could almost all of them snapped back to normal and Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award. Asuka was left in a frozen state with her eyes closed, still waiting for Akai to kiss her. Yukinori Matsui woke her up causing Asuka to scream at the sight of him and leave.

The dark match saw Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima beat Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida in a tag battle between the young generation. Ishida kicked out of Okatani’s Northern Lights Suplex so Okatani had to pull out the Double Arm Suplex for the win.

19 year old trainee Kazuma Sumi will make his debut against Kazuki Hirata on 23rd October. He spoke to the crowd and called Hirata a very talented person so he will do his best. Sumi has a background in karate and gymnastics. He is the second of the trainee class introduced in May to make his debut, the first being Takeshi Masada.

Danshoku Dieno has written a book to celebrate his 20th Anniversary in pro wrestling. He said he lied to the publisher about making a self-help book to convince them to sell it. However he will be covering topics about the pro wrestling business from his point of view based on his two decades of experience. It will be available in December and Dieno is hosting a special event at Korakuen Hall on the 21st to commemorate the release. Attendees will receive a copy of the book but the cost of it will be added on top of the ticket price.

The D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 lineup was revealed. The A Block consists of Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Joey Janela, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki and Rickey Shane Page. The B Block consists of Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, MAO, Yuji Hino, KANON and Yukio Naya.

Takeshita Heading Back To USA Next Month, El Unicorn Taking Time Off To Study

GANBARE☆PRO “TWIN PEAKS 2022”, 23/09/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. GanPro Three Major Singles Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Yuki Ishida
2. GanPro Specialty! Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari, Yuna Manase & YuuRI
3. GanPro Three Major Singles Match: Soma Takao Vs Yuki Kanzaki
4. GanPro Three Major Singles Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Jun Masaoka
5. Twin Peaks 2022 Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase

Here’s the match order for the first Ganbare☆Pro show of the day. They are a few ticket sales away from a sell out.

GANBARE☆PRO “ENEMY OF AMERICA 2022”, 23/09/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Young Drama Generation Vs Reiwa Dramatic Generation: Keisuke Ishii Vs Toi Kojima
2. GanPro Three Major Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Miyuki Takase & Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. YuuRI GanPro 1st Anniversary Match: Yuna Manase Vs YuuRI
4. GanPro Three Major Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Yuki Kanzaki
5. GanPro Three Major Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase

And here’s the match order for the evening. This show is sold out.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 24/09/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

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

A contract signing with Shoko Nakajima and Yuka Sakazaki for the main event of “WRESTLE PRINCESS III” will be held during the show.

Both Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh are back from their American bookings. They are together as 121000000 for their first match back.

Mahiro Kiryu will miss the show due to a shoulder injury.

BASARA “BASARA 200 ~TAKAGARI 12~”, 24/09/2022
Takashimadaira Ward Community Center

1. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Antonio Honda Vs Fuminori Abe & Yasu Urano
2. 3 Way Match: Ryota Nakatsu Vs SAGAT Vs Akiyori Takizawa
3. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Jun Masaoka
4. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Isami Kodaka, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
5. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato

A big jump up the card for Lil’ Kraken. The “mystery” masked wrestler teams with Speed Of Sounds to take on Sento Minzoku in an Elimination Tag Match.

The three regular members of Sparky are going all against each other in a 3 Way Match.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida
1. MAO, Asuka & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno)
3. Special Tag Match: Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Akito & Yukio Naya
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
5. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada Vs Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Cara Noir
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

A press conference was held earlier today featuring the participants of the two title matches. Konosuke Takeshita announced he is returning to America in October so his goal for Sunday is to win the KO-D Openweight Title and bring it with him to AEW. He does not believe Kazusada Higuchi’s claim that a new wind is blowing through DDT. Higuchi disagrees and thinks the KO-D Title has already taken a new form that will not change back if Takeshita wins it off him and takes it abroad. Win or lose, this is the match Higuchi has been looking for.

Nobody was able to get a word out of Cara Noir during the press conference. Even Yuki Ueno tried to make him speak by asking him questions in English but Noir stayed silent throughout. However his physical gestures made it clear he wants to beat Ueno and become the new DDT Universal Champion. Ueno hopes that if he can successfully defend the title it will open the door to him having a title defence in the United Kingdom. He also wants to defend the belt in Thailand to live up to a promise that Masahiro Takanashi made when he was the champion.

The full line-up of this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix tournament will be revealed during the show.

DDT “YUBUN PRESENTS DDT PRO WRESTLING IN IKEBUKURO FULL MOON FESTIVAL”, 01/10/2022
Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park Outdoor Theater Global Ring Theater

1. Yukio Naya Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata
3. DDTeeeen!! Special Single Match: Ilusion Vs El Unicorn
4. Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
5. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Takeshi Masada
6. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, MAO & Antonio Honda
7. Harimao Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima

El Unicorn will be taking time off from pro wrestling to prepare for his upcoming high school entrance exams. Before he leaves he will get one more singles match against his DDTeeeen!! rival Ilusion. El Unicorn said he is sad he won’t be able to wrestle for a while but he also understands this will be good for the future of his pro wrestling career.

GANBARE☆PRO “NERAWARETA GAKUEN 2022”, 02/10/2022
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Union Alumni Assocation In Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Ken Ohka Vs Daichi Kazato
2. Toyama & India Vs Ota Ward & Nakano All-Out Battle!: Shinichiro Tominaga & Baliyan Akki Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
3. England x Makai x GanJo! Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Nightshade, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Ram Kaichow, YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Yuna Manase

We haven’t seen Baliyan Akki around Ganpro since April. He’s been doing well since then, just coming back from wrestling across America including a couple of AEW appearances.

Daichi Kazato from BASARA is coming over for a Union Pro reunion with Ken Okha. Both of them have changed a lot since they were last in the ring together.

Tyson Maeguchi and Yuki Kanzaki will also be on the show.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 9 ~NO CLOUDS OVER THE MOON~”, 10/10/2022
Osaka Higashinari Ward Community Center

1. The Man Called Supernova & The Man Who Was Once Called Supernova Vs The Men Who Were Never Called Supernova: Soma Takao & Takeshi Masada Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuki Ishida
2. A Song Of Geniuses! Special 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yoshihiko
3. DDT Dotonbori THE NEXT!: Toi Kojima & Harutoki Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A~: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
5. Special Tag Match Sterness Siege ~Men Of Ice Vs Men Of Melting Ice~: Jun Akiyama & Antonio Honda Vs Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro
6. Special Single Match ~Road Of Former Champions~: Tetsuya Endo Vs Masahiro Takanashi
7. Special Tag Match ~Wrestling Master Jrs Vs The 37KAMIINA~: Daisuke Sasaki & HUB Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
8. Naniwa Earthquake! Super Special 6-Man Tag Match: Magnitude Kishiwada, Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Yukio Sakaguchi & Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match Osaka Monogatari ~ Destruction Demon King Vs The “It Was The Power Of Wrestling That Resolved The Worst Of Their Relationship To The Point Where They Didn’t Even See Eye To Eye. Their Belief Is That There Is Never A Normal Good Match And The Common Denominator Is An Unusual wrestling Head”z~: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Shigehiro Irie & MAO

Harutoki is been wrestling for three years with Dotonbori Pro.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 15/10/2022
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium

1. Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Shunma Katsumata & Manami Kanda
2. Special Single Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hideki Okatani
3. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Noriyuki Yoshida & Yuya Koroku

Several guests have been booked for the show. On this very day one year ago Noriyuki Yoshida fought Jun Akiyama in an emotional match to celebrate his 15th wrestling anniversary. They meet again this time in a tag match with other members of BURNING. Also on the show are Kouki Iwasaki, Manami Kanda and Tomoya.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 16/10/2022
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium

1. HARASHIMA & Makoto Oishi Vs Tomoya & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Manami Kanda
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida

The next day will see Akiyama and Yoshida teaming together.

Kanda’s weekend in DDT is built around matches against Saki Akai.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
2. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada Vs Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida
3. Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Settlement Battle FINAL: X Vs X

Kickboxer Hikaru Machida is coming back to DDT and HARASHIMA will be there waiting for him. The big matches are also piling up for the rookie Takeshi Masada. He’s getting some ring time with Soma Takao both as teammates and opponents in October.

Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu are sticking around in DDT. They have a battle alongside Yuki Ishida against BURNING coming up next month.

DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~” Results

DDT “STERNNESS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ~JUN AKIYAMA 30TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 18/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
715 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Yusuke Okada defeated Yuya Koroku with the Sudden Death (7:01).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (7:16).
3. Akito, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Naya submitted Okatani with the Torture Cobra Twist (10:36).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (12:40).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Cara Noir, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima when Noir submitted Kojima with the Blackout Sleeper (12:47).
6. Naomi Yoshimura defeated Takeshi Masada with the Lariat (10:14).
7. Jun Akiyama Debut 30th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Yuji Nagata, Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Akiyama pinned Katsumata with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (20:34).

On 17th September, 1992 Jun Akiyama made his pro wrestling debut against Kenta Kobashi inside an All Japan ring. Over the next 30 years he fought for both AJPW and NOAH back and forth until he found an unlikely new home in DDT. So it was DDT who got to host his milestone celebration. But there is also some crossover with New Japan on the show with Akiyama inviting both Yuji Nagata and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to compete. Akiyama has close ties with both of them, Nagata was his rival from the enemy company while Kanemaru was his long time tag partner. The DDT involvement in the match included Tetsuya Endo and Konosuke Takeshita, who Akiyama have both taken under his wing in certain ways, as well as Shunma Katsumata. He is here because he reminds Akiyama so much of Kanemaru. Akiyama also received congratulations from Kobashi and President Kitai from the K.O. Gym.

It was only fitting for Akiyama and Nagata to start off the match together. They had a back and forth battle until Kanemaru and Katsumata got involved. Kanemaru went to spit liquor at his opponent but Katsumata ducked and Akiyama got sprayed with it instead. Endo and Takeshita cancelled each other out, particularly when Endo did a Canadian Destroyer and Takeshita hit back with the Zahi for a double down. Katsumata tried to take matters into his own hands but he missed the Totonou Splash aimed for Akiyama. That led to a string of finishers with Kanemaru giving Katsumata the Deep Impact, Endo hitting an Exploder Suplex and Akiyama charging in with a Running Knee Strike. The end came with Akiyama pulling out the Wrist-Clutch Exploder for the pinfall.

After the match Akiyama talked about when he was scouted by Giant Baba to become a pro wrestler. He also learned so much from Jumbo Tsuruta and Mitsuharu Misawa. Sadly they have all since passed away so he told Kobashi to please stay healthy for a long time! He then talked about DDT and how Sanshiro Takagi is their Baba-like figure. He then named Endo, Takeshita, Kazusada Higuchi and Naomi Yoshimura as DDT’s Four Pillars/Heavenly Kings. Akiyama is happy and grateful to be a part of DDT and the company feels like family to him. He ended the show by telling a story about Baba. During Baba’s later years he once said he is no longer in a fight against other wrestlers, but with himself. He will not lost to himself and instead will make the most of each and every day. Akiyama promises to do the same from here on out. Backstage Nagata praised Endo for being competitive and having a good slap.

Akiyama purposely chose Yoshimura versus Takeshi Masada to be in the semi-main event position. The reason is Akiyama’s debut match 30 years ago was in the same spot. Masada is getting so much attention as the rookie with a high ceiling that Akiyama felt he should be given the same opportunity. The result was expected, Yoshimura was dominant for the most part and took Masada’s offence before pinning him with the Lariat. Masada was able to show toughness by kicking out of one of the earlier Lariats. Backstage Yoshimura admitted to feeling nervous over the match because Akiyama put it together. However he wants Akiyama to know that he never looks down on any of the younger wrestlers. He praised Masada for the strength of his strikes, saying he hasn’t felt kicks that hard from a younger wrestler since Keigo Nakamura in his debut match. But Yoshimura is still stronger than him so Masada will have to think of another way to try and beat him. Masada said getting the chance to fight Yoshimura at the peak of his power will definitely help his pro wrestling career in the future.

The ballet wrestler Cara Noir made his DDT debut, performing his dramatic Swan Lake entrance in Japan for the first time. He has a DDT Universal Title shot against Yuki Ueno coming up on 25th September so the two faced off in a 6-Man Tag Match here. Ueno had his usual buddies in The 37KAMIINA on his side while Noir teamed with CDK. Just because those two were the focus of the match didn’t mean the others stepped aside. MAO got a cheap shot Straight Punch in on Noir, CDK got Noir to join in on a human pyramid style group taunt at their opponents’ expense. Toi Kojima tried firing up on the newcomer but once Noir spun into him to apply the Blackout Sleeper, it was all over. Ueno welcomed Noir after the match but told him he won’t give over the Universal Title to him next week. Noir didn’t say anything, instead he just gently stroked the title belt on Ueno’s shoulder and did a dramatic pose.

The confidence surrounding DAMNATION T.A is growing at a rapid rate after today’s result. All four members of the unit were together to win an 8-Man Tag Match against a combination of Harimao and Ω wrestlers. KANON grabbed the victory by pinning Yuki Ishida. Then Daisuke Sasaki started complaining about how much he doesn’t care about Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He continues to get Ω confused with Kenny Omega and warned everyone that all of the tag team championships in DDT should belong to DAMNATION T.A! Backstage Sasaki said the unit is now at full strength with Minoru Fujita back from injury and the entire company will be finished thanks to them. KANON then threw his name into the hat for the D-Ou Grand Prix, saying he expects to see a few people in the tournament who owe him favours. Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi are now licking their wounds over today’s defeat. But they know they have so many options in Ω for backup when they and Shiori Asahi challenge DAMNATION T.A for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 8th October. Higuchi also warned DAMNATION T.A not to act so arrogant when they face Harimao for the KO-D Tag Team Titles four days later.

Yukio Naya also made a strong appeal to be included in the D-Ou Grand Prix. He got the victory in Match #3 by making Hideki Okatani submit. This was after he took all the kicks he could from HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi. When Akito & Soma Takao was able to clear them out of the ring, Naya took control and won the match for his team. Naya said he learned a lot from Akiyama and Hino over the last year when he was feeling so helpless. He is not only determined to be part of the tournament but also win it too!

Another day another Pheromones match getting cancelled midway through because of, well, Pheromones stuff. You have Koju Takeda attacking Kazuki Hirata with his bare backside while a clean shaven Yumehito Imanari watches on. Takagi tried leading his side in unison which went well until Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune went out of control and wiped the entire team out. Danshoku Dieno then called for the lights to switch off so Yuki Iino could strip completely naked. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match so he and the ringside attendants could cover up Iino’s waist. Takagi was furious to see Pheromones pull off this stunt during Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. He demanded an immediate rematch but Imabayashi refused. Instead there will be one final showdown between Takagi and Pheromones on 23rd October. Takagi told Honda & Toru Owashi to join him so they can all get revenge for Hirata. Dieno pointed out this will be their fourth “final battle” in two months. If that is not enough, Takeda later backstage called out Yuki Ueno for not having enough Pheromones in him!

The opening match was given to Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku, the two remaining members of BURNING. Akiyama chose them because he wanted the first match to be an exciting start for the show. The more experienced Okada got the win with the Sudden Death shortly after Koroku missed a Moonsault. The two of them congratulated Akiyama on his Anniversary. Okada said he’s been working with Akiyama for the last 6 years so he is proud to be involved today. Koroku promised to keep training hard so he can become as great and strong as Akiyama.

A second show celebrating Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary will be held in his hometown of Izumi, Osaka on 10th December.