DDT In NJPW And GLEAT This Week

NJPW “THE REEVE PRESENTS SUPERHUMAN TAIJI ISHIMORI GETS EVEN MORE RIDICULOUS”, 07/10/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,462 Fans – No Vacancy

0. PRE BLOCK: Taiji Ishimori (1) Vs Daiki Nagai, Katsuya Murashima & Jun Kasai (1)
1. 120 Minute Iron Man Rumble: Taiji Ishimori ended with a score of 11 Wins and 10 Defeats.
1a. SECRET BLOCK: Taiji Ishimori (2) Vs Jun Kasai, Muhammed Yone, LEONA, Atsushi Kotoge, Shiro Koshinaka, Dump Matsumoto & Jun Akiyama (7).
*Ishimori’s Reserves: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei.
1b. Arai Kogyo Co., Ltd. Presents TOHOKU BLOCK: Taiji Ishimori (3) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi, YOH, TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, The Great Sasuke, Shuji Ishikawa & MAO (9)
*Ishimori’s Reserve: Taro Nohashi
1c. Brain Cubic Inc. Presents MUSCLE BLOCK: Taiji Ishimori (6) Vs YOH, MAO, Titán, SHO, Koju Takeda, Hyo, Boltin Oleg, Ryohei Oiwa & Drilla Moloney (9)
1d. Mimura Komatsu Law Office Presents DRAGON BLOCK: Taiji Ishimori (11) Vs MAO, Shun Skywalker, KAGETORA, Dragon Dia, Ryuji Ito, Shingo Takagi, Tatsumi Fujinami & Hiratimo Dragon (Kazuki Hirata) (10)
1e. FINAL MUCHA: Taiji Ishimori defeated Gedo with the Bloody Cross (7:11).

Okay, I’m used to writing about weird matches like this one. I should be able to figure this out. Man, New Japan has gotten weird lately…

After putting together a successful show last November where he took part in every single match on the card, Taiji Ishimori learned he had to go take on an even greater challenge put together by a mysterious AI that is out to get him for reasons I do not want to spend time learning about. He was being forced to take part in a 120 minute long Iron Man Rumble with four separate blocks of wrestlers to fight through. Ishimori’s goal was to make it through the gauntlet with more wins than losses. His reward for doing so would be a special singles match against a wrestler that he respects. I’ll get to the point here because it’s not DDT related, his final opponent was Gedo and he beat him.

Along the way, a few DDT wrestlers were among the random cast of wrestlers Ishimori had to fight and interact with. The first main path was the SECRET BLOCK made up of wrestlers who have appeared in commercials for the show sponsor in the past. That just so happens to include Jun Akiyama as the block’s final entrant. He didn’t understand what was going on and he was also immediately attacked by Dump Matsumoto. Ishimori was allowed to have reserve wrestlers temporarily take his place but The Brahman Brothers did a bad job in that role, piling up losses on his behalf. However they were able to knock Akiyama out of the ring to score a point before Ishimori moved on to the next block.

The second block was built around the Tohoku wrestling scene which meant Ishimori had to deal with wrestlers from Michinoku Pro as well as other wrestlers from the area. At this point Ishimori was also reminded of The Sailor Boys which caused him great mental harm. Things became a lot more calm when Ishimori and the Tohoku wrestlers all meditated inside the ring but MAO then entered the match to cause some chaos, particularly with TAKA Michinoku (who is from Chiba and didn’t appreciate being lumped in with the country bumpkins). When the block’s time expired, MAO and YOH had not been through any eliminations so they were allowed to advance to the next block alongside Ishimori.

Things became a lot more muscular next with the MUSCLE BLOCK. None of the new entries were from DDT but MAO was still there and with YOH’s help he ran over SHO at ringside with the Dramatic Dream bike! He also helped out Ishimori by eliminated Drilla Moloney before the time expired. The two posed their bodies like squares to celebrate and since MAO survived elimination again, he got to accompany Ishimori once more this time into the final block.

It was the DRAGON BLOCK where at first the wrestlers coming out were all from Dragon Gate. MAO’s luck ran out when Shun Skywalker eliminated him from the match. The block then switched things around when Ryuji Ito showed up (because he is the “Death Match Dragon”) followed by Tatsumi Fujinami! The last dragon to enter was the most important one. People expected it to be Ultimo Dragon but it was even better than him. It was Hiratimo Dragon! He was immediately beaten up by Ishimori and Dragon Dia. Hiratimo distracted the referee by telling him Danshoku Dieno was behind him, then he tried to frame Ishimori for pulling off his mask. The plan didn’t work, Ishimori threw the mask away and then he threw Hiratimo out of the ring. Backstage Hiratimo said it was a close call but his identity wasn’t revealed. All he has to say to Ishimori is that he’s gotten stronger.

GLEAT “VER.EX ~GLEAT VS KYOTEKI~”, 09/10/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
682 Fans

3. G PRO WRESTLING ~ GLEAT Vs X – Go Miyake’s Return Match: Yukio Naya defeated Go Miyake with a Choke Slam (2:41).
5. G PRO WRESTLING ~ GLEAT Vs DDT: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani defeated Takehiro Yamamura & Junjie when Sasaki submitted Junjie with the Crossface Lock (11:51).
6. G PRO WRESTLING ~ GLEAT Vs Shinya Aoki: Shinya Aoki defeated T-Hawk with the Aoki Clutch (8:41).

Now let’s move on to a place that has only slightly less nonsensical ideas than Ishimori. GLEAT came to Korakuen Hall a few days later putting together a show themed around the promotion taking on strong opponents from around the wrestling scene. DDT provided a few wrestlers on the “Strong Opponent” front. Things behind the scenes seem to be a little unstable over there but that has nothing to do with the DDT stuff so let’s just focus on that.

Shinya Aoki has previously fought in GLEAT under their UWF Rules banner of matches and continues to hover near the company under his own volition. He got to do a pro wrestling match here for the first time because he was intrigued by the clash of styles he would have with T-Hawk. Aoki took the nasty Chops his opponent has a habit of throwing and ended up catching him in the Aoki Clutch to get the three count out of nowhere. He said the match was so much fun because they clicked perfectly together.

DDT sent over Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani for a tag match. The GLEAT team was made up of Takehiro Yamamura & Junjie who were previously together as part of a recent unit called G-RIZE. Sasaki & Okatani did not come alone though. Ilusion was there at ringside to interfere whenever it was most convenient for his buddies. The GLEAT team got rid of the nuisance by throwing him out of the ring but DAMNATION T.A kept on pushing forward with their attack until they got their victory. The result left Yamamura & Junjie wanting revenge.

There was also a surprise appearance by Yukio Naya as the opponent for Go Miyake. The GLEAT rookie made his debut last year but suffered a kneecap injury not even two months after his debut. After being gone for a year and a half his return to the ring was going to be against El Lindaman but Lindaman declined to take part. Instead he chose Miyake’s opponent and it turned out to be Naya. Given the low level of experience Miyake has at this point, it only took less than three minutes for Naya to beat him. Afterward Naya said he heard about how hard Miyake was working to reach his comeback and motivated him to do his best.