DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024” Results

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024”, 28/12/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
3,579 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Yuni & Kazuma Sumi defeated Demus & Ilusion when Sumi pinned Demus with the School Boy (9:05).
2. Shuji Ishikawa, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida when Ishikawa pinned Ishida with the Fire Thunder (8:59).
3. Special Tag Match ~ O-MENZ Kumadori Debut Match: Makoto Oishi & Akito defeated Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori when Oishi pinned Hirata with a Northern Lights Bomb (0:06).
3a. Rematch: Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori defeated Makoto Oishi & Akito when Hirata pinned Oishi after the Air Double Helio from Kumadori (10:44).
4. TJPW Vs DDT Full-Scale 6-Man Tag Match: Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku defeated Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda when Tatsumi pinned Honda with the Missile Hip (12:17).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Haruto Sakuraba Debut Match: KANON, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba defeated HARASHIMA, Yuki Iino & Soma Takao when KANON pinned Takao with the Vietnam Driver II (12:52).
6. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama defeated Yukio Naya with the Front Neck Lock (13:24).
7. Special Tag Match: Kenoh & Yu Owada defeated Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura when Kenoh submitted Nakamura with the Kenoh Special (11:41).
8. Special Single Match: Invisible Man defeated Danshoku Dieno (w/ Tetsu Inada) with a Danshoku Driver Counter (11:13).
9. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Takeshi Masada with the WR (16:23).
10. 85th KO-D Tag Team Titles Decision Match: MAO & To-y defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when To-y pinned Koroku with the Kojima Impact (24:17)
*The 37KAMIINA becomes the 85th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
11. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Praying Mantis Bomb II (36:55).
*V1 for Chris Brookes.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated HARASHIMA (c) by TKO with the Tegatana (6:35 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,703rd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Takagi defeated HARASHIMA with the Stone Cold Stunner (6:36 pm).
*Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 1,704th champion.

There’s still a few days left before the new year but DDT’s 2024 came to a close at Sumo Hall today. Daisuke Sasaki came over here looking to end Chris Brookes’s reign as the KO-D Openweight Title and bring DDT back to a more grimy atmosphere. However the feud between SCHADENFREUDE International and DAMNATION T.A coming up to this match showed Brookes is just as capable of fighting that way as he is with having a fair fight. So too was Yukinori Matsui of all people. The referee reached his breaking point from the constant interference from both sides that he grabbed a chair at ringside and was willing to attack any of them with it! Both units took his warning to heart and left ringside so the match could continue one on one. The violence still escalated with Brookes Piledriving Sasaki through a table at ringside. Sasaki fought back by seating Brookes onto a chair in the first row and hitting the Super Diving Elbow. DAMNATION T.A returned to pull Matsui out of the ring right when Brookes had Sasaki beaten with the Praying Mantis Bomb. SCHADENFREUDE also came back to cause another all out fight between the two sides. Brookes and Sasaki then attacked each other with staplers until Sasaki threw Brookes into the ref so he could Low Blow him and then hit a chair shot. But nothing he did could put Brookes away, not even El Es Culero which he took from El Desperado. Instead Brookes was able to slap Sasaki down, give him a Penalty Kick and pin him with an elevated version of the Praying Mantis Bomb.

With the battle finally over, Brookes offered to shake Sasaki’s hand after the match and Sasaki actually went through with it. Brookes told Sumo Hall he was able to win with love but he knows pro wrestling needs bad people like Sasaki to fight the good people like himself. Brookes then invited the DDT roster down to the ring to close out the show and comment on how the year went for them. Brookes told the fans he thought last year would be the final time he headlined Sumo Hall so he is happy to have done it again today. In 2025 he wants to achieve more dreams as the KO-D Champion. Backstage Sasaki told reporters he is going to take an extended break from wrestling for a while. He was asked when he plans to return and he said he’ll definitely be back on… 3rd January 2025.

The vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles were on the line in a match pitting two members of The 37KAMIINA against two wrestlers from BURNING. Due to Shunma Katsumata’s injury, the story turned into the growing rivalry between To-y and Yuya Koroku. The rivalry continued to be the focus here with Tetsuya Endo kept trying to fire Koroku up. Endo and MAO took each other out late in the match so it came down to the young pair. To-y avoided Koroku’s gameplan to target the arm and used a misdirection from running the ropes to catch Koroku off guard. His plan worked and after he pinned Koroku with the Kojima Impact, MAO & To-y became the new champions!

To-y said he is never going to forget the day he won this title. MAO also praised him because just when MAO thought he has done it all with The 37KAMIINA, along comes To-y to give him new things to do. MAO has experienced big victories in Sumo Hall before and he wanted To-y to experience the same to show how you get rewarded for your hard work. They were then approached backstage by Yuni & Kazuma Sumi. The two of them want a title shot on behalf of NωA Jr. To-y accepted the challenge but MAO had to be convinced because he doesn’t want to be associated with idols again. The title match will happen on 18th January.

A big change came from the losing side as a result of this match. BURNING is now splitting up! Endo made the decision but not for any negative reasons. While he was standing in the ring after the match he realized how much Koroku has grown as a wrestler and came to the conclusion that he does not need BURNING anymore. Koroku has fully become a pro wrestler and Yuki Iino has also reestablished himself as a strong fighter. Endo wants to keep growing to reach his own potential so the time is now for them to take their own separate paths. Koroku said the unit helped him grow a lot and he will no longer look down on himself anymore. Endo’s last piece of advice to him was it is ok to feel frustration.

Yuki Ueno took it upon himself to teach Takeshi Masada a lesson in wrestling. Masada always has high expectations to reach and pulled out a top rope version of his finisher to try and win. But Ueno couldn’t be beat and found an opening to twist Masada into the Body Choke Sleeper to wear him down. Masada started to crumble from there and Ueno kept up the attack until he could pin him with the WR. Ueno wants Masada to know he is here for him in DDT. He shouldn’t be listening to the people who give him high expectations about his future. Instead Masada should believe in himself in the present. He should get be more selfish, get even weirder and gradually he will round out his game more and more. In 2025 Yuki Ueno will enjoy being himself because only those who can express themselves will have a future.

Okay we didn’t realize just how cursed of an idea Danshoku Dieno Vs Great-O-Khan was going to be. First O-Khan gets pulled from the show by New Japan due to injury, then the only opponent DDT could find on short notice was The Invisible Man and now on the day of the show one of the special guests for the match Kentaro Kumagai could no longer make it due to illness. So it was all up to Dieno and Tetsu Inada to carry the match by themselves (with The Invisible Man of course). The referee and the commentary team all wore special glasses that would let them see The Invisible Man while Dieno wore special contact lenses that did the same thing. The match turned into a brawl up the entrance ramp that ended with The Invisible Man doing a dive off of the stage. Back in the ring he hit a Triple Moonsault and was shocked when Dieno kicked out of it. He tried hitting Dieno with multiple Axe Bombers but Dieno fired himself up by stripping off his costume piece by piece. But when he made his comeback, five other Invisible Men interfered! Then an Invisible Woman named See-Through came to Dieno’s rescue and fought them off for him. Dieno went back to give The Invisible Man the Danshoku Driver but it was countered into a sudden cradle for the three count.

After the match The Invisible Man gave Dieno credit for pushing him this far. He told Dieno that someday the ruler of the human world who should have fought him in the first place will reappear along with his loyal follower. He told Dieno to call their names out loud enough for them to hear. Inada apologized for not being to help Dieno more because he got caught up fighting the other Invisible Men. He promised to be by his side again whenever the match with O-Khan takes place. Dieno assured him they haven’t lost the battle because O-Khan and Kumagai are not here. The four of them will have their fated fight one day. Until then everyone should continue to go out and live their lives to the fullest.

It was a battle of pride between DDT and NOAH. The home team of Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura certainly felt it when they fought Kenoh & Yu Owada. They fought around ringside and beat lumps out of each other. Nakamura tried to do his own attempt at Aoki’s Full Nelson Hold to pin Kenoh but the NOAH wrestler kicked out of it and made him tap out to the Kenoh Special. Aoki and Kenoh then kept fighting after the bell until they were kept apart. Aoki’s in a good mood about it though. He thinks DDT got the moral victory today because of Nakamura’s performance. He also thinks Kenoh secretly had a lot of fun out there. Aoki would love to have a rematch or even a singles match with Kenoh. He says it is up to the fans to decide if it will happen. Kenoh spent his post-match interview backstage promoting NOAH’s Budokan Hall show on 1st January.

Over on the heavyweight side of the roster Jun Akiyama showed everyone that Yukio Naya still hasn’t met his potential yet. Naya Choke Slammed him onto the ring apron and hit other big moves like the Diving Elbow and The World’s Best Back Drop. But Akiyama kept kicking out and fought back with Knee Strikes and Exploder Suplexes. He went to finish him off with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder but Naya blocked it. So Akiyama switched over to the Front Neck Lock and made him give up. Akiyama admits that Naya is better than him at everything now but the difference is 33 years of determination. He will wait for Naya to come fight him again. Naya is now worried about a comment Konosuke Takeshita recently made. If this generation carries on like they are now then they will become the generation that left nothing behind. Naya swears he will get a rematch with Akiyama in 2025 and finally beat him.

The debut of “THE MONSTER” Haruto Sakuraba gave DAMNATION T.A their only victory of the show. His size and power left Yuki Iino shaken when they charged each other in the ring. With that taken care of, KANON & MJ Paul were able to pick off the rest of the other team ending with KANON using the Vietnam Driver II to pin Soma Takao. He praised Sakuraba’a overwhelming size and power while Sakuraba called out for more people to fight him. While HARASHIMA agrees with Sakuraba’a strengths, he pointed out that as a rookie he still has a long way to go. He hopes to see Sakuraba work even harder from now on and will be happy to fight him more anytime.

DDT lost their other inter-promotional match, this time to Tokyo Joshi Pro. Good thing they are all under the same CyberFight umbrella. The TJPW team actually met with the DDT team before the match offering a box of treats. But when Toru Owashi was about to accept it, Pom Harajuku hit all of the DDT wrestler over the head with the box. The match itself got so heated up that management even got involved! Hisaya Imabayashi and Tetsuya Koda fought each other in the ring at different points in the match. Super Sasadango Machine tried to give Hyper Misao the Vertical Drop Lehman Shock but Misao fought him off with her spray can. Antonio Honda tried telling a dirty Gongitsune joked but Koda stopped him for the sake of the TJPW wrestlers. Imabayashi ran in and hit Koda with the Uraken but fell over in the process, giving Koda the chance to hit him with the Finally kick before he collapsed. Misao brought in the Hyper Mobile and crashed it into Honda. The match slowed down and even included a flashback from Honda. The Hyper Mobile returned but Owashi & Sasadango accidentally crashed it into Honda. Rika Tatsumi then hit the Missile Hip to Honda for the victory.

Later backstage Imabayashi told the DDT team that as a result of this match, TJPW will get all of the profits made from today’s show. The wrestlers came up with the excuse that they are all freelancers so none of them are really effected by that. Honda promised to get revenge by winning the Princess Rumble tomorrow. Sasadango then confronted the TJPW team wanting to talk to Misao. He challenged her to a singles match but this time Sasadango will ditch the mask and wrestle as Muscle Sakai! Not only that but he wants the match to happen at Sanshiro Takagi’s 30th Anniversary show on 3rd February. Misao accepted so we are going to get a battle of who has the better sense of humour!

The other celebrity debut was over before it could even begin. Kumadori got to do his entrance with the rest of O-MENZ but seconds into the match Akito attacked him while he was posing while Makoto Oishi immediately pinned Kazuki Hirata. Kumadori complained by telling Akito he shouldn’t be ambushing him like that and Hirata should have practiced more. He didn’t have anything to say about Oishi because he doesn’t care about him. The teams agreed to an instant rematch and this time Kumadori got to put in a performance he was happy with. He landed a Cancun Torndao on Oishi and Hirata jumped on top to get the pinfall. Hirata and O-MENZ then celebrated all together with a victory dance. Kumadori thanked Hirata because the Hirata GO! glasses really were helpful when he needed them.

Shuji Ishikawa got his preparation in for the upcoming 4 Way No. 1 Contender match. He went toe to toe with Daichi Sato while Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Yuki Ishida were trying to sumo wrestle each other. Masahiro Takanashi and Shinichiro Kawamatsu got some ring time against each other too but the match was won by Ishikawa beating Ishida with the Fire Thunder.

The show opened with NωA Jr. performing their debut single “New! Wrestling! Idol!” before two of them went on to wrestle in the first match. Yuni & Sumi’s big day was close to being ruined because DAMNATION T.A almost beat them. But after Ilusion hit the Swanton Bomb on Yuni, Sumi finally found a way to counter Demus’s finisher. He turned La Valagueza into a School Boy to get the three count from out of nowhere. Sumi was so happy with the win he promised to work hard as an idol while also doing his best as a pro wrestler. He also wants to have another singles match with Demus in Mexico or DDT because he knows today’s win was just a fluke.

There were a couple of Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title changes that happened throughout the day. Before the show began Yuki Ishida attacked the champion Yoshihiko in a hallway. Yoshihiko fended him off but Makoto Oishi jumped in and pinned the doll to become the new champion. HARASHIMA saw it happen in the distance so he joined in the fight. Oishi did not want to take the Somato before his match so he gave up and forfeited the belt to HARASHIMA. There was no further title changes until the very end when after the credits, Hirata ambushed HARASHIMA and knocked him out with the Tegatana chop to the neck. Matsui couldn’t revive HARASHIMA so he declared Hirata the new champion.

Hirata then fled with the title but found himself in a dead end inside the shower room. There he found Sanshiro Takagi taking a bath by himself. The two started arguing over Takagi taking a bath while the show was still going on and it turned into a fight. Takagi gave Hirata the Stunner and pinned him in the bath water to end the show as the new Iron Man Champion!

There will be a merchandise collaboration between DDT and the anime “Brave Bang Bravern!” coming soon. DDT will announce more details on the 26th January Korakuen Hall show.

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024” Preview

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024”, 28/12/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Demus & Ilusion Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
2. Shuji Ishikawa, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida
3. Special Tag Match ~ O-MENZ Kumadori Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori Vs Makoto Oishi & Akito
4. TJPW Vs DDT Full-Scale 6-Man Tag Match: Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku Vs Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Haruto Sakuraba Debut Match: KANON, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Iino & Soma Takao
6. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Yukio Naya
7. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura Vs Kenoh & Yu Owada
8. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno (w/ Tetsu Inada) Vs Invisible Man (w/ Kentaro Kumagai)
9. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
11. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

The final DDT show of 2024 is winding up somewhere bigger than usual. In past years DDT ends their calendar in Korakuen Hall but this time they are heading straight over to Sumo Hall. The “ULTIMATE PARTY” name is used when DDT brings in a little bit of everything in CyberFight’s orbit. We have guests from New Japan (edit: not anymore!), NOAH and Tokyo Joshi Pro coming over but none of their matches against DDT wrestlers can be described as friendly. If that doesn’t catch your attention then maybe the debut matches of two celebrities will tickle your fancy. Celebrity usage has been a success story for DDT this year. The one they caught lightning in a bottle with isn’t here though so let’s see if the formula can be repeated with other performers.

The upper end of the card has two official championship matches and would have had a third title taking place without DDT’s authorization. I’ll explain that one when we get to it. The main event is not something I saw coming when this show was announced back in July. However it’s also between two wrestlers who DDT can always rely on. The penultimate match of the evening also shines the spotlight on two of DDT’s fresh faces who have been locking horns with each other for weeks leading up to this. It’s a well balanced card the company was able to put together.

Before we begin here’s a little piece of trivia. Did you know the announcement for this show was almost leaked by Rossy Ogawa? During an interview he did back in July he talked about having a plan to book Marigold’s second Sumo Hall show on 28th December to compete against a Stardom show he knew would be happening in the same venue the next day (Stardom’s show also wasn’t announced yet at the time). However another company, which we now know is DDT, beat him to the punch and already had the date booked. So DDT unintentionally prevented a Sumo Hall joshi war from happening this weekend! I know some of you out there would have preferred the joshi war but you’re stuck with us until 3rd January.

1. Demus & Ilusion Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi

The spotlight is shining on the youngsters for more than just a wrestling match here. Yuni & Kazuma Sumi are also going to make their idol singing debuts as part of NωA Jr. with Shunma Katsumata. The original NωA (New Wrestling Aidoru/Idol) was an idol unit that Katsumata was a part of from 2016 to 2018. The time has come for him to lead a new generation and the two young wrestlers were handpicked to join him. Yuni has that kind of performance in his blood because his mother was a dancer for Osaka Performance Doll in the 1990s*. Sumi however does not have much of a musical bone in his body. He did recently get an acting gig for the TV adaptation of the MMA manga Red Blue though.

The debut performance could be ruined by DAMNATION T.A if the heels get their way. Demus is a challenge that Yuni and Sumi both have trouble trying to beat. Sumi in particular has been beaten by Demus and his finishing move La Valagueza a lot. I’d almost call it an exclusive finish between the two if it wasn’t for Yuni recently getting pinned with the move too. Ilusion has also elevated himself after a nasty heel turn where he tricked SCHADENFREUDE International into accepting him as their newest member only for him to stab them all in the back and defect to DAMNATION T.A. He has a grudge with SCHADENFREUDE that’s only going to get worse. But when he’s away from that he just wants to go ruin other people’s plans.

*Yeah so long story short, the reason why DDT got away with signing Yuni to a pro wrestling contract at eight years old is because of nepotism. The story of him and his mom approaching Sanshiro Takagi asking for a tryout makes a lot more sense when you find out the mom has been in showbiz before.

2. Shuji Ishikawa, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida

It’s an undercard trios match with nothing going into it but perhaps something it will light a match for somebody’s 2025. Shuji Ishikawa had an eventful 2024. At the start of the year he ended his deal with All Japan to wrestle as a freelancer and also take on a general manager role within Evolution Joshi. That group will soon upgrade into a bigger company called Pro Wrestling Evolution in the new year so the timing of Ishikawa working with DDT again sure is interesting. Tomomitsu Matsunaga unexpectedly got a day in the sun when Jun Akiyama asked him to be his tag partner for a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot in April as a show of appreciation for his work ethic over the years. That opened up the doors for him to get some NOAH bookings at their “LIMIT BREAK” shows too. The politician Shinichiro Kawamatsu continues to wrestle every once in a while for DDT. He told everyone that Hulk Hogan passed down the Axe Bomber to him and proved it was true with a video of them hanging out together! Does that mean he’s to blame for Hogan getting into the US political scene with Donald Trump? Kawamatsu also played a part in getting Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo to appear at DDT’s “TODEN PRO WRESTLING” match during her election campaign. Her appearance turned the match into controversy because it came off like DDT was being used to endorse a political figure (Sanshiro Takagi denies the claim and remains defensive over the matter).

The other team also seemed to be thrown together just for the sake of it. Masahiro Takanashi has been splitting his time between SCHADENFREUDE International and ChocoPro. It’s probably good he doesn’t have a heavy load to worry about on this day if he’s needed to be at ringside for the main event. Daichi Sato is a kid to keep an eye on. The 16 year old from HEAT-UP has appeared in DDT in the past under the short lived DDTeeeen!! sub-brand. He’s a big boy with a billed weight of 120kg and DDT recently started booking him again. Since young heavyweight wrestlers are few and far between in Japan nowadays he’ll be getting chances as long as he keeps up his end of the deal. A good showing here will raise his stock. Yuki Ishida took a different career route this year. He reduced his pro wrestling schedule so he could move to Osaka to  work for a sumo entertainment company. Whatever happened over there did not work out so he returned to DDT and is back wrestling full time with them again.

3. Special Tag Match ~ O-MENZ Kumadori Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori Vs Makoto Oishi & Akito

Brining in a celebrity heartthrob worked wonders for DDT’s business this year so they are going to try the idea a few more times. Two performers in the world of entertainment will be making their pro wrestling debuts at this show. The first one is Kumadori, a member of the flashy masked dance group called O-MENZ. They are described as a “Dance Terrorist Group” and Kumadori is considered to be their most muscular member. He met Sanshiro Takagi through an acquaintance and told him he wanted to give pro wrestling a go by using his breakdancing skills. Not long after the deal was made, Kumadori confronted Kazuki Hirata at a DDT show and demanded a dance battle between them. Hirata easily lost but offered to become Kumadori’s tag partner, knowing he’s probably not going to beat him in a wrestling match either. The rest of O-MENZ will also be in their corner because the group will provide a dance performance as part of Kumadori’s ring entrance.

Two of DDT’s most reliable hands will be on the opposing team. Makoto Oishi finished up his contract with DDT in October because his family relocated to Miyagi and he also wants to spend more time with them. He continues to take DDT bookings as a freelancer but everyone in the company briefly acted like he was retiring. Oishi also found the time to get a taxi driver license so he’s trying to become the personal driver for The Saito Brothers over in All Japan. Oishi is quite the wrestling trainer behind the scenes and played a big part in getting Kaisei Takechi ready for his matches. So he is the perfect kind of first opponent for Kumadori. Akito is no slouch either but he is trying to balance his matches along with his growing responsibilities as Sanshiro Takagi’s eventual successor in DDT management. While Takagi has moved further behind the scenes while he rehabs his injuries, Akito has taken his place this year as the person taking any post-show interviews about the state of the company.

4. TJPW Vs DDT Full-Scale 6-Man Tag Match: Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku Vs Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda

The first inter-promotional match of the show pits DDT against its sister Tokyo Joshi Pro. There wasn’t anything to the match when it was first put together other than a few connecting threads to the past. Antonio Honda and Rika Tatsumi were once part of a band called DPG. That was how Tatsumi got into wrestling and started training with TJPW. Super Sasadango Machine helped set up Hyper Misao’s memorable “retirement match” that turned out to be the surprise announcement of her engagement and marriage. Tatsumi was part of that match too. As far as I know, Toru Owashi and Pom Harajuku have absolutely nothing in common. Although if this was a sitcom Owashi is the kind of guy who gets forced to babysit a three year old for an episode.

That changed when Sasadango visited a recent TJPW show with gifts for his upcoming opponents. As a proud citizen of Niigata, he supported local business by buying some luxury chocolate for Misao. They were all hers if she would agree to call off the match because Sasadango believes nobody in Sumo Hall wants to watch the DDT team violently destroy the TJPW team. While Misao was being tempted by the bribe, Tatsumi got into the ring and started strangling Sasadango, which in this case is her way of saying no. Misao joined in once she realized that bribery in public is a violation of the company rules (they kept the chocolate anyway). Sasadango got a measure of revenge by attacking TJPW GM Tetsuya Koda for not taking responsibility of his locker room’s actions. That turned this match from a friendly little intergender tag match to a company versus company battle!

Before we move on let’s quickly put the spotlight on Harajuku for a big weekend she’s going to have. She recently won the SETUP All Asia Women’s Title in Thailand (in a No DQ Match to boot) and will be having her first title defence in TJPW the day after this show. As much as it’s joked about her acting like an eternal three year old she has levelled up as a wrestler this year. The title reign is made even more special because she considers Thailand her second home because her parents used to work there and she often visited the country to see them. In fact the first time she watched wrestling was in Thailand when Michinoku Pro held some matches at an expo held over there. When she went back to Japan she started following DDT and TJPW, eventually signing up with them to become a wrestler herself. What a lovely story. One that Honda will definitely ruin once he starts telling a dirty joke via Gongitsune.

5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Haruto Sakuraba Debut Match: KANON, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Iino & Soma Takao

Here is hot celebrity making his debut #2 and he’s even bigger than the first guy! Haruto Sakuraba has been called “The Muscular Actor” for being cast in stage adaptations for Haikyu!!, Tokyo Revengers, Grappler Baki, Final Fantasy Brave and more. The Final Fantasy show in particular is how he got here because Saki Akai was also part of the cast and she introduced him to Sanshiro Takagi. As I said earlier, new heavyweights are in short supply so when Takagi saw that Sakuraba is a 187cm tall weightlifter it was love at first sight. Sakuraba is giving wrestling a go because he is a big fan of The Rock and wants to become his Japanese equivalent. To do that he’s done his homework because what worked for The Rock is a heel turn so he too will turn heel for his debut match!

Sakuraba was given an offer by DAMNATION T.A to join their side because they see he has potential to be a villain. Sakuraba knew what they were putting down and accepted the offer. He doesn’t just want to be the Japanese version of The Rock, he wants to surpass his role model! Now nicknamed “MONSTER”, Sakuraba will be teaming with KANON & MJ Paul to take on a team of DDT faces. I don’t need to write much about HARASHIMA to tell you how important he’s been for DDT throughout most of the company’s history. Soma Takao on the other hand… well he’s more known for managing the Dropkick Bar whenever he isn’t wrestling on the DDT undercard. He doesn’t really have anything else going for himself nowadays. Not even ROMANCE DAWN is a thing anymore.

Yuki Iino is the man for Sakuraba to watch out for most of all. Iino has now fully moved on from his Pheromones gimmick, instead embracing everything that makes him a member of BURNING. He held the KO-D Tag Team Titles for around six months and also won the DDT Universal Title this year too. Sakuraba isn’t impressed though. Not when Iino is smaller in person than he thought. The two had a brief fight where Sakuraba claimed Iino is so weak it makes his own muscles cry! Iino recently fought Tomohiro Ishii and even though he lost, it should be enough preparation for Iino to fight a “MONSTER” like Sakuraba.

6. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Yukio Naya

2024 could have been the year Yukio Naya finally showed his potential to become a big player for DDT. He won the D-Ou Grand Prix in January, got a KO-D Openweight Title shot less than a month later and that was kind of it for him getting any new career defining highlights. He got knocked out in the first round of the King Of DDT and then had the kind of feud with Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami where he kept getting the short end of the stick until he won in the end. Not sure what went wrong for him this year other than DDT deciding to move their main event scene away from the heavyweights.

If there is a way for him to make up for any progress he lost in the last year then beating Jun Akiyama in a singles match should do it. Akiyama’s main event years in DDT are now behind him but he is still accomplishing a lot in the ring. He won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles as part of D.O.A, made appearances in NOAH, New Japan and AEW again and joins in with DDT’s sillier matches whenever he is in the mood to do so. Maybe fighting Naya one on one will light a fire beneath him to climb back up the mountain again one more time. Naya left a mark on him after one match by Choke Slamming him through a table. All Akiyama wants from him is to fight as strong as he can when they meet inside Sumo Hall.

7. Special Tag Match: Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura Vs Kenoh & Yu Owada

Thanks to the “LIMIT BREAK” shows we finally got some DDT Vs NOAH interactions this year. However this match has absolutely nothing to do with that. Instead it is about an unlikely MMA fighter who made DDT his pro wrestling home. DDT has been good to Shinya Aoki whenever he wrestles for them and it was not made any clearer this year than when he won the KO-D Title! His title reign saw him transform the humble Full Nelson Hold into a nigh on unbreakable pinning maneuver. He has since been rewarded for his skill by winning the Best Technique category in this year’s Tokyo Sports Awards. It’s a prize he compares to receiving a black belt because he now feels he has been accepted into the pro wrestling world. Except somebody in NOAH isn’t willing to do that yet. Okay Kenoh what’s your problem this time? He likes Aoki as an MMA fighter, but as a pro wrestler? No way! Not when he’s alligned with DDT.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. If Kenoh is Frank Grimes then DDT is his Homer Simpson. He never liked that NOAH became associated with DDT because of the CyberFight takeover and only fights DDT wrestlers when there is a grudge involved. He would have been happy to never step foot inside a DDT ring again if it wasn’t for Aoki consantly trying to get his attention. You see, Aoki has this bad habit of telling media his upcoming plans in wrestling. The problem is he reveals these plans before any other party supposedly involved is aware of them. For example he keeps trying to challenge Katsuhiko Nakajima to a UWF Rules fight in GLEAT. After repeatedly getting no response over there, Aoki changed his plan and decided he will fight Kenoh at NOAH’s Budokan Hall show on New Year’s Day. Again, nobody in NOAH let alone Kenoh has any expectation of Aoki being booked for the show (Kenoh will be fighting KENTA on that show instead).

Kenoh had to take matters in his own hands by crashing a DDT show along with NOAH rookie Yu Owada. He told Aoki to his face there will not be a match happening between them at Budokan Hall. Unfazed, Aoki then suggested they have a match at Sumo Hall for DDT instead. Kenoh ordered Owada to fight Aoki in a match then and there but Aoki pinned him in seconds with the Full Nelson Hold. Then one of DDT’s bright and baldest youngsters Keigo Nakamura stood up to defend his company in front of the NOAH pair. The four of them got into a fight and once they were kept apart, the match was made! Aoki & Nakamura are defending home turf, Kenoh is pissed he has to show up in DDT again and Owada is mad at being treated like a third wheel in this situation.

8. “Unofficial” DDT Extreme Title ~ A Dramatic Fight Where People Fight With Their Hearts: Danshoku Dieno (c) (w/ Tetsu Inada) Vs Great-O-Khan (w/ Kentaro Kumagai)
*No title change or successful defence will be recognized.

You want pro wrestling for sickos? You’re getting pro wrestling for sickos. No take backsies. In one corner we have Danshoku Dieno. He is currently the DDT Extreme Champion and he is also the reason 90% of the time I see people who try out DDT decide to never come back. In the other corner is Great-O-Khan. He is New Japan’s King Of Pro Wrestling for 2024 and also a waifu loving pervert with a heart of gold (let me quote Sayaka Unagi who once asked him “Could you truly love a three-dimensional woman?”). Both men in their own bizarre ways have become pro wrestling savants who are able to come up with outside the box ideas for the industry they love so much. Whoever came up with this idea might be trying to get DDT banned from Sumo Hall. Both Dieno and O-Khan are aiming to have a match that will guarantee it.

At first it looked like the match will only have pride on the line. Dieno does not want this to be seen as a DDT Vs New Japan affair. It is about far more than that. Instead he decided to defend his Extreme Title against the man who won the New Japan equivalent this year. Unfortunately this match is enough of a political nightmare to begin with that DDT refuses to authorize it as a title match. Dieno does not care though and will still put the belt on the line in an unofficial manner. Whether that means he will vacate the title if he loses or O-Khan wins possession of the physical belt remains to be seen.

An extra factor coming into the match are the two special guests who will be at ringside. Two voice actors have found themselves becoming important parts of the story. When preparing for the match O-Khan discovered that the voice actor Kentaro Kumagai was once given the Lip Lock by Dieno and has wanted payback ever since. O-Khan made Kumagai pledge loyalty to the United Empire and in return will bring him to Sumo Hall to get his revenge. Luckily for Dieno there is another voice actor who is looking out for him. Tetsu Inada is a die hard DDT fan who has provided voice work for the company many times over the years from narrating videos to providing match commentary. He thinks the lewd pranks he suffered at the hands of Pheromones were way worse than what Kumagai went through. That means he isn’t going to stand by and let Dieno fight this battle by himself! Both Inada and Kumagai will be at ringside for the match. Knowing what the wrestlers involved are both capable of, the most disgusting things that take place in the ring will probably happen to the voice actors!

8. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno (w/ Tetsu Inada) Vs Invisible Man (w/ Kentaro Kumagai)

So pretty much everything I wrote in the last three paragraphs can be thrown away. Except for the last part. The voice actors are still going to get violated somehow. O-Khan suffered a lower back injury during his most recent NJPW match so he’s been pulled from the show. He has an important IWGP Tag Team Titles match going on at the Tokyo Dome soon so New Japan wants to make sure he’ll have enough recovery time to do it. DDT scrambled for a replacement and came up with an old foe of Dieno’s… The Invisible Man! As far as I can tell the Extreme Title aspect of the match has been binned. It will be up to Dieno and the voice actors to craft a story worthy to be told at Sumo Hall.

9. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Takeshi Masada

The year that Yukio Naya could have had instead went to Yuki Ueno. He spent the first half of 2024 as DDT’s ace champion, even getting in a successful KO-D Title defence inside Sumo Hall. The second half of his year slowed down after he lost the title to Shinya Aoki but it seems that DDT finally found a place for him as the company’s prince. His final match of the year is against the supposed star of the new generation who is still finding his feet while dealing with the high expectations. It’s a match that kind of came out of nowhere and there might have been a reason for that. Did plans fall through when Kota Ibushi took offence to the “Golden Star Syndrome” promos The 37KAMIINA cut about him and he decided to stop working with DDT?

Ueno is not taking his opponent lightly. As a recent former champion he knows how much of a big deal it will be if he loses to Takeshi Masada. He sees how well Masada fits into SCHADENFREUDE International but maybe that could be a bad thing. Masada is so comfortable with his current lot in life that he might have abandoned his goals as a result. Masada telling him that his goal is to make the fans go home happy kind of proves his point. That kind of attitude might be why Masada only held the KO-D Tag Titles for a month earlier this year and lost them in his first defence. There also won’t be any rematch or follow up for Masada if Ueno beats him here. Just like with Akiyama versus Naya, Ueno wants to know if Masada is going to take his best shot at him.

10. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku

This should have been the next title defence for ShunMao’s second run as champions. But sadly just like their first run it was cut off thanks to an injury suffered by Shunma Katsumata. There is a bright side we can look at though and that is what DDT went with for Plan B. The original match was meant to ShunMao against Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku from BURNING. MAO, Endo and Koroku are still part of the match, this time to crown new champions. Replacing Katsumata is To-y, the pluckiest member of The 37KAMIINA. And boy is he fired up for this opportunity!

Once To-y entered the picture he immediately made a statement by pinning Koroku clean with his Kojima Impact finisher. He then added insult to injury by claiming he has more of a reason to fight for the KO-D Tag Titles than Koroku does. Even Endo agreed with him, pointing out that To-y was able to clearly explain he wants this match for himself just as much as as he does for Katsumata while Koroku struggles to get his own points across on the microphone. Since then To-y was able to rack up several pinfall wins over Koroku, leaving the latter scratching his head trying to figure out what he’s doing wrong. It was only just recently he figured out he hasn’t been acting selfish enough. He reached that breakthrough by beating To-y via referee stoppage through the use of the Chickenwing Arm Lock. Now that he knows what to do, he is willing to break To-y’s arm for the championships if he has to!

Let’s not forget MAO and Endo in this match. MAO found his calling for most of the year as the DDT Universal Champion and also the King Of DDT winner. It provided a lot of fresh matches with different finishes that showed how much MAO has matured as a wrestler in his own way. Endo seems to have fitted into this roster best by changing his focus to tag team wrestling. It paid off with him and Yuki Iino getting a KO-D Tag Titles reign that rehabilitated both of their positions in the company. He also got probably the most closure he is ever going to get from the Nakajima slap incident with the KO-D Title match he had with Shinya Aoki in September. The story is focused on To-y Vs Koroku but watch out if MAO or Endo decide they want to steal the show.

11. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

It’s a story that goes from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. This time last year Chris Brookes had gone through surgery to remove a tumor from his abdomen. Thankfully the tumor was not malignant and he recovered to wrestle in top shape again. Once year later and he finds himself as the two time KO-D Champion back on top of DDT. Who can hate a feel good story like that? Oh right, Daisuke Sasaki can. Brookes had only just gotten the title back when Sasaki came out to complain about love, romance and dreams. Wrestling doesn’t need any of that stuff! DDT should always be a dirty mess and Sasaki is the only person who can make that happen on the biggest stage DDT can get.

With the Sumo Hall main event set, DDT spent the winter indulging in several different stipulation tag matches between SCHADENFREUDE International and DAMNATION T.A. There was already bad blood between the two groups when Ilusion went undercover for DAMNATION T.A by joining SCHADENFREUDE and betraying them during a heated KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles match in October (it was an illusion!). The two sides went to battle in many multi-man matches including a Best Of 5 Singles Series, a 10-Man Elimination Tag and a Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match. Sasaki got Brookes to submit to the Crossover Face Lock but a few weeks later Brookes was able to pin Sasaki with the Praying Mantis Bomb. With no clear lead coming up to what could be the end of the feud the only thing to be sure of is the match on a stage as big as this is sure to become violent.

There’s even a risk this match might end up becoming loser leaves town one way or the other. Sasaki keeps saying he is going to beat Brookes so bad he’ll pack his bags and go home to England. Sasaki can feel how much the KO-D Title wants to come back to him. If he wins the championship then he will turn every DDT show at Korakuen Hall next year into a “CHARISMANIA” show! Brookes knows how much Sasaki likes punk music so he says he’ll get a one way plane ticket back to England but it will be under Sasaki’s name! That way he can go visit all of the famous punk music spots England is known for. Then once Sasaki has been dealt with, Brookes promises to defend the KO-D Title regularly at his monthly Baka Gaijin + Friends shows, even if DDT won’t give him their permission.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2024” Results

DDT “NEVER MIND 2024”, 22/12/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
966 Fans – No Vacancy

1. MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion defeated Takeshi Masada, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi when Demus pinned Sumi with La Valagueza (8:39).
2. Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata defeated Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda when Dieno pinned Honda with the Danshoku Driver (9:25).
3. Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida when Nakamura pinned Ishida with a Brazilian Kick (10:50).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuya Koroku & Akito defeated MAO, To-y & Soma Takao by TKO when Koroku used the Chickenwing Arm Lock on To-y (13:47).
5. Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Yuki Ueno with an Inside Cradle (9:20).
6. Special Single Match: Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yuki Iino with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (16:55).
7. Road To Ultimate Party 2024! Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Brookes pinned Sasaki with the Praying Mantis Bomb (16:38).

It’s one more week to go until “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024” but first there was a little matter of DDT running their last show at Korakuen Hall for 2024. Chris Brookes and Daisuke Sasaki got to clash one more time before their KO-D Openweight Title match. Here it was CDK against the top two of DAMNATION T.A. The match broke down with the rest of DAMNATION T.A interfering to attack Masahiro Takanashi. That led to SCHADENFREUDE International launching a counter attack that ended with the four of them all hitting Sasaki with a grouped up Super Kick. KANON brought in a chair but Brookes grabbed it off him, hit it over Sasaki’s head and pinned him with the Praying Mantis Bomb.

Brookes told everyone after the match that one year ago he was having surgery to remove a tumor but one year later he is here in the DDT ring as the KO-D Champion! He is confident he will defend the title at Sumo Hall. Sasaki thinks otherwise because today he absorbed all of Brookes’s moves. That means when “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024” comes around Sasaki will have Brookes all figured out. He suggests that Brookes start packing his bags because when Sumo Hall is over Sasaki will kick him back to the UK!

DDT was on in the afternoon today before New Japan took over Korakuen for the evening slot. That opened up an opportunity to have a few cross-promotional things happen like Yuki Iino fighting Tomohiro Ishii is a battle of the stocky heavyweights. There were Shoulder Blocks, Elbow Strikes, Chops, Lariats and Heabutts galore. Iino got to hit the Spear but Ishii kicked out at two. Ishii wore down Iino and finished him off with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster to win. Backstage Ishii said Iino is close to being ready and it’s a shame he isn’t there yet. Iino has power, stamina and drive but he still needs to fight and search for what he needs to get to that next level. He does not care if Iino wants to do that though. Ishii has already moved on so whatever Iino does in the future does not concern him.

There was a slight technological delay buy Super Sasadango Machine was able to display his latest PowerPoint presentation. It’s all about connecting the dots in order to beat Yuki Ueno. The greatest weapon in Ueno’s arsenal is his high flying moves so Sasadango secretly told everyone in Korakuen that he hid a spare King Of Sasadango title belt under the ring with three thumbtacks sticking out of it. During the match Sasadango swapped his belt with the thumbtack belt and lured Ueno into doing the Frog Splash. Ueno landed stomach first on the thumbtacks and was rolled over with a School Boy. Ueno kicked out though and gave Sasadango a Dropkick followed by a Body Slam onto the belt. But when he went for the pin, Sasadango suddenly caught him in an Inside Cradle and held him down long enough for Yukinori Matsui to eventually count to three! Sasadango then asked Ueno to nominate him as his first challenger if Ueno regains the KO-D Title next year.

Loss after loss has gotten to Yuya Koroku so he was determined not to get beaten by To-y again today. To-y was on fire though. He used the Kojima Impact on Akito and did the same to Koroku. But this time Tetsuya Endo was there to break the pin in time. Koroku then grabbed Kojima by the arm and refused to let go. He countered a Headlock into the Chickenwing Arm Lock and increased the struggle until To-y could no longer fight out of the move. To-y wouldn’t submit either so Matsui stopped the match for his safety and rewarded Koroku’s team with the win. Backstage Endo explained that the one thing Koroku has been missing until now was cruelty. Sometimes in wrestling you just have to be cruel to your opponent. Koroku agrees and said next time he will break To-y’s arm! However To-y thinks this result won’t happen again at Sumo Hall. He and MAO will win the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles and they’ll have fun doing it.

Match #3 provided a good workout for some of the Sumo Hall undercard matches. Jun Akiyama and Yukio Naya started it off while Shinya Aoki and HARASHIMA got to wrestle each other again. Naya eventually got the upper hand by giving Akiyama the Choke Slam. However the match came down to Keigo Nakamura striking Yuki Ishida with High Kicks before knocking him down with the Brazilian Kick for the victory. Aoki told Nakamura they’re off to a good start as a team. Nakamura is confident they can beat Kenoh and the NOAH team at Sumo Hall. He will go there with his head held high. Akiyama told Naya that the practice matches are now over. It is now up to them to go at each other as strong as they can in Sumo Hall.

We all know what to expect by now when DDT books a tag match like Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata against Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda. Dieno went into the Hell Gate position, Honda used it to charge up Gongitsune and he ended up hitting Owashi with the move by accident. Dieno then charged up his own attack but hit Hirata with it by mistake. Honda then went for the Diving Fist Drop but Dieno blocked it with a Claw Attack and went on to pin Honda with the Danshoku Driver.

Dieno was not done yet however. He got on the microphone and wanted to talk about his Sumo Hall match with Great-O-Khan. So he invited O-Khan to the show to discuss the match stipulation in the ring! Khan entered the venue and sat with Dieno in the ring. They both agreed they want to have a match at Sumo Hall that can never be done there ever again. Something that DDT and New Japan would also not let them do either. O-Khan then brought out an unexpected guest, the voice actor Kentaro Kumagai. He also happens to be somebody that Dieno gave the Lip Lock to at a DDT show back in June. O-Khan gave him a United Empire shirt and ordered him to wear it out of loyalty. Another voice actor Tetsu Inada then entered the ring to side with Dieno and DDT. Dieno decided the match should have the DDT Extreme Title on the line but Hisaya Imabayashi refused to grant his request. It’s a miracle that Imabayashi convinced NJPW to let this match happen in the first place so upgrading it a title bout will be impossible. Dieno does not care and promised O-Khan the Extreme Title will be on the line even if DDT will not make it official. Kumagai then started complaining about the time Dieno gave him the Lip Lock. Inada argued back because the things Pheromones did to him were way worse. The two voice actors decided they will be at ringside for the match to support their wrestlers.

The rest of DAMNATION T.A put some of DDT’s younger wrestlers through the wringer in the opening match. MJ Paul & Demus worked together to give Kazuma Sumi a Double Argentine Facebuster. Ilusion landed the Swanton Bomb onto Yuni and then Demus used La Valagueza on Sumi to win the match. Ilusion made fun of NωA Jr. for trying to be fake idols while Demus promised to kill Sumi again at Sumo Hall. Both Yuni & Sumi want to get revenge on those two. Takeshi Masada asked the two of them to please win that match.

It was announced that Minoru Suzuki will be at DDT’s 28th Anniversary show at Korakuen Hall on 20th March.