DDT began the D KING Grand Prix today, a round-robin format tournament to determine who will get to face KO-D Openweight Champion Kazusada Higuchi for the title at the year-assuming of course Higuchi doesn’t win the tournament. (He’s defending the title regardless but this could complicate determining the next challenger)
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 411.
Pre-show Match: Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Iino & Koju Takeda vs. Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata (with Akito) went to a no contest. GM Imabayashi stoppage. The comedy storyline here is Akito is now in charge of subjugating those despicable Pheromons. It didn’t start well.
During the opening announcements, DDT announced a business partnership with Sun Music Production Co. Ltd. to expand entertainment opportunities for wrestlers (much like what is common in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH among others, where their wrestlers frequently appear on TV and radio in Japan. New Japan also has a weekly podcast in Japanese featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi, which can also be listened to on YouTube)
Match 1: Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida beat Shunma Katsumata, Toui Kojima & Kazuma Sumi. Ishida pinned Sumi after a spinebuster.
Match 2: Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Pawl went to a no contest. Out of control.
Match 3: D KING Grand Prix Block A: RSP (Rickey Shane Page) beat Naomi Yoshimura.
Match 4: D KING Grand Prix Block B: MAO beat Chris Brookes by countout.
Match 5: Jun Akiyama Produced Match-Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA beat Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada. Akiyama pinned Masada after Exploder.
Match 6: D KING Grand Prix Block B: Yuji Hino beat Yukio Naya.
Match 7: D KING Grand Prix Block B: Kazusada Higuchi beat KANON.
Main Event: D KING Grand Prix Block A: Tetsuya Endo beat Yuki Ueno.
The next event is Thursday at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 12:30 AM PT/3:30 AM ET.
