DDT ran their final big event of the year today, NEVER MIND 2022, loaded with numerous major matches and surprises and, unless you shelled out 250,000 yen for the most expensive seats, a money back guarantee if you found it boring courtesy of host LiLiCo. But how could a show starting with a LiLiCo anal explosion be boring?
Today’s event was held at Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 1207, a super full house/very near sellout. It sounds low for the venue because vocal cheering was allowed, so between the almost-automatic 50% capacity limit and the layout, that lowered the max capacity to maybe 1500 (the venue’s normal capacity is, I believe, in the 3000-3500 range). No word on how many refunds were requested post-show, if any.
The show opened with the promised LiLiCo anal explosion, a DDT blowout event tradition.
Pre-show Match 1: Hideki Okatani & Toui Kojima beat Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi. Okatani pinned Sumi after a diving knee drop.
Pre-show Match 2: Minoru Fujita, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Masa Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takao Soma. KANON beat Honda with a cobra twist.
Keigo Nakamura, who has been out an extended time due to injury, will return on 1/13.
The LiLiCo anal explosion opened the main show.
Match 1: Sanshiro Takagi beat Takeshi Masada.
Match 2: HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi beat Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida. HARASHIMA pinned Ishida after Blue Sword.
Match 3: Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Iino, Yumehito Imanari & Koju Takeda beat Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata. Iino pinned Katsumata. As a result, Katsumata must join Pheromons for a day.
Match 4: Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls) beat Shinya Aoki.
Match 5: Yuki Arai (Tokyo Joshi Pro) & Sali Akai beat Saori Anou & Rika Kawabata (Independent/Freelancers). Akai pinned Kawabata after Quetzalcoatl.
Match 6: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Yusuke Okada beat KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata to win the titles. Endo, Suzuki & Okada become the 49th KO-D Tag Team Champions. Endo pinned Hirata after Burning Star Press. Mext up: Those despicable Pheromons (Dieno/Iino/Takeda). That match will happen on 1/29 at Korakuen Hall.
Match 7: In a match with rules determined by Super Sasadango Machine’s weight pre-match, DDT Extreme Champion Jun Akiyama beat Super Sasadango Machine to retain the title. V1 for Akiyama. This went just over 2 minutes. Afterwards, Akiyama issued an open challenge for challengers. Next up: Antonio Honda. That match will happen on 1/21 at Yokohama Radiant Hall.
Match 8: Konosuke Takeshita & Yukio Naya beat Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan) & Rickey Shane Page. Naya pinned Page after a backdrop.
Match 9: MAO beat Chris Brookes, Daisuke Sasaki & Cara Noir in a 4-way by pinning Brookes.
Main Event: KO-D Openweight Champion Kazusada Higuchi beat Yuki Ueno to retain the title. V5 for Higuchi. Ueno’s DDT Universal Championship was not on the line. Next up: Hino. That match will happen pn 1/29.
Their final event of the year is Saturday at Korakuen Hall with a one-day 6-man tag team tournament. There will be no live broadcast.
UPDATE: With regards to Katsumata having to join Pheromons for a day, that day will be 1/13 at Shinjuku Face.
