DDT ran a standalone Toi Kojima hometown event today, as he took a break from his recent (and silly-sounding) name changes for one more event under his original/given name.
Today’s event was held at Naraha Sky Arena in Fukushima and is scheduled to be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Thursday. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 820, a super full house/very near sellout.
There were several changes to the card because Yukio Naya, Rukiya and then, last-minute, Takeshi Masada were all pulled from the event in the hours before. Fever. DDT’s health & injury woes continue.
During opening ceremonies, Kojima joined in on a performance with a shovel shamisen (an odd take on the traditional Japanese string guitar-like instrument) and even took a good-natured chop from Naraha City Deputy Mayor Hideki Matsumoto, who was in attendance.
Match 1; Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino beat Kazuki Hirata & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Iino pinned Hirata after a spear. Matsunaga was a late replacement for the absent wrestlers-he hardly appears in matches because he primarily works as a trainer for the promotion.
Match 2: Chris Brookes & Yuzutaro beat Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno. Yuzutaro pinned Dieno after Yuzu Death Drop. Yuzutaro is/was some kind of giant headed mascot and this clearly was a comedy match. Another of the last-minute changes. Afterwards, with Yuzutaro victorious in its debut match, Brookes demanded a single match when they return in the future.
Match 3: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Akito & Illusion. KANON pinned Illusion after Sleepy Hollow.
Match 4: HARASHIMA & Jun Akiyama beat Yuki Ueno & Takao Soma. HARASHIMA pinned Soma after Blue Sword.
Main Event: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima beat Kazusada Higuchi, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani. Kojima pinned Oishi after Kojima Impact. In an emotional post-match promo, Kojima vowed to return to compete in his home town again next year.
The next event is Wednesday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo to kick off the March tour, Judgment 2024. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.
