During WrestleMania week in April, DDT went to the USA for a cross-promotional event with independent promotion Game Changer Wrestling. With GCW now in Japan for the next few days, it’s time to run it back. As part of their 3-event series in Tokyo, GCW & DDT are getting together again today for another crossover event with wrestlers from both promotions, and it’s a loaded card on paper. 2 title matches headline the event-first, the GCW World Championship will be defended in a 3-way hardcore match as Mance Warner defends against Shunma Katsumata & Joey Janela (the match is not for Katsumata’s DDT Extreme Championship), while the main event will be DDT Universal Champion MAO going for his 10th defense against Alex Zayne. Just below that on the 8-match card is a match that either will make you really laugh or cringe…probably both…Danshoku Dieno vs. Effy. If you know you know. If not…it’s probably gonna be some kind of NSFW. And also be aware that several DDT wrestlers have “Money In The Bank” title shots they can cash in anytime, anywhere for any title shot of their choice, so “anything can happen” must be heavily emphasized along with “card subject to change”.
Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE ONLY ON WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese. There will be no Triller/FITE broadcast although all GCW events normally are broadcast on the service. Japanese voice actor Tetsu Inada will be a guest on commentary. They’ll have DDT standard time limits for matches (30 minutes except 1 Hour for the title matches) but I anticipate this will be a standard mid-major Korakuen event with a running time of around 2 1/2 hours, maybe close to 3 hours. Especially if “anything can happen” above does.
Today’s lineup:
Yuki Ueno, Masha Slamovich, Yuni & Illusion vs. Maki Itoh, Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Marcus Mathers
Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda vs. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik
Daisuke Sasaki & KANON vs. Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy
Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino vs. Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders
Danshoku DIeno vs. Effy
GCW World Champion Mance Warner vs. Shunma Katsumata & Joey Janela in a 3-way hardcore match for the title
DDT Universal Champion MAO vs. Alex Zayne for the title
The following DDT wrestlers have the “Money In The Bank” title shots that can be used when they choose: HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda, KANON, Keigo Nakamura, Yuya Koroku.
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET.
7:20 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.
We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano & Tetsu Inada.
The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Looks like more capacity than usual for DDT there but less than the “Big 3” promotions and while it’s a Monday morning (it’s a holiday in Japan) advance sales were decent. Will depend on same-day sales but based on advance sales I’m predicting it’ll be around 1000. (Actually after seeing more wide shots, it’s a late arriving crowd or the lower priced seats didn’t sell well. Revising my estimate down to around 750) (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 999, a full house/near sellout)
The matches should begin in 10-15 minutes.
Looks like we’ll have GCW’s regular ring announcer today, which means announcements will be in English. We also have an English voiceover for the match card opening video instead of the usual Japanese voiceover.
The matches begin at 7:32 PM PT/10:32 PM ET. Intros will be in Japanese and English today.
Match 1: Yuki Ueno, Masha Slamovich, Yuni & Illusion vs. Maki Itoh, Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Marcus Mathers (Itoh with not her normal entry music today). 30 minute time limit
Result: Maki Itoh, Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Marcus Mathers beat Yuki Ueno, Masha Slamovich, Yuni & Illusion. Itoh pinned Illusion after a Mathers 450 splash. Mostly a comedy match.
Your new host is Satoshi Dairakii.
Match 2: Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda vs. Allie Katch & Dark Sheik. 30 minute time limit
Result: Allie Katch & Dark Sheik beat Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda. Sheik pinned Hirata after a top rope legdrop. Another (very funny and enjoyable) comedy match.
Match 3: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON vs. Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy. 30 minute time limit
Result: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Rina Yamashita & Broski Jimmy. Sasaki pinned Jimmy after a diving elbow drop.
Quick break for DDT GM Imabayashi’s opening-but-now-mid-event announcements. Tomorrow’s GCW event at Shinjuku Fave will be a 3 AM PT/6 AM ET start on Triller+, they announce 2 matches for the event including Maki Itoh vs. The Great Sasauke. They’ll also be there Wednesday, also on Triller+ at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET. Tokyo Joshi Pro’s Kaya Toribami & Shoko Nakajima will be there Wednesday to face Allie Katch & Dark Sheik.
Match 4: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino vs. Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders. 30 minute time limit
Result: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino beat Gringo Loco & 1 Called Manders. Endo pinned Loco after Burning Star Press.
Quick break for ring repairs/maintenance.
Your host once again is Haruo Murata.
Match 5: Danshoku DIeno vs. Effy. 30 minute time limit
Result: No Contest. As expected perhaps because this kind of match is GM Imabayashi’s worst nightmare.
Match 6: GCW World Champion Mance Warner vs. Shunma Katsumata & Joey Janela in a 3-way hardcore match for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: GCW World Champion Mance Warner beat Shunma Katsumata & Joey Janela in a 3-way by pinning Katsumata to retain the title.
Quick break for ring cleaning.
Main Event: DDT Universal Champion MAO vs. Alex Zayne for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: DDT Universal Champion MAO beat Alex Zayne by ref stoppage (injury) to retain the title. Zayne suffered what appeared to be a right foot/ankle injury and could not continue. MAO knew it was legit as he made the “X” symbol a couple times, used to signify an injury. V10 for MAO. Short match with an unfortunate ending. But being the champion he is, MAO offered Zayne a rematch later down the road, which Zayne accepted with a handshake. (UPDATE: Right leg injury)
The main event ending was an unfortunate finish to what otherwise was a mostly comedy-heavy but fun event if you’re a fan of one or both promotions. If you are then the event is worth watching. Now let’s hope Zayne’s injury isn’t serious and he & MAO can run it back soon. The participants all gathered in the ring for group photos to end the show.
The next event is Thursday at Shinjuku Face. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.
