Tag: DDT

DDT held the first day of their traditional spring “Beer Garden Pro Wrestling” event today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage in Tokyo and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Sunday. There was no live broadcast. Speaking of WRESTLE UNIVERSE, remember the new price increases take effect today.

The announced paid attendance was 311.

There was a last-minute change to the event card because Makoto Oishi was injured in Ganbare Pro yesterday. Neck. Seems to be mild and today’s absence was more of a precaution.

D GENERATIONS Cup:
Match 1: Illusion beat Yuni by submission.
Match 2: To-y beat Tsubasa Suzuki.
Match 3: Munetatsu Nakamura beat Kazuma Sumi.
Match 4: Rukiya beat Yuya Koroku. That can be called a mild upset.

Match 5: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul beat HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani. KANON beat Okatani with a ground cobra twist.

Match 6: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino beat Yoshitatsu & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Iino pinned Mateunaga after a spear. Matsunaga was the replacement for Oishi.

Match 7: Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada beat Danshoku Dieno, Yoshihiko & Pokotan. Brookes pinned Pokotan.

Main Event: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata beat Akito, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata. Ueno pinned Hirata after WR.

The D GENERATION Cup is a single-elimination tournament, so as a result of today the Semifinals are Illution vs. To-y and Nakamura vs. Rukiya. The Semifinals are on the next event with the Finals on 4/7 at Korakuen Hall. The winner gets an entry into this year’s KING OF DDT Tournament.

Day 2 of this event is Tuesday. There will be no live broadcast.

DDT’s 27th Anniversary event, for the second straight year an advertised 5 hour marathon of an event, is now in the books.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese. You can also watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.

The announced paid attendance was 1491, a super full house/very near sellout. Not quite 100% full as I saw a few empty seats from a photo that Saki Akai posted on her Twitter.

Match 1: “Intern Wrestler” Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Takao Soma beat Tsubasa Suzuki. As an intern, Suzuki is not necessarily guaranteed a spot on the roster going forward.

Match 2: Yuya Koroku Return Match: To-y, Illusion & Rukiya beat Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi. To-y pinned Koroku after Kojima Impact.

Match 3: Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Kawamatsu beat Toru Owashi & Gorgeous Matsuno. Ishii pinned Matsumo after a double armed driver.

Match 4: Super Sasadango Machine vs. Akito went to a Double Fall. Both asleep.

Match 5: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul beat Chris Brookes, Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda. KANON beat Honda with Just cobra twist.

Intermission 1.

Match 6: Ken Ohka (Ganbare Pro) beat Sanshiro Takagi.

Match 7: Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshitatsu beat Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya. Ishikawa pinned Higuchi after Splash Mountain.

Match 8: KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama, Danshoku DIeno & Makoto Oishi beat Kazuki Hirata, Naruki Doi & Shinya Aoki to retain the titles. Oishi pinned Doi. V4 for the champs. As a result, the losers must disband.

Match 9: In a Painful Jungle Death Match, DDT Extreme Champion Shunma Katsumata beat Hideki Okatani to retain the title.V1 for Katsumata.

Intermission 2.

Match 10: KO-D Tag Team Champions Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino beat Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai (All-Japan) to retain the titles.Endo pinned Honda after Burning Star Press. V1 for the champs.

Match 11: DDT Universal Champion MAO beat Takeshi Masada by KO to retain the title. V6 for MAO.

Match 12: Konosuke Takeshita beat Yuma Aoyagi (All-Japan).

Main Event: KO-D Openweight Champion Yuki Ueno beat HARASHIMA to retain the title. V3 for Ueno.

The next event is Thursday at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage in Tokyo. There will be no live broadcast.

Lots of news/fallout from the event:
Apparently there was a communication error at the venue that led to a pre-match video package not being played before the Ohka-Takagi match. The video was produced by former DDT wrestler/employee Yumehito Imanari and delivered ahead of time, but it didn’t get to the person in charge of video output due to miscommunication by in-house personnel. This was not Imanari’s fault. DDT has apologized to all and will release the entire match with the video included for free on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in the near future.
Next up for MAO: Billie Starkz in a No Rules match. That match will happen on 4/4 in Philadelphia, PA as part of The Collective. That event will stream live only on TrillerTV fka FITE as part of their Triller+ subscription service ($7.99/month or $79.99/year). It will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date.
Next up for Katsumata: Hi69 (HIROKI) from Pro Wrestling NOAH in a Hardcore Match. That match will happen on 4/7.
Next up for Ueno: His next choice for challenger is Akito. That match will happen on 4/26 at Sumida City Gym in Tokyo.
Also set for 4/26: Akiyama/Dieno/Oishi vs. Sasaki/KANON/Paul for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship and Keigo Nakamura returns from injury.
The first match is set for WRESTLE PETER PAN, DDT’s annual biggest event of the year, on 7/21 at Ryogoku Kokugikan: Whoever is the KO-D Openweight Champion at the time vs. TBA for the title. El Desperado (New Japan) participation has also been announced as well as Konosuke Takeshita participation.
The promotion has announced a special Japan Disabled Wrestling Federation event for 7/7 at Odawa Arena Sub Arena in Kanagawa which will be a charity fundraiser event. Announced participation so far includes Aja Kong, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Naohiro Hoshikawa, who was injured in a 2004 match and is undergoing rehabilitation. Persons with disabilities will be able to attend this event for free.
Finally, the entire field for this year’s KING OF DDT Tournament was announced: Poison Sawada JULIE, Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA, Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, Yuki Ueno, MAO, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya, KANON, Daisuke Sasaki, Takeshi Masada, TBA (the D GENERATIONS CUP 202r winner, which gets underway at the next event). This is a single-elimination tournament, no time limit for all matches. Round 1 will be 5/5 at Korakuen, the Quarterfinals will be 5/11 at Yokohama Radiant Hall, after which a drawing will be held to determine the Semifinals pairings. The Semifinals & Finals will be 5/26 at Korakuen.

DDT continued the Judgment 2024 Tour today with a house show in Osaka.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Azalea Taisho in Osaka and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (probably Wednesday). There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 203, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1; Toru Owashi & Akito beat Yukio Naya & Yuni. Owashi pinned Yuni with La Magistral.

Match 2: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Kazusada Higuchi & Makoto Oishi. KANON beat Oishi with a cobra twist.

Match 3: Danshoku Dieno beat Tsutenkakku.

Match 4: Kazuki Hirata beat Jun Akiyama. Hirata came up with rules that basically means Akiyama had to get 3 falls to win while Hirata while Hirata only needed one and could do so with a 1 count pinfall. Akiyama got 2 falls before Hirata won.

Match 5: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino beat MAO & To-y. Endo pinned To-y after Shooting Star Press.

Match 6: Yoshitatsu, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada beat Sanshiro Takagi, Naoki Tanisaki & Rukiya. Masada pinned Rukiya.

Main Event: HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani beat Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata. HARASHIMA beat Ueno with a body sleeper hold.

The next event is Judgment 2024, the 5 Hour Special DDT 27th Anniversary event, on 3/17 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Yes, they intend for the event to run 5 hours again. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.

For their WrestleMania week event in April in the US as part of independent wrestling extravaganza “The Collective”, DDT has just announced a major single match for the 4/4 event in Philadelphia, PA: Yuki Ueno vs. Mike Bailey. At this time it is slated to be a NON-TITLE match with regards to the KO-D Openweight Championship but we’ll see what happens when Ueno defends against HARASHIMA later this month.

The event will be held at Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium in Philadelphia and tickets are still available but not many are left. It will be a live broadcast only on TrillerTV (fka FITE) via TrillerTV+, the channel’s premium subscription service which is available for $7.99/month or $79.99/year. The live broadcast will begin at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. It will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date

DDT continued the Judgment 2024 Tour today with an event in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 303, a full house/near sellout.

There were late changes to the card due to Yukio Naya & Rukiya being off the event. Flu. They missed last weekend due to fever.

Match 1: To-y &Yuni beat Chris Brookes & Illusion. To-y pinned Illusion after Kojima Impact.

Match 2: Makoto Oishi & Shishamo Power beat Yoshitatsu & Antonio Honda. Power pinned Honda after Shishamo Of Yamada. Post-match, Oishi turned on Power and this led to what seems like a comedy match to happen on 4/14.

Match 3: Kazuki Hirata 14th Anniversary Match-in a match where each wrestler’s comedy gimmick could not be used, Kazuki Hirata beat Danshoku Dieno by DQ. That meant no “sodomy” by Dieno and no dancing by Hirata. Dieno DQ’d for sodomy.

Match 4: Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Takao Soma beat Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul. Higuchi pinned Paul with a Brain Claw press.

Match 5: Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai & Ryo Inoue (All-Japan) beat Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Honda pinned Matsunaga after Final Vent.

Main Event: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata beat HARASHIMA, Takeshi Masada & Hideki Okatani by ref stoppage (TKO). Ueno beat HARASHIMA with a blackout sleeper hold.

The next event is Sunday at Osaka Azalea Taisho in Osaka. There will be no live broadcast.

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.

Ugh. DDT just can’t stay healthy whether it’s for an event or for a long time. 2 more have gone down, today it’s Yukio Naya & Rukiya. Fever. Out tomorrow as a precaution. Takao Soma & Tomomitsu Matsunaga are the replacements.

Tomorrow’s event (tonight US time) is scheduled to be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Thursday. There is no live broadcast.

UPDATE: Make it a Triple DDT as Takeshi Masada is now out as well. Fever.

UPDATE 2 (3/5/24): Naya & Rukiya are off tomorrow (3:6). Flu.

In a breaking press conference just streamed on their YouTube channel, DDT wrestler Yusuke Okada made a surprise announcement, the timing of which had me thinking perhaps he was going to leave the promotion. Not that, but it was perhaps worse news-Okada has cancer. He recently had surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his lower abdomen and it was determined to be cancerous. Okada is in good physical health post-surgery but after consulting with doctors will begin drug treatments for cancer and, as a result, will be out indefinitely but likely an extended period of time. However, Okada has vowed to return upon completion of treatment.

I join DDT and others in sending best wishes and support to Okada as he begins this major battle and hope he can be successful in putting cancer fown for the 3 count like Kenta Kobashi was many years ago.

More as it becomes available.

DDT has provided an update on the status of injured wrestler Kazuma Sumi, who missed the 2/23 & 2/25 events with a left knee injury-it’s not worst case and doesn’t sound too bad following further examination. Partially torn MCL. Expected to be out 2-3 weeks and is currently scheduled to return on 3/17.

More as it becomes available.