Match 2: Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno beat Makoto Oishi & Bambi (Independent/Freelancer) by ref stoppage (TKO). Iino beat Oishi.
Match 3: Yusuke Okada beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Akito to win the title. Okada becomes the 1564th Champion. Which led to… Akito beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Yusuke Okada to win the title. Akito becomes the 1565th Champion. Which led to… Yoshihiko beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Akito to win the title. Yoshihiko becomes the 1566th Champion.
Match 4: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi. Pawl pinned Kazumi after multiple German suplexes.
Entrants for the KING OF DDT 2023 Tournament were announced: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Sanshiro Takagi, Naruki Doi, Kotaro Suzuki & Takeshi Masada.
Match 5: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku beat MAO, Shunma Ktsumata & Toui Kojima. Koroku pinned Kojima with a deformed triangle lancer.
Match 6: Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya beat Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani. Hino beat Okatani with King Kong Sleeper.
Main Event: Konosuke Takeshita & Samurai Del Sol beat Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada. Sol pinned Masada after Salida Del Sol.
The next event is “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” Thursday at Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA. Live streaming ONLY ON FITE+ will begin at 11 PM ET/8 PM PT. FITE+ is an optional premium subscription service from FITE which costs $7.99/month or $69.99/year if you were not a subscriber prior to February 2023 (if you were, like I was, you only pay $4.99/month or $49.99/year as long as you don’t cancel). There will be NO LIVE BROADCAST ON WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
DDT celebrated their 26th Anniversary today with what was billed as “The Longest 5 Hour Special In Korakuen History”. Because DDT of course.
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. Guests on commentary were Kenta Kobashi and SKE48 member Marika Tani.
The announced paid attendance was 1138, a full house/near sellout. Despite recent lifting of capacity limits and pandemic restrictions by the Japanese government, it seems Korakuen will have a self-imposed cap of about 2/3 capacity for the immediate future (it’s up to the venues and event organizers). That would mean roughly 1350-1400 (the venue’s normal full capacity is 2100 but can be as high as 2350).
Pre-show match: DDTeeen!! Graduation Match: Illusion & Sotatsu Nakamura beat El Unicorn & Reimu Imai. Illusion pinned Unicorn after REVISION1. Both Illusion & Unicorn have moved up and will now be regular DDT roster members going forward. Unicorn also has voluntarily unmasked while Illusion will remain a masked wrestler until he “produces results”.
Match 1: Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida beat Toui Kojima & Kazuma Sumi. Koroku pinned Sumi after a deformed triangle lancer.
Match 2: Kazuki Hirata 13th Anniversary Match: Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma beat Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko. Ishii pinned Hirata after a running double arm driver.
A special announcement video played: Rayne Leverkusen, the niece of Iron Maiden member Clive Barr, is headed to Japan and will face Saki Akai on 5/3 at Yokohama Budokan.
Match 3: Makoto Oishi beat Goegeous Matsuno & Shinichiro Kawamatsu in a 3-way by pinning Matsuno to win the 0-40 Championship. Oishi becomes the 4th Champion.
Match 4: in a match where Pheromones would lose immediately if they left the ring area, Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Iino, Yunehito Imanari & Koju Takeda vs. Akito, Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yanato & Yusuke Okada went to a no contest. They couldn’t sort it out. That actually happened. And yes, once again GM Imabayashi found himself on the wrong end of those deplorable Pheromons when it was all over.
Match 5: Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer beat Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda. Howitzer pinned Machine after Master Blaster.
Match 6: Saki Akai 10th Anniversary Match: Saki Akai beat Masa Takanashi.
Match 7: HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura beat Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani. HARASHIMA pinned Okatani after Blue Sword. Afterwards, Nakamura may have made a KO-D Tag Team Championship challenge, which surprisingly didn’t seem to go over well with HARASHIMA.
Match 8: Takeshi Masada beat Hikaru Machida.
Match 9: Daisuke Sasaki Return Match: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paw & KANON beat Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Shinnoha. Sasaki heat Shinnoha with a mystic crossface. Then another shocking announcement was made: On 7/23 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, which will be WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023, DDT’s biggest event of the year, Sasaki will face New Japan Pro Wrestling star El Desperado!
Match 10: In a normal match, DDT Extreme Champion Jun Akiyama beat Kotaro Suzuki to retain the title. V4 for Akiyama. Next up: Shunma Katsumata. That match will happen on 5/3.
Match 11: DDT 26th Anniversary Match: Konosuke Takeshita beat Sanshiro Takagi by KO.
Chittan(star), an otter fairy that has 5 million-plus followers, will debut on 5/3. If what then happened is any indication, it may be against Chris Brookes, who sneak attacked it.
Match 12: Yuki Ueno beat Samurai Del Sol.
Match 13: Tetsuya Endo beat DDT Universal Champion Naruki Doi to win the title. Endo becomes the 10th DDT Universal Champion. Next up: MAO. That match will happen on 5/3.
Match 14: In a Falls Count Anywhere Match, Ko-D Tag Team Champions MAO & Shunma Katsumata beat Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu to retain the titles. MAO pinned Nakatsu after Our Madokasu. V4 for the champs. Next up: Despite the earlier admonishment about it, HARASHIMA & Nakamura. That match will happen on 4/9 at Korakuen.
Main Event: KO-D Openweight Champion Yuji Hino beat Yukio Naya to retain the title. V1 for Hino. Next up: Possibly…oh no…Iino. Those deplorable Pheromons want next. TBD.
The next event is Friday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.
UPDATE: Unicorn will now be known as “Yuni” going forward.
With Atsushi Onita now entrenched within the management structure of DDT (namely it’s Dropkick Bar & Restaurant), he launched his own Dramatic Dream Onita aka DDO sub-label today with an event featuring his signature death match as the main event.
Today’s event was held at Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market in Kanagawa and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 282, a super full house/very near sellout.
Main Event: In a Current Blast Evil Missile Death match, Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima beat HARASHIMA, Kazuki Hirata & Takao Soma. Katsumata pinned Hirata after an exploding bat full swing. Afterwards, Takagi demanded a 6-man exploding death match with Joey Janela & Masada as his teammates against Onita. That match will happen on 4/16 in Niigata.
The next event is the DDT 26th Anniversary Event Tuesday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2 AM ET/Monday at 11 PM PT. The promotion has also announced the first 3 matches will be streamed FOR FREE on YouTube. The event is being advertised as running 5 hours.
DDT ran a special standalone outdoor event today as part of the annual cherry blossom viewing season in Japan (and other parts of the world, one of the best and most scenic times to visit the country.
Today’s event was held at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park Outdoor Stage in Saitama and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 312.
There was a late change to the event due to the absence of Toui Kojima. Fever. He was to have been in the 3rd match.
Match 1: Student Pro Wrestling Support Match: HARASHIMA, Great-GO-Khan & Mazacon Kid beat Antonio Honda, Macho Gallows & Dopyu(Heart) McIntyre. Khan pinned McIntyre after Divine Punishment. They looked nothing like who they were spoofing in terms of appearance.
Match 2: MJ Pawl & KANON beat Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku. Pawl pinned Koroku after Death Valley Bomb.
Match 3: Yuki Iino Produced Match: Yuki Iino, Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari won a Pheromone Rumble, last eliminating Shunma Katsumata.
Match 4: Kazuki Hirata Produced Match: In a Falls Count Anywhere Item Bring-In Handicap Match, Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi beat Kazuki Hirata, Takao Soma, Gota Ihashi & Keigo Nakamura. Sakaguchi pinned Hirata after PK.
Match 5: Tetsuya Endo Produced Match: Tetsuya Endo & Keisuke Ishii beat Akito & Trans-Am Hiroshi. Endo pinned Hiroshi after Burning Star Press.
Match 6: Jun Akiyama beat Takashi Masada.
Main Event: Yuji Hino, MAO & Makoto Oishi beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida. Hino beat Ishida with King Kong Sleeper. Afterwards, Higuchi requested a change to the KO-D Tag Team Championship match on 3/21 at Korakuen Hall, which was granted. As a result, it’s now a Falls Count Anywhere match.
The next event is “Dramatic Dream Onita-DDO Launch Battle” on 3/19 at Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market in Kanagawa. There will be no live broadcast.
In other news, it was announced that new trainee Rukiya Ikeda will have his Debut Match on 4/9 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo against Yuya Koroku. That event will also have a KO-D Tag Team Championship Match with the 3/21 winners vs. TBA for the titles.
DDT has announced pending changes for this weekend’s events because Toui Kojima is now off the scheduled events. Fever. He will miss a The37KAMIINA talk show event tomorrow and the Saitama outdoor event Sunday. He was scheduled to be part of a Yuki Iino Produced Pheromone Rumble match. No specific replacement named. Yuki Ueno also will miss the event, which is a scheduled absence due to other performing arts activities.
Ahead of their big 5 hour 26th Anniversary Event on 3/21, DDT has made the full vide of their 3/4 Yokohama event available FOR FREE on YouTube for a limited time. Check it out below: (running time is 2 hours)
DDT continued their current tour today with a house show in Nagano.
Today’s event was held at Nagano City Arts Center Art Space in Nagano and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 179.
There was an apparent last-second change to the card due to Toui Kojima missing the event. Unspecified. Gota Ihashi was the replacement.
Match 1: KANON beat Yuki Ishida by submission.
Match 2: In a handicap match, Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino beat Akito, Keigo Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi. Iino beat Sumi with TRUE LOVE.
Match 3: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani beat Takao Soma & Yuya Koroku. Sakaguchi pinned Koroku after God’s Right Knee.
Match 4: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada beat HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada. Endo pinned Masada after a deformation Yurikamome.
Match 5: Yasushi Kanda, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata beat MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Gota Ihashi. Hirata pinned Ihashi with La Magistral.
Main Event: Yukio Naya & Chris Brookes beat Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi. Naya pinned Oishi after a backdrop.
The next event is 3/12 at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park Outdoor Stage in Saitama. There will be no live broadcast.
DDT ran their second “Yokohama Unlimited” event today as they continue to build to their 26th Anniversary event later this month.
Today’s event was held at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 173.
Match 1: MJ Pawl & KANON beat Takao Soma & Kazuma Sumi. Pawl pinned Sumi after a running body press.
Match 2: Akito won an Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship Battle Royal, last eliminating Kazuki Hirata, to win the title. Hirata first beat Yoshihiko to win the title and become the 1562nd Champion. Akito then beat Hirata to win the title. Akito becomes the 1563rd Champion
Match 3: HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi beat Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida. HARASHIMA pinned Ishida after Blue Sword.
Match 4: Keigo Nakamura & Hideki Okatani beat Toui Kojima & Yuya Koroku. Okatani pinned Kojima with a double arm suplex.
Daisuke Sasaki made an unannounced appearance and announced he will return on 3/21. He had been “missing” for several months but was out due to eye muscle surgery. As a result, what had been MJ Pawl & KANON vs. Chris Brookes & Drew Parker on 3/21 is now Pawl/KANON/Sasaki vs. Brookes/Parker/Hagane Shinno.
Match 5: Tetsuya Endo & Kotaro Suzuki beat Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada. Suzuki pinned Okada after a tiger driver.
Match 6: Ryota Nakatsu beat MAO.
Main Event: Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi beat Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada. Hino pinned Masada after Fuckin’ BOMB.
The next event is tomorrow at Nagano City Arts Center Art Space in Nagano. There will be no live broadcast.
DDT’s English Twitter has passed along some very sad news-Maon Kurosaki, a Japanese singer who just appeared at two December events as a guest on Japanese commentary on WRESTLE UNIVERSE, has died. She was only 35. According to the Anime News Network website (which has seemingly crashed due to heavy traffic but the story was shared elsewhere including Reddit), the cause of death was a worsening of a chronic illness (epidural hematoma-bleeding between the skull and membrane surrounding the brain). She died suddenly on February 16.
I join DDT and all of her fans in sending my deepest condolences and prayers to Kurosaki’s family and fans in this very sad and tragic time.
DDT wraps up February with their monthly major event today, which will go a long way towards setting up the likely main event for the marathon 26th Anniversary event next month. We already know KO-D Openweight Champion Yuji Hino will defend the title next month, but today we’ll find out if it’s against the legend HARASHIMA of the young rising Yukio Naya, who also is Hino’s partner in the (Omega) faction. There are also 2 title matches with the KO-D Tag Team Championship and 6-Man Tag Team Championship on the line, plus the D Generations Cup wraps up with either Yuya Koroku or Takeshi Masada going to the US next month as a prize for winning the tournament. And all the usual stuff that makes it DDT.
Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese. You can also watch all but the last 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube. There will be 2 pre-show matches included as part of the broadcasts starting 30 minutes before scheduled event time. Including the pre-show matches I anticipate the event’s total running time being a little over 3 hours.
Today’s lineup: Pre-show: MJ Pawl & KANON vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino vs. Gota Ihashi & Toru Owashi, Saki Akai & Kazuki Hirata and Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe in a 4-way Main show: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Illusion vs. Keigo Nakamura, Toui Kojima & Kazuma Sumi Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power vs. Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi vs. Kip Sabian, Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno D Geenrations Cup Finals: Yuya Koroku vs. Takeshi Masada KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada vs. Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine for the titles KO-D Tag Team Champions MAO & Shunma Katsumata vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida for the tites HARASHIMA vs. Yukio Naya for the next KO-D Openweight Championship shot
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. You can watch the YouTube broadcast below (remember this will have only the first 7 matches, not the Tag Team Championship match and main event), scroll down further for updates. If you’re watching on WRESTLE UNIVERSE, the live stream will begin at 8:45 PM ET/5:45 PM PT.
Live results/updates will begin below at start time.
8:45 PM ET UPDATE: The WRESTLE UNIVERSE broadcast has started. We should go to the venue in 15 minutes.
8:68 PM ET UPDATE: Live updates begin now… We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Ken Kato & Kagehiro Osano.
Pre-show: Match 1: MJ Pawl & KANON vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda. 10 minute time limit Result: MJ Pawl & KANON beat Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda. KANON beat Honda with a cobra twist.
Match 2: Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino vs. Gota Ihashi & Toru Owashi, Saki Akai & Kazuki Hirata and Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe in a 4-way. 10 minute time limit Result: No Contest. GM Imabayashi Stoppage. But not in time to save Akai from the wrath of those deplorable Pheromons.
GM Imabayashi sticks around for the opening announcements as ring repairs are made. During these, new trainee Rukiya Ikeda is introduced. Debut Match will be on 4/9 at Korakuen vs. TBA. Pre-Show ends at 9:25 PM ET.
Main Show: Coming up shortly. The main TV broadcast, also a Samurai! TV simulcast in Japan, begins during opening announcements. Your hosts are Ken kato & Kagehiro Osano.
The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Not sure whether it’s 50% or full capacity but the opposite-hard camera middle bleachers are not quite full.
The matches begin at 9:40 PM ET.
Match 1: Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Illusion vs. Keigo Nakamura, Toui Kojima & Kazuma Sumi. 30 minute time limit Result: Keigo Nakamura, Toui Kojima & Kazuma Sumi beat Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Illusion. Nakamura pinned Illusion after a diving headbutt.
Match 2: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power vs. Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask. 30 minute time limit Result: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power beat Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask. Power pinned Mask with a rollup. A lot of buffering/stuttering issues with the feed here.
Quick break for an announcement from GM Imabayashi. He brings Saki Akai out. Imabayashi announces the Saki Akai 10th Anniversary Tour for 8/13 at Korakuen and 9/31 at Kyoto KBS Hall, and her first 10th Anniversary Match on 3/21 vs. Masa Takanashi.
Your new host is Haruo Murata.
Match 3: Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi vs. Kip Sabian, Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno. 30 minute time limit Result: Kip Sabian, Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno beat Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi. Sabian pinned Oishi. Which led to… Kip Sabian beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Penelope Ford to win the title. Sabian becomes the 1558th DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion.
GM Imabayashi brings out El Unicorn & Illusion for more announcements. They will be on opposite sides in a tag team DDTeeeeen! Graduation match on 3/21.
Sanshiro Takagi joins commentary for the next match.
Match 4: D Generations Cup Finals: D Geenrations Cup Finals: Yuya Koroku vs. Takeshi Masada. No time limit Result: Takeshi Masada beat Yuya Koroku to win the tournament. As a results, Masada is likely headed to the US for the 3/31 event. But first…GM Imabayashi announces Masada now gets to face Jun Akiyama on 3/12.
Match 5: KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada vs. Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine for the titles. 1 Hour time limit Result: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine beat KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada to win the titles. Aoki, Ueno & Machine become the 50th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Aoki pinned Okada with a rollup after Machine was unmasked and his mask placed on Okada.
The YouTube broadcast ends here.
Sabian & Ford argue backstage then Sabian claims he’ll be the longest-raining champion ever right before he gets a locker opened in his face from inside. Which led to… Yoshihiko beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Kip Sabian by submission to win the title. Yoshihiko becomes the 1559th DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion.
Match 6: KO-D Tag Team Champions MAO & Shunma Katsumata vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida for the titles. 1 Hour time limit Result: KO-D Tag Team Champions MAO & Shunma Katsumata beat Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida to retain the titles. MAO pinned Machida. V3 for the champs.
Main Event: HARASHIMA vs. Yukio Naya. The winner will face KO-D Openweight Champion Yuji Hino for the title on 3/21. 30 minute time limit Result: Yukio Naya beat HARASHIMA. As a result, Naya will face KO-D Openweight Champion Yuji Hino for the title on 3/21.
The next event is 3/4 at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.
UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 580, a super full house/very near sellout. That means it was reduced capacity.
