Tag: DDT

DDT wrapped up the ROAD to NEVER MIND 2022 Tour today with a house show in Fukuoka, the final regular event before their last major event of the year.

Today’s event was held at Pivole Fukuoka in Fujuoja and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (likely Wednesday). There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 226, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata beat Saki Akai & Toui Kojima. Hirata pinned Kojima.

Match 2: Akito & MAO beat Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno. Akito beat Dieno with a stepover toehold.

Match 3: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi. KANON beat Sumi with a cobra twist.

Match 4: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oisho & Shiori Asahi beat Toru Owashi, Azure Dragon & Hideki Okatani. Hino pinned Okatani after Fuckin’ BOMB.

Match 5: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada beat HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Taleshi Masada. Endo pinned Masada after a rotating torture rack bomb.

Main Event: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida beat Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata. Higuchi pinned Katsumata after Brain Claw Slam.

The next event is a Danshoku Dieno 20th Anniversary & Book Release Commemoration Event Wednesday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Vocal cheering will be allowed and all attendees will receive a copy of Dieno’s autobiography book ahead of it being published in Japan. There will be no live broadcast.

DDT continued their year-ending tour today with a house show in Kumamoto. This was a hometown event for Yuki Ishida.

Today’s event was held at Kumamoto City Distribution Information Center in Kumamoto and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (likely Tuesday). There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 250, a legit sellout.

Match 1: Shunma Katsumata beat Saki Akai & Kazuki Hirata in a 3-way by pinning Hirata.

Match 2: Akito & Kazuma Sumi (with Yoshihiko) beat Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno. Akito beat Dieno with a stepover toehold.

Match 3: Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada beat Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada. Okada pinned Masada after a Takagi Stunner.

Match 4: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani. Sasaki beat Okatani with Numero Dos Punto Seis Seis Seis. For those who no habla espanol, that’s Number 2.666.

Match 5 Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toui Kojima beat Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku. Ueno pinned Koroku after WR.

Main Event: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi beat Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida. Oishi pinned Ishida after Cactus Flower. Afterwards, Hino announced they would return to Kumamoto for a 20th Anniversary event in July (presumably for Hino).

The next event is tomorrow at Pivole Fukuoka in Fukuoka. There will be no live broadcast.

DDT ran their final DDT FREE event today, wrapping up the year-long series of monthly free admission events for fans lucky enough to win tickets.

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

The announced attendance was 437, a legit sellout. All tickets were free.

Before the matches began, two matches were announced for 1/3: Chris Brookes & Masa Takanashi vs. MAO & Shunma Katsumata for the vacant KO-D Tag Team Championship and Naruki Doi vs. Daisuke Sasaki for the next DDT Universal Championship challenger.

Match 1: In a handicap match, Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino beat Akito, MAO & Kazuma Sumi. Iino pinned Akito. As a result, if Pheromons win their match against the anti-Pheromons group on 12/29, the losing member responsible for it )whoever gets pinned or submitted) must join Pheromons for a day.

Match 2: Tryout Match: Shunma Katsumata beat Anarco Montagna.

Match 3: Saori Anou & Rika Kawabata beat Saki Akai & Yoshiko Hasegawa. Anou pinned Hasegawa.

Match 4: Sanahiro Takagi, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oisho beat Takao Soma, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada. Oishi pinned Masada after a Hino reverse horizontal chop.

Match 5: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Yusuke Okada beat HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya. Endo pinned Hirata. Which led to…
Impromptu Match: Kotaro Suzuki beat Yusuke Okada.

Match 6: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani. Sasaki pinned Okatani after El Es Claro.

Main Event: Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima beat Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida. Kojima pinned Ishida after Kojima In Wonderland.

The next event is Saturday at Kumamoto City Distribution Information Center in Kumamoto. There will be no live broadcast.

In an interesting news item, DDT announced the schedule for upcoming title matches for the first quarter of 2023. Of course this all comes with the mandatory “subject to change” caveat, but here is what they announced:

1/3, Korakuen Hall: KO-D Tag Team Championship, DDT Universal Championship (participants TBA on 12/14. For the Universal Championship it will be a match to determine the next challenger).
1/13, Shinjuku Face: DDT Universal Champion Yuki Ueno vs. 1/3 winner for the title.
1/21, Yokohama Radiant Hall: DDT Extreme Champion (12/29 Jun Akiyama-Super Sasadango Machine winner) vs. TBA for the title.
1/29, Korakuen Hall: KO-D Openweight Champion (12/29 Kazusada Higuchi-Ueno winner) vs. TBA for the title, KO-D Tag Team Championship (1/3 winners vs. TBA for the titles), KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship. (12/29 winners of Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata vs. Tetsuya Endo, Koraro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada vs. TBA for the titles).
2/18, Nagoya Conference Center: DDT Universal Championship (TBA), DDT Extreme Championship (TBA).
2/26, Korakuen Hall: KO-D Tag Team Championship, KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship.
3/21, Korakuen Hall: Multiple including KO-D Openweight Championship (this will be the DDT 26th Anniversary Event and they plan to make it at least a 5-hour event)

DDT wraps up the D KING GP 2022 today with the Finals, which will determine who gets the next shot at KO-D Openweight Champion Kazusada Higuchi. Based on the field and how things looked earlier in the tournament, the result will definitely be an upset as much like the KING OF DDT Tournament earlier this year, it’s a very unexpected final as this time Yuki Ueno & Yukio Naya are the finalists. There also is an unusual semifinal as DDT Extreme Champion Joey Janela defends against Jun Akiyama in a TLC (Tables, Ladders, Chairs) match. Last I checked, Akiyama is not exactly a Hardy Boys or Edge/Christian type…and he’s 51 with 30 years of wear & tear on his body…this along with all the other unpredictability and comedy that DDT is known for. Pro Wrestling NOAH mainstay Kotaro Suzuki will also make an appearance.

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese. Guest commentators scheduled are Kenta Kobashi, voice actor Mayu Iizuka and singer Maon Kurasaki. Vocal cheering by fans will be allowed. Based on the lineup I anticipate tonight’s event having a total running time of close to 3 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno vs. Akito & Antonio Honda
Takao Soma, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida vs. Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Yusuke Okada vs. MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima
Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata vs. HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & Rickey Shane Page vs. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Pawl & KANON
DDT Extreme Champion Joey Janela vs. Jun Akiyama in a TLC Match for the title
D KING GP 2022 Finals: Yuki Ueno vs. Yukio Naya

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT.

9 PM ET UPDATE: Live updates begin now…

The stream has just launched. The live broadcast will begin in 10 minutes.

9:10 PM ET UPDATE: Live broadcast begins now.
We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano, Mayu Iizuka & Maon Kurosaki.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Vocal cheering allowed means a cap of roughly 700 and most sections were sold out earlier today or close to it. Based on that, it’s probably going to be in the 625-650 range but same-day could get it to a sellout.

No pre-show matches as they just confirmed the lineup so the matches should begin in about 30 minutes (around 9:40 PM ET/6:40 PM PT).

At 9:15 PM ET GM Imabayashi enters the ring to begin the opening announcements/housekeeping. The first matches for the Danshoku Dieno 20th Anniversary Event on 12/21 at Korakuen are announced: Yuki Iino vs. Yumehito Imanari (those deplorable Pheromons facing each other!) and, in his 20th Anniversary Match, Danshoku Dieno vs. Muscle Sakai. Dieno is then brought out although he makes Imabayashi call him a few times. Then they announce Natuki Doi vs Shunma Katsumata for 12/21 and then Tanomusaku Toba, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida vs. Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & DJ Nira.

We then turn to tonight’s main event and thus…GRAND SWORD! D KING GP 2022 Chairman Kenta Kobashi comes out to audible cheers from the still-filing-in crowd. He leads the opening shout to start the event, leading into the opening video at scheduled start time.

The matches begin at 9:35 PM ET. Your new host is Ken Kato replacing Haruo Murata.

Match 1: Takao Soma, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida vs. Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada. 30 minute time limit
Result: Takao Soma, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida beat Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada. Soma pinned Ishida.

Match 2: Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno vs. Akito & Antonio Honda. 30 minute time limit
Result: This became a World Cup-themed comedy match with 1-count pinfalls counting as “goals”. Yumehito Inanari even substituted in for Dieno. Draw. 2-2. They did a soccer shootout as a tiebreaker, Pheromons won 3-2 to win.

A YouTube broadcast of the first 2 matches ends here. Your host is Haruo Murata once again.

Match 3: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Yusuke Okada vs. MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima. 30 minute time limit
Result: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada beat MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima. Endo pinned Kojima after Burning Star Press.

Match 4: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata vs. HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata beat HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguhi & Kazuma Sumi. Hirata pinned Sumi with a rollup after reversing a Sumi rollup. Afterwards, Endo, Suzuki & Yusuke Okada came out to make a challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship. After come comedic bantering between Doi & GM Imabayashi, it’s made official. That match will happen on 12/29 at Tokyo Dome City Hall.

Match 5: DDT Extreme Champion Joey Janela vs. Jun Akiyama in a TLC Match for the title. No Countouts. Only win by pinfall, submission or KO. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Jun Akiyama beat DDT Extreme Champion Joey Janela to win the title. Akiyama becomes the 56th DDT Extreme Champion. Daaaaaaaamn! Next up: Super Sasadango Machine is back…although Akiyama immediately left but stopped just before exiting to the backstage area and returned to the ring. This quickly became a comedy segment with the masked comedy wrestler. As Akiyama walks off again, GM Imabayashi makes it official for 12/29.

Match 6: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & Rickey Shane Page vs. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Pawl & KANON. 30 minute time limit
Result: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & Rickey Shane Page beat Daosuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Pawl& KANON. Higuchi pinned Pawl.

Main Event: D KING GP 2022 Finals: Yuki Ueno vs. Yukio Naya. No time limit
Result: Yuki Ueno beat Yukio Naya to win the tournament. As a result, Ueno will face KO-D Openweight Champion Kazusada Higuchi for the title on 12/29, and as the current DDT Universal Champion could become a double titleholder.

The next event is NEXTBODY presents STERNNESS 30th Anniversary Vol. 2, the second Jun Akiyama 30th Anniversary event, Saturday at Izumi City Plaza Yayoi No Kaze Hall in Osaka, after which 3 lucky fans who shelled out 50,000 yen get to go out for dinner and a drink with Akiyama himself. There will be no live broadcast. At the end of the broadcast the guest lineup for commentary on 12/29 was revealed, to include Kobashi, Kurasaki and SKE48 member Marika Tani.

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 711, a legit sellout.

DDT ran the final ONLY WE event of the year in Chiba today, wrapping up the 2022 series of co-promoted events with the Chiba-based independent promotion.

Today’s event was held at 2AW Square in Chiba and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 110, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1: Hideki Okatani & Toui Kojima beat Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi. Okatani pinned Sumi with a double arm suplex.

Match 2; Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno beat Akito & Hiroshi Yamato. Iino beat Akito with 2AW Deathlock.

Match 3: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Lightning Jinmei (?) & Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Sasaki beat Matsunaga with a crossface.

Match 4: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm beat Chris Brookes, Rickey Shane Page & Takeshi Masada. Higuchi pinned Masada after Doctor Bomb.

Match 5; Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata beat Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku. Ueno pinned Koroku after BME.

Main Event: HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya beat Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi. HARASHIMA pinned Oishi after Blue Sword.

The next event is the D KING GP 2022 Finals tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin TONIGHT at 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT.

DDT ran another special outdoor event today, held outside a Japanese rail station and resuming a traditional annual event for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic began.

Today’s event was held at JR Omori Station East Exit Square in Tokyo and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced attendance was 1127, a super full house. This was a free event.

Match 1: Sanshiro Takagi, Yusuke Okada & Shinichiro Kawamatsu beat Toru Owashi, Toui Kojima & Takeshi Masada. Okada pinned Kojima after Sudden Death.

Match 2: Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino beat Akito & Kazuma Sumi. Iino pinned Sumi.

Match 3: Joey Janela, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi beat Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku. Janela pinned Koroku after a package driver.

Match 4: Takao Soma beat World Omori Class Champion Chikara to win the title. Soma becomes the 8th World Omori Class Champion.

Match 5: HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani beat Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON. Naya pinned Pawl after a backdrop.

Main Event: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Rickey Shane Page. Ueno pinned Ishida after a rolling guillotine ace crusher.

The next event is Saturday at 2AW Square in Chiba for the final ONLY WE event of the year. There will be no live broadcast. That will be followed by the D KING GP 2022 Finals a few hours later at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT.

DDT has announced that the KO-D Tag Team Championship is now VACANT. Previous champions Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura have been forced to vacate the titles because Yoshimura was injured during his match on 11/18. Herniated disc in his neck. Out indefinitely but at least a few months. No word yet on plans for crowning new champions.

More as it becomes available.

DDT ran the penultimate event of the D KING GP 2022 today, which would set up the Finals but also had the potential to require additional tiebreaker matches pending the outcomes of today’s matches.

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

The announced paid attendance was 450. Vocal cheering was allowed so with further capacity limits this was about 65% full.

Match 1: Pre-show match: Yusuke Okada beat Yuki Ishida.

Match 2: Pre-show match: In a handicap match, Yuki Iino, Yumehito Imanari & Koju Takeda beat Akito, Masa Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno. Iino beat Honda with Sexy Lockup. This became a handicap match because Danshoku Dieno had to miss the card due to a possible fever.

During the opening announcements, Matsuno announced he would be having kidney transplant surgery but promised to make a comeback (Matsuno is well into his 50s if not his 60s). Announced for upcoming events are a “New Year’s Electric Blast” match at the request of Shunma Katsumata, likely involving Atsushi Onita, on 1/7/23 and, on 12/29, LiLiCo will participate in the opening ritual of anal explosion with her husband’s consent. Only in DDT. If anybody in attendance wants a refund after seeing that, shame on them. Anyway, Moving On…

Match 3: Minoru Fujita, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku. KANON pinned Koroku after Sleepy Hollow.

Match 4: In a No Touch Rule match, HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata beat MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toui Kojima & Takeshi Masada. Doi pinned Kojima after Bakatare Sliding Kick. Afterwards, Doi participation for 12/21 & 12/29 was announced, with one event possibly having him in a match against HARASHIMA.

Match 5: D KING GP 2022 Block A: Joey Janela vs. Rickey Shane Page went to a double countout. No points.

Match 6: D KING GP 2022 Block A: Naomi Yoshimura beat Tetsuya Endo.

Match 7: D KING GP 2022 Block A: Yuki Ueno beat Daisuke Sasaki. As a result, Ueno wins Block A and advances to the Finals.

Match 8: D KING GP 2022 Block B: Chris Brookes beat Yuji Hino.

Main Event: D KING GP 2022 Block B: Yukio Naya beat Kazusada Higuchi. As a result, Naya wins Block B and advances to the Finals and it will be Ueno-Naya on 12/4 with the winner facing Higuchi on 12/29 for the KO-D Openweight Championship.

The Final is 12/4. The next event is 11/27 at JR Omori Station East Exit Square in Tokyo. This is a free outdoor event. There will be no live broadcast.