Tag: ddtpro

DDT runs what may be their last super blowout event of the year today, ULTIMATE PARTY 2023, and it will be just that with 12 matches planned, several major title matches including a main event of KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes vs. Yuki Ueno for the title, New Japan’s Hiromu Takahashi returning to face Kazuki Hirata-if Takahashi makes it there from New Japan’s event in Aichi today as DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion-which is still an if-it’ll be for the title in an epic comedy match-and also a farewell as we say goodbye to Saki Akai, who is retiring after her final match today. She celebrated her 10th anniversary in wrestling earlier this year and although she is still very healthy and only 35, she made the decision to walk away while she was still in excellent physical condition and not stay until she was a “wilting flower”and potentially injured & unable to compete at her best. She’s set herself up to do very well post-wrestling with a beauty salon/spa, a line of skin care products for women & men, her own autobiography (and recently doing the obligatory photobooks and sexy photoshoots for the Japanese idol magazines) and today wraps up her retirement tour that also took her through Tokyo Joshi Pro and Ganbare Pro as well as All-Japan Pro Wrestling, and she leaves as a champion as Akai, Yukio Sakatuchi & Hideki Okatani are the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions but they will vacate the titles after today. DDT has done a masterful job of putting Akai over as the theme of her final match today: Strong, Noble, Beautiful. All perfectly describe Saki and then some. She will be dearly missed.
It’s also been announced that a PPV featuring backstage footage of Akai from today’s event and more will be available on WRESTLE UNIVERSE later this month. It will premiere on 11/28 (scheduled for 3 AM PT/6 AM ET) and will feature behind the scenes footage from today and more exclusive benefits: You’ll also receive digital photos of the event, a digital photograph signed by Akai, the opportunity to write a special message to Akai (they will be delivered to her personally at a later date), and a chance to win goods with handwritten autographs (no word on if that is limited only to fans in Japan). The PPV can be pre-purchased now on WRESTLE UNIVERSE for 4000 yen (currently around $27 US) and you will be able to watch the program until January 30, 2024. You can buy it until December 4 at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

Today’s event will be held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. The Japanese commentary will include 2 special guests-voice actor Toru Inada and SKE48 member (and semi-regular UNIVERSE special guest) Marika Tani. The English commentary team will be Hiroshi Arai, Christelle Ciari & Ash Mann. You can also watch the first 2 matches in Japanese FOR FREE on YouTube. There is no pre-show but given the ULTIMATE PARTY theme, this is going to be a long marathon party of an event. Plan on an all-night party depending on where you are as I expect the event’s running time to be at least 4 hours, maybe pushing 5 hours.

There was a last-minute change to the lineup at yesterday’s pre-event final press conference and public contract signings for the title matches: At the request of MAO, the DDT Universal Championship match between Matt Cardona & MAO is now a No DQ match.

Today’s lineup (in order):
KO-D Tag Team Champions Takao Soma & Shota vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda for the titles
5 team staggered entry tag team battle royal. Participating teams: MJ Paul & KANON, Naruki Doi & Kazuma Sumi, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku, Toi Kojima & Yuki Ishida, Yuni & Rukiya
Tokyo Joshi Pro Provided Match: Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki vs. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara
Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Makoto Oishi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu vs. Yoshitatsu (All-Japan), Yoshihiko, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine
Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (Jiro Kuroshio/Ikemen Jiro) vs. Takeshi Masada
Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya vs. Jun & Rei Saito & Toshizo (All-Japan)
Daisuke Sasaki vs. Tetsuya Endo
Saki Akai Retirement Match-Strong, Noble, Beautiful-Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani vs. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro), Naomichi Marufuji (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Kazusada Higuchi
Saki Akai Retirement Ceremony. Streamers/paper tape throwing by fans will be allowed only at the end of this segment
DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kazuki Hirata in a Fun Death Match for the title if Takahashi is still champion. The match happens either way. The match will be held using rounds and a roulette system to determine the rules for each round. The winner will receive a 10 year supply of Nivea Water Retention Body Wash as a prize from sponsor Nivea Kao Co. Ltd.
DDT Universal Champion Matt Cardona vs. MAO in a No DQ match for the title
Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita
KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes vs. Yuki Ueno for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 9 PM PT/midnight ET. The live stream is expected to begin 10 minutes before the event.

7 PM PT UPDATE: Matufuji just tried to win the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship from Hiromu Takahashi but there was no referee present. Denied!

8:30 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has started. We should be going to the venue in about 20 minutes. Updates will begin then.

8:50 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now…

We are LIVE from Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Your Japanese hosts are Haruo Murata & Marika Tani (SKE48). Kagehiro Osano was on commentary at the All-Japan Pro Wrestling event at Korakuen Hall that is just wrapping up. Your English hosts are Hiroshi Arai, Christelle Ciari & Ash (Mann).

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. It’s hard to predict here based on advance ticket sales and because they don’t use full capacity for the venue (the lower level box seats/mass seats that hold 4-6 people for sumo are only used for up to 2 people here) so I can only hope they do a good number, which for an event like this I feel will be at least 4000. The venue’s full capacity for sumo and-when used as such-wrestling is 15,000. Based on how empty the upper level looked at the start, I think a more realistic estimate right now is around 2500. The All-Japan event right before this probably isn’t helping. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 4785, a full house/near sellout. A great number for mostly using only the lower level and just the front 2-3 rows of the second level)

The matches will begin in about 15 minutes.

The matches begin at 9:07 PM PT. The crowd really popped during the card rundown for Jericho-Takeshita. Could we get a Japanese Judas Sing-Along? MAYBE!

Match 1: KO-D Tag Team Champions Takao Soma & Shota vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda for the titles. 1 Hour time limit
Result: KO-D Tag Team Champions Takao Soma & Shota beat Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda to retain the titles. Soma pinned Honda after Gin & Tonic. V1 for the champs.

Shunma Katsumata joins the broadcast as a special guest on Japanese commentary.

Match 2: 5 team staggered entry tag team battle royal. Participating teams: MJ Paul & KANON, Naruki Doi & Kazuma Sumi, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku, Toi Kojima & Yuki Ishida, Yuni & Rukiya. Eliminations by pinfall, submission or over the top rope. A team is eliminated when one member is eliminated. No time limit
Result: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku won, last eliminating MJ Paul & KANON.. Order of entry: Ishida/Kojima, Yuni/Rukiya, Okada/Koroku, Doi/Sumi, Paul/KANON. Order of elimination: Yuni by Doi (Bakatare Sliding Kick. Yuni/Rukiya OUT), Kojima by Paul (body splash. Kojima/Ishida OUT), Doi by Koroku (over the top rope. Doi/Sumi OUT), Paul by Koroku (leg roll clutch hold. Paul?KANON OUT).

The YouTube broadcast ends here.

Match 3: Tokyo Joshi Pro Provided Match: Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki vs. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki beat Suzume, Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara. Arai pinned Uehara after Finally.

Your new host for now is Ken Kato with Toru Owashi joining as a guest on Japanese commentary replacing Katsumata. Haruo Murata presumably will be back later. Marika Tani remains on commentary.

Match 4: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Makoto Oishi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu vs. Yoshitatsu (All-Japan), Yoshihiko, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yoshitatsu, Yoshihiko, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine beat Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Makoto Oishi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu. They changed the rules backstage before the match, so I didn’t understand it but this of course was a ridiculous comedy match. (Update: The rule was the first to be made to kneel & apologize, which was Takagi, lost)

Match 5: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan vs. Takeshi Masada. 30 minute time limit
Result: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan beat Takeshi Masada. Mostly a comedy match. Kuroshio’s entrance lasted almost as long as the match as he kept running into the crowd in the lower level and posing for photos along with other antics. He barely has come back to Japan since leaving WWE and is already insane over.

Match 6: Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya vs. Jun & Rei Saito & Toshizo (All-Japan). 30 minute time limit
Result: Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya beat Jun & Rei Saito & Toshizo. Naya pinned Toshizo after a backdrop.

A video reveals the blocks for the upcoming D KING GP (participants were previously announced before). After this, Yuki Iino appears in the ring. With microphone. This is his first appearance since Pheromones had to disband last month. He’s in the tournament. The tournament starts on 11/26 and ends on 1/3/24. They announce the 11/26 matches, which will have 5 tournament matches, 2 from Block A and 3 from Block B.

Haruo Murata returns as your host now. Kagehiro Osano has made it over from Korakuen Hall and also joins commentary.

Match 7: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Tetsuya Endo. 30 minute time limit
Result: Daisuke Sasaki beat Tetsuya Endo by ref stoppage (technical submission)

Announced for July 21, 2024 at Ryogoku is WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024, their biggest annual event.

Marika Tani & Toru Owashi rejoin Japanese commentary

And now the moment I have been sadly not wanting to come…
Match 8: Saki Akai Retirement Match-Strong, Noble, Beautiful-Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani vs. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro), Naomichi Marufuji (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Kazusada Higuchi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Miyu Yamashita, Naomichi Marufuji & Kazusada Higuchi beat Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani. Yamashita pinned Akai after Skull Kick. Before the end, everyone else cleared out of the ring to let Yamashita & Akai have the final moments alone.

Saki Akai Retirement Ceremony.
A graphic noted she competed in 662 matches in her career, winning 414, losing 239, 9 other matches were draws or no contests. She won 6 championships in her career. Recorded congratulatory messages from New Japan’s Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe were also played. Okatani & Sakaguchi then returned to join Akai in the ring and present her with the customary flower bouquets and pose one last time as Eruption for the ringside photographers. The next guest was hardcore icon and Game Changer Wrestling star Rina Yamashita along with Takumi Iroha, who debuted 10 years ago when Stardom’s Yuzuki Aikawa, a former idol/pinup model-turned-wrestler, retired at Ryogoku. Next up was Sanshiro Takagi, former owner and current President of DDT. After the flowers, Takagi with microphone to deliver thanks and words of encouragement as well as share some memories from her 10 years in DDT. He also offered Akai a behind-the-scenes position with DDT effective immediately. Audio muted after this…when unmuted a few seconds later, commentary noted it was a message from WWE superstar Shinsuke Nakamura. Akai then read from prepared comments. Then…the final 10 bell salute. And the final introduction announcement…Strong, Noble, Beautiful…SAKI AKAI! As Murata said before she walked off…Arigato, Akai Saki! And thanks to Takagi this hopefully isn’t goodbye and she will remain part DDT backstage going forward.

Match 9: DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi (New Japan) vs. Kazuki Hirata in a Fun Death Match for the title. The match will be held using rounds and a roulette system to determine the rules for each round. The winner will receive a 10 year supply of Nivea Water Retention Body Wash as a prize from sponsor Nivea Kao Co. Ltd..
Result: DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi beat Kazuki Hirata to retain the title. I won’t even try to explain the match beyond ridiculous comedy. Which led to…
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi to win the title. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship becomes the 1590th Champion. Which led to…
Kazuki Hirata beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to win the title. Hirata becomes the 1591st Champion. Takahashi tried to win it back but the referee didn’t get in position to make the count in time. As Takahashi left, Danshoku Dieno came out and kissed him the rest of the way to the back. Classic DDT.

Ken Kato returns to host commentary and we are now joined by special guest Tetsu Inada.

Match 10: DDT Universal Champion Matt Cardona vs. MAO in a No DQ match for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: MAO beat DDT Universal Champion Matt Cardona to win the title. MAO becomes the 12th DDT Universal Champion. At one point after a ref bump Yoshihiko was brought in as a second referee.

Quick break for ring cleaning. Your host the rest of the way is Haruo Murata.

Match 11 (Main Event 1): Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita. 30 minute time limit. A little bit of Judas Sing-Along in English from the crowd for Jericho! Intros for both were in English only.
Result: Chris Jericho beat Konosuke Takeshita by submission. Crowd very much American-like in terms of noise & chants/shouts. Incredibly unusual for Japanese fans. Afterwards, Jericho offered a handshake to Takeshita. Accepted. After Jericho left, Takeshita with microphone. He said something quick in Japanese before leaving.

Main Event (2): KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes vs. Yuki Ueno for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Yuki Ueno beat KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes to win the title. Ueno becomes the 82nd KO-D Openweight Champion. This went almost 30 minutes, but if you looked at Brookes’ face during his entrance, that sent one clear message-he was losing. But a rematch could happen early next year if he wins the D KING GP. It also means Ueno can probably look forward to at least 2 months as champion before his first defense.

The whole event went an all-night party length of 5 1/2 hours.

The next event is Thursday at Shinjuku Face with a one-day tournament to crown new KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions and DDT Extreme Champion Kazuki Hirata vs. MIKAMI for the title. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

UPDATE: After the event, in the dressing room backstage Ueno presented flowers to Akai for her retirement, Takeshita hugged Ueno in a surprise moment between the former The37Kamiina stablemates, (more given Takeshita is now a heel), and attempts were made to win the Iron Man Title from Hirata but were unsuccessful.

In DDT, the popular catchphrase of promotion icon HARASHIMA is, loosely in English, “I’m training!” It went to a new level today with the wonderful news that he is now a father. He posted a picture on social media of the new baby holding the new father’s finger. This is his first child. It’s a boy, but we don’t know the name yet.

Many DDT wrestlers, broadcast commentators and others have posted well-wishes & congratulations in Japanese and I join them in congratulating HARASHIMA on the birth of his first child. He’s Really Training!

DDT has a special Friday matinee on tap today ahead of ULTIMATE PARTY 2023, the first and really only event building to next week’s blowout event. The notable matches begin with Saki Akai’s final 10th Anniversary match, and the final single match of her career before she retires next week, against Kazuki Hirata. At least that all but ensures it will be a comedy match. After that, All-Asia Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki defend the titles against Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani in a personal one for Sakaguchi, his father Seiji Sakaguchi once held these titles and the younger now wants to do the same. The main event is one last 11/12 main event build as Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada face Yuki Ueno & MAO.

Today’s event will be held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. There likely will be no commentary. While it could run a bit longer with a title match this essentially is still a house show so I anticipate the event having a total runtime of around 2 1/2 hours, but it may be shorter as they’re on a tight clock today because there is a Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling event coming up afterwards. (That event is at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET tomorrow and will also stream live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE) So it could run closer to 2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Kazusada Higuchi & Toi Kojima vs. Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
Takao Soma vs. Masa Takanashi
Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi vs. HARASHIMA & Kazuma Sumi
Saki Akai vs. Kazuki Hirata
Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON vs. Tetsuya Endo. Yukio Naya & Rukiya
All-Asia Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani for the titles
Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada vs. Yuki Ueno & MAO

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. The live stream is scheduled to begin 15 minutes before the event.

8 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now…

We are LIVE from Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, Japan. There is no commentary.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Based on advance ticket sales so far, unless there was a big same-day crowd I’m guessing it’ll be around 325. Max capacity for the venue is 500. Not a sellout as I see empty front-row seats. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 385, a super full house/very near sellout)

It is hard camera view only. The matches begin right away. No videos will be shown tonight which also will speed it up.

Match 1: Kazusada Higuchi & Toi Kojima vs. Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku beat Kazusada Higuchi & Toi Kojima. Koroku beat Kojima with an armbar.

Match 2: Takao Soma vs. Masa Takanashi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Masa Takanashi beat Takao Soma

Match 3: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi vs. HARASHIMA & Kazuma Sumi. 30 minute time limit
Before the match, after HARASHIMA & Sumi enter first, Akito enters the ring with microphone. Something about HARASHIMA, Dieno & Pheromones. During Dieno’s entrance the annoucers apparently pointed out fans that looked like GM Imabayashi and Dieno went into the crowd and kissed them. Can’t take the deplorable Pheromones out of Dieno I guess.
Result: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi beat HARASHIMA & Kazuma Sumi. Oishi pinned Sumi after a double-team powerbomb. Pheromones-like comedy match with Sumi.

Quick break for some mid-event announcements.

Match 4: Saki Akai Final 10th Anniversary & Final Single Match: Saki Akai vs. Kazuki Hirata. 30 minute time limit
At one point the match was stopped by Hirata so the entire roster could come out and pay tribute with messages of thanks to Akai, who is retiring next weekend. (It’s been confirmed on social media that DDT will have a retirement ceremony and final announcement for her after her retirement match). After this the match was restarted.
Result: Saki Akai beat Kazuki Hirata. Mostly a comedy match but a nice gesture by Hirata to stop the match so everyone could come out and offer Akai well-wishes. Akai got very emotional at the finish knowing the end was near before finishing with Quetzalcoatl.

Match 5: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON vs. Tetsuya Endo. Yukio Naya & Rukiya. 30 minute time limit
Result: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON beat Tetsuya Endo, Yukio Naya & Rukiya. KANON beat Rukiya with a cobra twist. Afterwards, Damnation T.A. tried to beat down Endo with a chair but Endo got the better of it and drove off Sasaki with the chair. Then, Endo with microphone. Words for Sasaki ahead of their heated-to-be match next weekend.

Match 6: All-Asia Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani for the titles. All-Japan/PWF Rules. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani beat All-Asia Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki to win the titles. Sakaguchi & Okatani become the 121st All-Asia Tag Team Champions. Sakaguchi pinned Suzuki after God’s Right Knee. Next up: Okada & Koroku, who were out right away to make the challenge and try and bring the titles back to Burning. When/if it happens is up to All-Japan (PWF). (UPDATE: It’s now official. That match will happen on 12/9 at Osaka Azalea Taisho in Osaka)

Main Event: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada vs. Yuki Ueno & MAO. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Ueno & MAO beat Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada. Ueno pinned Masada after Jul.2.

The next event is ULTIMATE PARTY 2023 on 11/12 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin on 11/11 at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.

UPDATE: A PPV about Saki Akai and her retirement match will premiere on 11/28 on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. Price TBA but 4 benefits will be included. Tickets will go on sale on 11/10.

DDT ran their annual free Omori Festival-themed outdoor event today outside a train station in Tokyo. It was weather permitting, but the weather was fine so it went on as planned.

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

Admission was free but they announced a total attendance of 1029, a super full house.

Match 1: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON beat Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Yuni. Sasaki pinned Yuni after a spear.

Match 2: Danshoku Dieno beat Rukiya.

Match 3: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Chikara beat Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Kazuki Hirata. Endo pinned Akito after Burning Star Press.

Match 4: World Omori Champion Takao Soma beat Antonio Honda to retain the title. V1 for Omori.

Match 5: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani beat Aja Kong, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi. Akai pinned Sumi after Quetzalcoatl. Afterwards, Aja cut a promo and paid respect to Akai, who is retiring in just 2 weeks (Aja is still going strong after an insane 38 years).

Main Event: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima beat HARASHIMA, Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya. Ueno pinned Oishi after BME.

The next event is Friday at Shinjuku Face with an All-Asia Tag Team Championship match (to be held under PWF/All-Japan Pro Wrestling rules as technically it’s their title) and Saki Akai’s final 10th Anniversary match, which also will be the last single match of her career. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Thursday at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. Live results are scheduled.

THIS JUST IN…(after this was posted via social media) the following happened in the hours after last night’s New Japan Pro Wrestling event in the US:
A Yellow iPhone 14 beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi to win the title. iPhone becomes the 1585th Champion. Which led to…
Sumie Sakai beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Yellow iPhone 14 to win the title. Sakai becomes the 1586th Champion. Which led to…
Hiromu Takahashi beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Sumie Sakai to win the title. Takahashi becomes the 1587th Champion. GOD BLESS DDT AND THE IRON MAN TITLE!

DDT’s monthly tour-ending big event, GOD BLESS DDT 2023, is on tap today as the promotion’s final mid-major event before their Ryogoku Kokugikan blowout event in a few weeks. As their KO-D Openweight Championship match draws closer, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ueno will be on opposite sides in the main event, while in the co-main event there is potentially a double title match. DDT Extreme Champion Kazuki Hirata defends the title against Takeshi Masada in what is basically going to be a comedy match, but if Masada is still the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion at match time this will be for both titles. But given the latter title’s 24/7 stip things could change last-second…and you never know what could happen before, during, and even after the match! Also, a day after losing the All-Japan 6-Man Tag Team Championship in probably her last appearance int he promotion, Saki Akai returns for one more 10th Anniversary match as her retirement draws ever closer, this time teaming with Sendai Girls standout Chihiro Hashimoto to face Eruption factionmates Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani.

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese FOR FREE! No account or paid subscription required! It will also be available on demand for free for non-subscribers for a few weeks. There is a pre-show match scheduled for 15-20 minutes before the event begins. With that match included I anticipate today’s event having a total running time of just under 3 hours.

Click below to watch the event live & on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE:
https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/lives/fqoaQKyWnAn8VAMBFXyWeR

Today’s lineup:
Pre-show:
Takao Soma & Yuni vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda

Main show:
MIKAMI vs. Kazuma Sumi
Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON vs. Tetsuya Endo, Toi Kojima & Rukiya
Yukio Naya vs. Yuya Koroku
Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yusuke Okada vs. Kazusada Higuchi, Makoto Oishi & Akito
Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani vs. Saki Akai & Chihiro Hashimoto
DDT Extreme Champion Kazuki Hirata vs. DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Takeshi Masada for the titles. Subject to change if Masada is not Iron Man champion at match time
Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA vs. Yuki Ueno & MAO

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET. The pre-show match is scheduled to begin at 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET.

7 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has launched. We’ll be going to the venue in a few minutes.

7:16 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now…

We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Ken Kato & Kagehiro Osano.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The crowd is still filing in but as has been the case for a while they’re using the smaller opposite-side configuration with about 2/3 of the bleacher seats curtained off. That will keep the numbers down from what New Japan and All-Japan usually do now, so it’ll probably be 550-600. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 800)

Pre-show match: Takao Soma & Yuni vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda. 15 minute time limit
Result; Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda beat Takao Soma & Yuni. Honda pinned Yuni with a bridge.

Updates will resume when the main show begins in a few minutes (pre-show match ends at 7:27 PM PT).

Main show:
The matches begin at 7:35 PM PT. Your hosts are Ken Kato & Kagehiro Osano with special guest Shunma Katsumata.
Match 1: MIKAMI (Independent/Freelancer) vs. Kazuma Sumi. 30 minute time limit
Result: MIKAMI beat Kazuma Sumi. Afterwards, MIKAMI with microphone. It sounded like he issued a challenge for the DDT Extreme Championship. Side note: MIKAMI was part of the very frist DDT event on 3/25/1997.

The D KING GP 2023 participants are announced:
Block A: Yuki Ueno, Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi, Daisuke Sasaki, HARASHIMA, Yuki Iino
Block B: Chris Brookes, MAO, Yukio Naya, KANON, Kazuki Hirata, and…from All-Japan Pro Wrestling…Rei Saito!
The tournament starts on 11/26 at Korakuen then continues on 12/2 & 12/3 at Shinjuku Face, 12/9 & 12/26 elsewhere, then 12/24 at Korakuen with the Finals at DDT’s 2024 opener on 1/3 at Korakuen.

Your new host is Haruo Murata.

Match 2: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON vs. Tetsuya Endo, Toi Kojima & Rukiya. 30 minute time limit
Result; Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON beat Tetsuya Endo, Toi Kojima & Rukiya. KANON pinned Rukiya after Sleepy Hollow. Afterwards, Sasaki with microphone. He issued a challenge to Endo for next month’s Ryogoku event, sounds like a Damnation T.A. vs. Burning match in some form. Sounds like perhaps a 6-man tag.

GM Imabayashi introduces the former Ikemen Jiro (Jiro Kuroshio), who was recently released by WWE. Mentions of perhaps an Extreme Title challenge, that brings out Takeshi Masada. Imabayashi makes Kuroshio-Masada for Kuroshio’s Japan return match at Ryogoku. (Update from the end of the show: Kuroshio will now be known as Kuroshio Tokyo Japan)

Match 3: Yukio Naya vs. Yuya Koroku. 30 minute time limit
Result: No Contest. Jun & Rei Saito interference. They laid out Naya and posed over hm until HARASHIMA quickly made the save. Afterwards, Rei Saito with microphone. Challenge issued for Ryogoku and beyond. They’re going to meet in the D KING GP as both are in Block B.

Katsumata leaves commentary before the next match.

Match 4: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Yusuke Okada vs. Kazusada Higuchi, Makoto Oishi & Akito. 30 minute time limit
Before the match began, a comedy promo led to a last-second change: Okada & Oishi swapped sides for the match.
Result: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yusuke Okada & Akito. Dieno pinned Akito after Danshoku Driver. And of course Dieno being goaded into Pheromones Still Gonna Pheromones. Afterwards, Oishi with microphone for some comedy with Dieno & a rather reluctant Akiyama.

Chris Jericho promo. Pre-recorded and in English for his match against Konosuke Takeshita on 11/12 at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Jericho claims it will be the best match Takeshita has ever had in his career and he will leave knowing Jericho is the greatest of all time.

Quick break for some GM Imabayashi announcements.

Match 5: Saki Akai 10th Anniversary Match 4: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani vs. Saki Akai & Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls). 30 minute time limit
Result: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani beat Saki Akai & Chihiro Hashimoto. Sakaguchi pinned Akai after God’s Right Knee. Afterwards, Sakaguchi with microphone. He showed Hashimoto respect then let her return the favor. Hashimoto then put Akai over before leaving Eruption together in the ring. Sakaguchi spoke a little more before Akai got the microphone, she was very emotional during her speaking. She put DDT over and thanked everyone for their support to wrap it all up. This probably is her final Korakuen match in DDT as she has only 3 weeks left until she retires and her last match period at the iconic venue will probably be Friday when she faces Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro.

Match 6: DDT Extreme Champion Kazuki Hirata vs. DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Takeshi Masada for the titles. 1 Hour time limit
Result: DDT Extreme Champion Kazuki Hirata beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Takeshi Masada by countout. As a result, both retain the titles. V4 for Hirata. Ridiculous comedy match involving Jenga, basketball and more. Which led to…
Kazuki Hirata beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Takeshi Masada to win the title. Hirata becomes the 1583rd DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. Afterwards, Hirata with microphone. He called out Hiromu Takahashi. Which led to…
Hiromu Takahashi (New Japan) beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Kazuki Hirata to win the title. Takahashi becomes the 1584th Champion. After this, Takahashi with microphone while Hirata threw a pure comedy tantrum in the ring. Long comedy promo after which Hirata tried to win it back but only managed a pair of 2 counts as he chased Takahashi throughout the venue with referee Daisuke Kiso trying to keep up. Updates to follow? In the meantime, Moving On…

Ken Kato & Toru Owashi join Kagehiro Osano on commentary the rest of the way.

Main Event: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA vs. Yuki Ueno & MAO. 30 minute time limit
Result: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA beat Yuki Ueno & MAO. Brookes pinned Ueno after Praying Mantis Bomb.

The event wraps up with the full 11/12 card:
5 Team Time Delayed Battle Royal: KANON & MJ Paul, Naruki Doi & Kazuma Sumi, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku, Toi Kojima & Yuki Ishida, Yuni & Rukiya
Tokyo Joshi Pro Provided Match Yuki Arai, Moka Miyamoto & Shino Suzuki vs. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Wakana Uehara
Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi, Akito & Shinichiro Kawamatsu (the current wrestling Japanese politician) vs. Yoshitatsu, Yoshihiko, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine
Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya vs. Jun & Rei Saito & Toshizo
Kuroshio Tokyo Japan (Kiro Kuroshio) vs. Takeshi Masada
Daisuke Sasaki vs. Tetsuya Endo
KO-D Tag Team Champions Takao Soma & Shota vs. Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda for the titles
DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kazuki Hirata for the title (as always, subject to change)
DDT Universal Champion Matt Cardona vs. MAO for the title
Saki Akai Retirement Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Miyu Yamashita & Kazusada Higuchi
Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita
KO-D Openweight Champion Chris Brookes vs. Yuki Ueno for the title
ULTIMATE PARTY 2023 will begin on 11/11 at 9 PM PT/midnight ET LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The next event is a special mini-event on 10/29 at JR Omori Station East Exit Plaza in Tokyo. This will be weather permitting as it will be an outdoor event so if there is heavy rain, it will be cancelled. The only match announced so far is World Omori Champion Takao Soma vs. TBA for the title. There will be no live broadcast.

The next “regular” event is 11/3 at Shinjuku Face with an All-Asia Tag Team Championship match and the final Saki Akai 10th Anniversary match, which will be Akai vs. Kazuki Hirata in what will also be the final single match of her career. Broadcast plans TBA. If it does stream live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE, the broadcast will begin on 11/2 at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET.

BREAKING-DDT has just announced that EVERYONE will be able to watch this Sunday’s Korakuen Hall event live and on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE FOR FREE! No WRESTLE UNIVERSE subscription or payment required! It will be available on demand for free until November 18. The live broadcast will begin Saturday at around 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET. Live results will be posted here.

Also being made available FOR FREE is the 11/3/2019 Ryogoku Kokugikan event.

DDT announced today that, while not happening yet, the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship will soon be VACANT. Current champions Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani will give up the titles on 11/12 because Akai will retire that day and no more defenses are scheduled before then. Determination tournament to crown new champions will be held on 11/16.

More as it becomes available.

(Side note: They also hold the All-Japan 6-Man Tag Team Championship and are scheduled to defend that title Saturday)

DDT continued the GOD BLESS DDT 2023 Tour today with the second half of their weekend doubleheader in Hokkaido.

Today’s event was held at Sapporo E-One Arena in Hokkaido 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 284, a full house/near sellout.

During the opening announcements, they announced the return dates to Sapporo will be 4/28 & 4/29 at Sapporo Sunplaza Kanae-ma.

Match 1: Yusuke Okada beat Danshoku Dieno.

Match 2: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku. KANON pinned Koroku after Vietnam Driver 2.

Match 3: Takaaki Iwasaki & MAO beat HARASHIMA & Rukiya. Iwasaki beat Rukiya with a Texas Cloverleaf.

Match 4: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Takashi Yoshida (Dragon Gate) beat Kazuki Hirata, Totake-yu (? That unknown guy from yesterday) & Kazuma Sumo. Yoshida pinned Sumi after Authorized Lightning Leg Lariat.

Match 5: KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani beat Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Akito to retain the titles. Sakaguchi pinned Akito after God’s Right Knee. V5 for the champs.

Main Event: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada beat Kazusada Higuchi & Toi Kojima. Brookes pinned Kojima after Praying Mantis Bomb.

During the post-main event winners promo to end the show…

MAO beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Takeshi Masada to win the title. MAO becomes the 1581st Champion.

The next event is…but wait, about 25 minutes later after all the fans had left and the ring was taken down, and during some backstage video filming…

Takeshi Masada beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion MAO to win the title. Masada becomes the 1582nd Champion. One of the reasons I love DDT-the 24/7 nature of the title. As long as a referee is present, anyone-or anything-can win it!

The next event is GOD BLESS DDT 2023 on 10/22 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, but this is subject to change-it may be moved up because there is a pre-show dark match on the card. Live results are scheduled. The card is subject to change if Masada loses the Iron Man Championship again as he is to defend against DDT Extreme Champion Kazuki Hirata in a match for both titles. If Masada loses the belt beforehand, the match will only be for the Extreme Championship.

DDT continued the GOD BLESS DDT 2023 Tour today with the first part of a weekend doubleheader in Hokkaido.

Today’s event was held at Sapporo E-One Arena in Hokkaido 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 233.

There were some last-minute changes to the card due to no Yuki Ueno. Fever. Also out tomorrow.

Match 1: Akito beat Danshoku Dieno.

Match 2: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Takuya Tou (?) & Yusuke Okada. Sasaki beat Okada with a crossface.

Match 3: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani beat Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi. Sakaguchi beat Oishi with a modified triangle choke.

Match 4: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada beat TakaakI Iwasaki & Rukiya. Higuchi pinned Rukiya after Doctor Bomb.

Match 5: Tetsuya Endo & Takashi Yoshida (Dragon Gate) beat Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku. Endo pinned Koroku after Burning Star Press.

Main Event: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata beat MAO, Yukio Naya & Toi Kojima. Brookes pinned Kojima after Praying Mantis Bomb.

The next event is tomorrow with a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship match. There will be no live broadcast.