Tag: Dramatic Dream Team

DDT ran 2 separate events today-first was the KING OF DDT Quarterfinals, second was a mini-event co-sponsored by DDT owner CyberFight Group.

First up, the KING OF DDT event, which was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 430.

Pre-show: Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari beat Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata. Dieno pinned Hirata.

Match 1: MJ Pawl & KANON vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani went to a double countout.

Match 2: In a THE KICKBOXING MATCH 2022 match with 3 5-minute rounds, Hikaru Machida & Gota Ihashi beat Shinya Aoki & Toui Kojima at 1:42 of round 3. Ihashi pinned Kojima after a moonsault press.

Match 3: MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yusuke Okada & Tuya Koroku beat Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida. Katsumata pinned Ishida after Our Straight Line.

KING OF DDT Quarterfinals:
Match 4: Kazusada Higuchi beat Masa Takanashi.
Match 5: Jun Akiyama beat Yuki Iino.
Match 6: Yuki Ueno beat Daisuke Sasaki.
Main Event: Naomi Yoshimura beat HARASHIMA. Definite upset.
A lottery was held afterwards to determine the Semifinals matches, they will be Ueno vs. Yoshimura and Higuchi vs. Akiyama. The tournament winner becomes the new KO-D Openweight Champion and also wins a 1 million yen bonus sponsor prize (about $8,000 US). The Semifinals and Finals will be on 7/3 (7/2 start in the US).

The second event was held at a specially installed Zelby Land in Machida GION Stadium in Tokyo. There was no live broadcast.

The attendance was not announced.

Match 1: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga beat Mizuki Watase & Zhao Yun Dragon. Katsumura beat Dragon with a “combined joint technique for which names are being recruited”.

Match 2: Saki Akai & Akito beat Cherry & Antonio Honda. Akai pinned Honda after New Face Award.

Main Event: Shiro Koshinaka & Keisuke Ishii beat Ken Ohka & Shota. Koshinaka pinned Shota after a powerbomb.

The next event is Saturday at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama. The only match announced so far is a KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Championship match. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Friday at 11:30 PM ET/8:30 PM PT.

In other post-event news, the following was annonunced for WRESTLE PETER PAN on 8/20, DDT’s biggest event of the year:
Joey Janela (All Elite Wrestling) vs. Shunma Katsumata in a Hardcore Match
Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match
DDT Universal Champion vs. TBA for the title
KO-D Openweight Champion vs. TBA for the title
Dick Togo participation (formerly of DDT, now with New Japan Pro Wrestling)

DDT ran their monthly DDT FREE event today (on the weekly schedule post I incorrectly said it was yesterday, DDT’s website is kinda wacky with event date/time listings), which kicked off their annual KING OF DDT Tournament. This year’s tournament takes on much greater significance because with KO-D Openweight Champion Tetsuya Endo out and forced to vacate the title because of a concussion suffered at CyberFight Festival ’22, the tournament winner also becomes the new champion.

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

The announced attendance was 444. All tickets were free and this was billed as a legit sellout. In reality this was extremely close to legit full capacity for the venue, maybe 6 short of 100% (normal capacity for wrestling at the venue is 450, maybe 500).

Before the matches began, Makoto Oishi announced he will return at the 7/24 event. He has been out for a year due to injuries.

Dark Match: Masa Takanashi & Toui Kojima vs. Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku went to a 10 minute time limit draw. Takanashi was to have faced Endo in the tournament but got a free pass to the Quarterfinals due to Endo being out, and this match was added to the event as a result.

All main show matches were KING OF DDT Tournament matches, no time limit.
Match 1: HARASHIMA beat Hideki Okatani.
Match 2: Naomi Yoshimura beat Chris Brookes.
Match 3: Yuki Ueno beat KANON.
Match 4: Daisuke Sasaki beat Yuji Hino.
Match 5: Yuki Iino beat MAO.
Match 6: Jun Akiyama beat Yukio Sakaguchi.
Main Event: Kazusada Higuchi beat Yukio Naya.

The next event is Sunday at Korakuen Hall with the Quarterfinals and more non-tournament matches. The Quarterfinals will be Takanashi-Higuchi, Akiyama-Iino, Sasaki-Ueno and HARASHIMA-Yoshimura. After that, the Semifinals will be determined by lottery. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Sunday at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

More CyberFight Festival fallout-the KO-D Openweight Championship is now VACANT. Previous champion Tetsuya Endo has vacated the title due to injury-he suffered a concussion Sunday and is out indefinitely. The winner of the KING OF DDT Tournament, which starts tomorrow, will become the new champion. Endo’s first opponent, Masa Takanashi, will get a win by forfeit and advance to the next round

DDT ran the final event before CyberFight Festival today, another standalone “ONLY WE” event that is held when they visit Chiba Prefecture.

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

The announced paid attendance was 123, a super full house.

Match 1: Toui Kojima vs. Yuya Koroku went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Takao Soma & Kazuki Hirata beat Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda. Soma pinned Honda after Mad Splash.

Match 3: Kaji Tomato & Naomi Yoshimura beat Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata. Yoshimura pinned Katsumata after Harai Goshi.

Match 4: Masa Takanashi & HARASHIMA beat MAO & Yusuke Okada. HARASHIMA pinned Okada after Blue Sword.

Match 5: Daisuke Sasaki beat Hiroshi Yamato by submission.

Match 6: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi beat Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida. Higuchi pinned Ishida after Brain Claw Slam.

Main Event: Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Quiet Storm beat Shogun Okamoto, Kenichiro Arai & Hoshitango. Hino pinned Hoshitango after Muscle Splash on a chair.

The next event is CyberFight Festival ’22 on 6/12 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at 8:30 PM PT/11:30 PM ET with the first match scheduled to begin at 9 PM PT/midnight ET. LIVE results will be posted here.

DDT ran their last big event before CyberFight Festival, “What Are You Doing ’22”, today which served as most of the final build to the 6/12 blowout event for the CyberFight group’s collection of promotions.

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

The announced paid attendance was 490.

Pre-show dark match: Yusuke Okada vs. Yuya Koroku went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Danshoku Dieno, Yumehito Imanari & Akito beat Sanshiro Takagi, Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ishida. Akito beat Ishida with a chicken wing. Afterwards, Akito apparently turned on DDT and joined Pheromons after initial refusal to do so and will now be known as Nishikigi “Cochin” Akito. Kendo Ka Shin & Yumiko Hotta also were involved in all this.

Match 2: A DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship Battle Royal went as follows: 1-Champion Shinichiro Kawamatsu beat Pocatan to retain the title. 2-Kazuki Hirata beat Tanomusaku Toba. 3-Kazuki Hirata beat Shinichiro Kawamatsu to win the title. Hirata becomes the 1549th champion. 4-Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda went to a double pinfall. As a result, Toru Owashi wins as the last person standing and becomes the 1550th champion.

It is announced that a cheering event, where fans can cheer audibly again, albeit with masks still required, will be held on 8/14 at Korakuen. Opening round King Of DDT matches are also announced.

Match 3: Asuka (Veny), Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Maya Yukihi beat Saki Akai, Yukio Salaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Hiroshi Yamato. Naya pinned Okatani after a backdrop.

Match 4: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima. Sasaki beat Kojima with a crossface.

Match 5: In a Sexy Movie Star Rule Match, DDT Extrene Champion Yuki Iino beat AKIRA to retain the title. V2 for Iino.

Match 6: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Kazusada Higuchi beat HARASHIMA, Takao Soma & Naomi Yoshimura. Higuchi pinned Soma after a brain claw slam.

Main Event: Masa Takanashi beat DDT Universal Champion MAO to win the title. Takanashi becomes the 7th DDT Universal Champion.

The next event is Sunday at 2AW Square in Chiba (Saturday night in the US). There is no live broadcast scheduled. It should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE by the middle of next week. This is the final event before CyberFight Festival.

DDT ran two separate events today in Kumamoto, a traditional event and a special one-match event held inside a hot spring, the type of event only DDT can hold.

Today’s first event was held at Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall in Kumamoto and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast for either event.

The announced paid attendance was 331, a legit sellout.

The card underwent several late changes due to Chris Brookes being a late removal due to injury.
Match 1: MAO beat Toui Kojima.

Match 2: Yuki Ueno & Takao Soma beat Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino and Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata in a 3-way, when Ueno pinned Hirata.

Match 3: Shinya Aoki & Shunma Katsumata beat Akito & Hideki Okatani. Aoki pinned Okatani with a crucifix.

Match 4: Maya Yukihi beat Saki Akai.

Match 5: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Koroku. Sasaki beat Koroku with a crossface.

Match 6: Yuji Hino beat Yukio Naya.

Main Event: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada beat HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida. Endo pinned Ishida after Burning Star Press.

Second event: The other event was held at Kumamoto Castle Natural Hot Spring and had only one match.
The announced paid attendance was 30, a legit sellout.

Result: In a Falls Count Anywhere Match with No Time Limit, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima beat Shinya Aoki & Yukio Naya. Katsumata pinned Aoki after Heat Wave WER!! Total match time was 52:58 and lots of ridiculous comedy galore. It will be a must-watch when it eventually comes to WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The next event is “What Are You Doing 2022” Wednesday at Korakuen hall in Tokyo. It will be headlined by DDT Extreme and Universal Championship matches, and also scheduled is a battle royal for the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, the promotion’s 24/7 comedy title. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Wednesday at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This is the final live broadcast before CyberFight Festival ’22.

DDT continues the road to CyberFight Festival today with “Audience 2022”, a mid-major event headlined by two title matches. First up, after fighting each other over the DDT Universal Championship, MAO & Asuka (Veny) will now team up in an attempt to win the KO-D Tag Team Championship from Chris Brookes & Masa Takanashi. In the main event, the new KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions will be determined in a tournament final between Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON (replacing Minoru Fujits, who suffered an injury that forced the Damnation TA trio to vacate the titles) and Kazusada Higuchi, 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. The first 2 matches can also be watched FOR FREE on YouTube.

Today’s lineup:
Naomi Yoshimura vs. Yuki Ishida
Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Iino & Akito vs. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
Yuki Ueno vs. Kazuki Hirata
Hardcore Match: Carousell ❤️ Shun ＆ Elizabeth ❤️ Toi　vs　Suzu Suzuki ＆ Akane Fujita
Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku vs. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Ilsion & el Unicorn
KO-D Tag Team Champions Chris Brookes & Masa Takanashi vs. MAO & Asuka (Veny) for the titles
Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON vs. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani for the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship

Updates below will begin at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT.

10:23 PM ET UPDATE: Live stream starts NOW.

We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano & Sayoko Mita.

The matches will begin in about 15 minutes.
The matches begin at 10:35 PM ET.

Match 1: Naomi Yoshimura vs. Yuki Ishida. 30 minute time limit
Result: Naomi Yoshimura beat Yuki Ishida

Match 2: Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Iino & Akito vs. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda. 30 minute time limit
Result: Danshoku Dieno, Yuki Iino & akito beat HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda. Akito beat Honda with a Figure 4. Comedy match.
The YouTube broadcast ends here. For the UNIVERSE crowd there is a short pause and an announcement related to WRESTLE PETER PAN on 8/20.

Match 3: Yuki Ueno vs. Kazuki Hirata. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Ueno beat Kazuki Hirata. Comedy match with a hilarious ending.

Quick break for ring cleaning and to get things set up for the next match.

Match 4: Hardcore Match: Carousell ❤️ Shun ＆ Elizabeth ❤️ Tohi　vs.　Suzu Suzuki ＆ Akane Fujita. 30 minute time limit
Result: Suzu Suzuki & Akane Fujita beat Carousell ❤️ Shun ＆ Elizabeth ❤️ Tohi. Suzuki pinned Shun with a German suplex hold. Hardcore comedy match. The losers were really Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima.

Another break for ring cleaning.

The participants for this year’s KING OF DDT Tournament are announced. This year’s tournament will be held on 6/16, 6/19 & 7/3.

Match 5: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku vs. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Ilsion & el Unicorn. 30 minute time limit
Result: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku beat Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Ilsion & el Unicorn. Koroku beat Unicorn with a Boston crab.

Match 6: KO-D Tag Team Champions Chris Brookes & Masa Takanashi vs. MAO & Asuka (Veny) for the titles. 1 Hour time limit
Result: MAO & Asuka beat KO-D Tag Team Champions Chris Brookes & Masa Takanashi to win the titles. MAO & Asuka become the 74th KO-D Tag Team Champions. MAO pinned Brookes after a lariat.

Main Event: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON vs. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani in a tournament final for the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani to win the tournament and the titles. Sasaki, Pawl & KANON become the 46th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Sasaki beat Okatani with a crossface. Minoru Fujita interfered earlier to prevent Eruption from winning the titles.

Overall this was a comedy-heavy event outside of the last two matches, and very entertaining as a result. If you watch the on demand replay, the total running time of the event was 2 1/2 hours.

This will be updated tomorrow with the attendance and post-event news/fallout, if any.

The next event is Saturday at Nishitetsu Hall in Fukuoka. There will be no live broadcast but the event will be available on demand at a later date. In fact, of the 5 remaining events before CyberFight Festival 2022 only one live broadcast is scheduled (the rest will be on demand on a roughly 3-day delay). If you have not subscribed to WRESTLE UNIVERSE before make sure to start your free 22-week trial after June 1 so you can watch CyberFIght Festival FOR FREE! Remember to cancel before the 12th day so you don’t pay anything if you don’t want to continue subscribing.

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 529.
Keiji Muto has been added to CyberFight Festival 2022 where he will make an “important announcement”.

DDT ran this month’s DDT FREE event today with free admission for lucky fans. It also continued building to CyberFight Festival following the full card announcement earlier this week.

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

The announced attendance was 348, a legit sellout.

Match 1: Saki Akai & Takao Soma beat Maya Yukihi & Kazuki Hirata. Akai pinned Hirata after New Face Award. Afterwards, Akai & Yukihi agreed to a match on 5/29.

Match 2: Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno beat Toru Owashi & Akito. Iino pinned Akito. Afterwards, Akito tried to get out of having to team with Pheromons at CyberFight Festival. Developing.

5 potential new trainees who passed the initial tryouts for the promotion were introduced.

Match 3: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura beat Yuji Hino & Toui Kojima. Yoshimura pinned Kojima after Harai Goshi.

Match 4: Yuki Ueno beat Yukio Naya.

Match 5: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Pawl & KANON beat Kazusada Higuchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida. Pawl pinned Ishida after Death Valley Bomb.

Match 6: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama beat Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku. Akiyama pinned Koroku after Exploder.

Main Event: MAO, Asuka (Veny) & Shunma Katsumata beat Chris Brookes, Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda. MAO pinned Honda after Michinoku Driver 2.

The next event is Sunday at Hiroshima Industrial Hall East Exhibition Hall in Hiroshima. There will be no live broadcast but it will be available on demand at a later date.