Episode 11 - Kazusada Higuchi

As he returns to the ring for the first time in 18 months, Mark & Kieran dive deep into the DDT portion of Kota Ibushi’s career. Arguably, one of the most important figures in the history of DDT and its exposure to western audiences. PLUS: Munenori Sawa, BxB Hulk, Dragon Gate, the warehouse at the end of the train line, Buyuden, nuts to YouTube, the Phoenixplex, blow-up dolls, rocket launchers, Hunter x Hunter, Ninja Mack, Kazuki Hirata, Poundland Ultraman, DJ Nira, El Generico, the dual contract, Shoji Kondo, The Hollywood Blonds, attempted murder, HARASHIMA love, takoyaki, Nobunaga’s Ambition, and Mark gets stranded outside of space and time. Goodbye. THE MATCHES Ibushi vs. Kudo, 1st July 2004 (Ibushi debut match) - https://youtube.com/watch?v=1pcTY5VhXa4… Ibushi vs Omega, 6th August 2008 (DDT Beer Garden at Shin Kiba 1st Ring) https://youtube.com/watch?v=BYxPCuWQjRs… Ibushi vs Yoshihiko, 25th October 2009 (Welcome to Never Land 2009) - https://wrestle-universe.com/en/videos/gkDBSowWyZ2XxeyeCGkxH1 Ibushi vs. HARASHIMA- MAX BUMP 2015 (April 29, 2015) - https://vimeo.com/126762347 BONUS! Ibushi vs. El Generico vs. Nick Jackson vs. Jigsaw: https://youtu.be/8XesuznnHaA THE SOCIALS Twitter: @DDTeachpod Web: ⁠http://linktr.ee/DDTeach⁠ Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow our other podcast @MustSeeMatches and subscribe here: ⁠http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

Rescued from a recording device that threatened to update its firmware and delete all recordings, and needing a massive edit job, it’s DDTeach! Mark and Kieran got together in the same room(!!) to FINALLY talk about former sumo and current K-OD Openweight Champion, Kazusada Higuchi. PLUS: Mark’s guide to sumo divisions, Kieran’s loud neighbours, DNA, rookie of the year, a Konosuke Takeshita tangent, and the invisible man who isn’t in the room. THE SOCIALS Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Web: http://linktr.ee/DDTeach Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow our other podcast @MustSeeMatches and subscribe here: http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

We lied to you. Sorry. Rather than the promised profile of Kazusada Higuchi, Mark & Kieran are back with their rundown of what it traditionally DDT's biggest show of the year, Wrestle Peter Pan 2022. PLUS: phallic championships, the current state of Kieran’s relationship, “chops are tequila”, wasted talent, experiments in facial hair, conservative old men, Joey Janela’s Battle Bicycle, Mark’s unusual notepads, Black Swan: the wrestler, fear of a one-hour draw, the return of The Kieran, some intriguing debuts coming up for DDT, and Mark comes clean about his secret identity. THE SOCIALS Subscribe and more: http://linktr.ee/DDTeach Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow our other podcast @MustSeeMatches and subscribe here: http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

With this year's King of DDT tournament now unexpectedly crowning a new K-OD Openweight Champion, Mark and Kieran run down the whole tournament and some notable non-tournament developments, give their views on the goings-on, as well as what’s next for the winner. PLUS: Takeshita Watch, PARTNER BATTLE~!, too many Takanashis, SEXY INVADER, sink plungers, upside-down Tokyo Go, Shadow of the Colossus, “brain slaw clam”, actual politics in wrestling, a new “giant”, Osaka Reggae Town, and a meaty coat hanger. Watch Takeshita vs. Mike Bailey here: https://youtu.be/h0MlLCCmaTw Watch Takeshita vs. Lee Moriarty here: https://youtu.be/gDnnZw65JTk THE SOCIALS Subscribe and more: http://linktr.ee/DDTeach Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow our other podcast @MustSeeMatches and subscribe here: http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

Just to keep you on your toes, Kieran & Mark are back earlier than expected with a completely different show to the one they promised last episode! A full review of the combined DDT, NOAH, TJPW and Ganbare Pro show, Cyberfight Festival and the DDT related fallout. If you want to blame/thank anyone for this episode, please direct all enquiries to Katsuhiko Nakajima. We’ve also got some quick chat about the King of DDT tournament. This was recorded the day of the first round, so if you haven’t seen it yet and want to remain unspoiled, feel free to dip out at about the 1 hour, 15 minute mark. PLUS: gormless Yoshi-Hashi face, sponsorship, roosters, master of disguise Kendo Kashin, cameras and commentators that should never be used again, SEXY EXORCISTO, “questionable chaos”, the college bitch, the NOAH gaikokujin team, Jonny Storm, the celebration of mediocrity, MAO doing MAO things, remixes of Power Hall, Jericho Cocky Pin, invasion angles, a detour into the morass that is AEW vs. New-Japan, the greatest entrance, Masakatsu Funaki: cycling enthusiast, inflatable dinosaurs, Kieran goes off on a wrestling TV production tangent/rant, on-air Google-assisted maths, Kojima’s Krumping Krew,  being shamed by Shakespearean actors on Twitter, Go Shiozaki’s identity crisis, TAKA Michinoku’s rubbish trainees, and overuse of the word “prick”. THE SOCIALS Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow our other podcast @MustSeeMatches and subscribe here: http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

WE’RE BACK, slightly later than planned, to profile the man with the hardest knees and shiniest trousers in DDT, HARASHIMA. Kieran and Mark run through the longtime Ace’s history with the company, with focus on four matches. PLUS: eyebrow woes, Takeshita Watch, Connor Soaky, Togi Makabe, boats, fake Chyna, fashion, JUDGE SUPPORT, Hawaiian Kane, Metal Vampires, Tokyo tourism tips including Kieran’s encounter with a man in a Tokyo museum elevator, GENE ENTERTAINMENT, “arse-based offence”, divorced dad energy, Tony Jaa, takoyaki, Kieran goes for extra credit, and a rookie auction. THE MATCHES HERO vs Poison Sawada Julie 18th April 2004 – Sapporo Taisen Hall in Sapporo https://wrestle-universe.com/videos/iQE7WZjWdnDfVE7YCttLYt… Harashima vs Daisuke Sekimoto (DDT Peter Pan 2010) https://wrestle-universe.com/videos/8mWgR9dfZhAFoTuTmJ3Qtq… Harashima vs Shigehiro Irie (DDT Peter Pan 2013) https://wrestle-universe.com/videos/bFwQ9JPQG7BC1d5qjkMecY… HARASHIMA vs Yukio Sakaguchi (Oct 25, 2015) https://wrestle-universe.com/videos/bZPGuxo7QDKtD4dsUNJT5t… THE SOCIALS Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Follow our other podcast @MustSeeMatches and subscribe here: http://linktr.ee/mustseematches

From the sublime to the ridiculous, Mark & Kieran take a look at the prizes fought over in DDT, paying particular attention to the Extreme and, of course, the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championships. PLUS: A technological upgrade, Japanese wrestling’s seniors’ tours, on-air research, stained-glass windows, Mark vs. the rain, Pat Patterson, outdated notes, Ladybeard, charming rubbish, Mark Buckeldee: Friend of Champions, a meal preparation scenario, woman vs. apple, a flurry of maraca waving, The Florida Bros., when is a Last Man Standing match not a Last Man Standing match, Vader vs. Cactus Jack, Shigehiro Irie’s wardrobe choices, an inebriated El Samurai, Blahblah-san, some wildly incorrect maths, and a fully working train set. Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Keep an eye on @MustSeeMatches

Kieran & Mark are back with their review of DDT’s 25th anniversary show at Sumo Hall, Judgement 2022, as well as their thoughts on the DDT-adjacent Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling Grand Princess ’22 from the same venue the previous night. PLUS: clap crowds, commentary, GANBARE, burials by Genki Horiguchi, karate, bees, Atsushi Onita, no smoking, fake drinking, Old MacDonald, Blackjack, Osamu Tezuka, scalpels, syringes, Jade Cargill, on-air research, ropey stuffed tigers, Situl’s, “Magical Girl Chicken Son of a Bitch”, Masaaki Mochizuki, “three-quarters of an idiot”, oily massages, YES, a giant inflatable panda getting stuck in a doorway, PowerPoint, the historical credence of exploding backsides, poison, thongs, Kingdom Hearts, “the flying gooch”, singing Sentai heroes, bum comedy, sex scandals, a rant about bodyslams, “a film student version of RoboCop”, Kieran’s Hardcore Match pet peeve, BURNING’s dreadful theme music, the AEW/DDT talent trade deal, an epic main event, and podcasting professionalism. Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles Support Mark’s Must See Matches project by following @MustSeeMatches on Twitter, and DMing him your list before March 31st, 2022.

Better late than never, we’re back with our “February” episode, profiling Tetsuya Endo! MATCH LINKS:- 28th September 2014, DDT Dramatic General Election 2014 Final Voting Day - Last Hope Special (Korakuen Hall, Tokyo) – Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ1cjE6Ulb0 25th June 2017, DDT BLACK OUT Presents King Of DDT 2017 Final Round (Korakuen Hall, Tokyo) – King of DDT final: Tetsuya Endo vs HARASHIMA: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5wig3e 12th December 2020, D王 GRAND PRIX 2021 in NARIMASU (Narimasu Act Hall, Tokyo) – Tetsuya Endo vs Makoto Oishi: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/videos/2TxHGyf9zw817kuYAc4gbX (starts at 01:01:25) PLUS: Apologies, global wrestling influences, Trent Seven, Mark’s sense of direction, beetles, sentai, names for 40-year-old children, TransAm Hiroshi, Brian Pillman cosplay wigs, traffic lights on your bum, gymnastics, dubious grammar, Pac, peeks behind the curtain, Strong BJ, Boyz, Dragon Gate, Any Time/Anywhere gauntlets, haunted Easter eggs, old men talking about music, Jerry Lynn, “The Kieran”, AEW TV formula, the best figure-four leglock of all-time, Tetsuya In The Sky With Diamonds, Zombie Ibushi, the fashions and formation of DAMNATION, the babyface/heel dynamic, The Florida Brothers, the Saitama Super Arena sword, the subtle differences between a briefcase and a bladed weapon, Daisuke Sasaki’s three-day week, the karaoke powers of Shuji Ishikawa, Miracle Ecstasy, a borderline genius finish, “<cough> NOAH <cough>”, and “a burning Endo”. Support Mark’s Must See Matches project by following @MustSeeMatches on Twitter, and DMing him your list. Twitter: @DDTeachpod Email: [email protected] Kieran: @Kieranedits Mark: @monkey_buckles

Not sure where to get started with DDT? Mark and Kieran are back to talk about three matches that are perfect for the newcomer:- Ironman Heavymetalweight Title Battle Royale (June 12, 2018) Akito vs. ASUKA - Ippon Flourescent Lighttube Death Match (Wrestle Peter Pan - July 15, 2019) https://youtu.be/GSrH4TuKq1I Konosuke Takeshita vs. HARASHIMA KO-D Openweight Title vs. Extreme Title (Ultimate Party - Nov 3, 2019) PLUS: The warehouse at the end of the trainline, hardcore innovation, a multitude of Makotos, live scrolling through Cagematch, Tajiri, small Ultimate Warrior, BULK ORCHESTRA, GLEAT, contractually obligated perversions, a deluge of Dragons, not Kanako Urai, VENY, AEW, happy cameramen, cracking theme songs, the six basic bumps, spinning lanterns, the surprising strength of Konosuke Takeshita, KUDO, and the worst sign-off in the history of podcasts. Follow us on Twitter! The show: https://twitter.com/DDTeachPod Mark: https://twitter.com/Monkey_Buckles Kieran: https://twitter.com/KieranEdits Check out and contribute to Mark’s Must See Matches project: https://twitter.com/MustSeeMatches