The buildup to DDT’s biggest show of the year, Wrestle Peter Pan, continued at HARASHIMA’s Triumphant Return on July 27 at Ome. After their first successful title defense, The Apex were blindsided by Damnation T.A. and declared their cruel intentions of taking the KO-D Tag Team Championships from them.
The Apex Fends Off Akiyama & Sato, New Challengers Arrive
Yuki Iino and Yukio Naya, known as The Apex, made their first successful defense of the tag team titles against the team of the living legend Jun Akiyama and 16-year-old Daichi Sato. The challengers were able to work together well enough to push them, but the champions pulled through in the end.
While they were making their post-match speech, Ilusion showed up and entered the ring, and taunted the champions. With their attention diverted, Daisuke Sasaki and Hideki Okatani came up from behind to attack them. Sasaki would then grab a mic and declare that he and Okatani want a shot at the tag titles.
Iino stated his rebuttal, and General Manager Imabayashi made it official. On day one of Wrestle Peter Pan on August 30 at Higashin Arena, it will be Daisuke Sasaki and Hideki Okatani of Damnation T.A. vs. Yuki Iino and Yukio Naya of The Apex for the KO-D Tag Team titles.
In his career, the veteran Sasaki won the tag titles seven times, each reign with different partners. Some of the names that he’s tagged with include Kota Ibushi and a fellow former KO-D Openweight champion Tetsuya Endo.
Meanwhile, Okatani is a two-time KO-D Six Man Tag Team champion and a former AJPW All Asia Tag Team champion with Yukio Sakaguchi in their days as Eruption.
Wrestle Peter Pan Card So Far
This year’s Wrestle Peter Pan will be a two-day affair, with day one being held at Higashin Arena and shifting to Korakuen Hall the next day. It was previously announced that Zack Sabre Jr. and Hiroshi Tanahashi will wrestle in the event. Here are all the announced matches for both days so far:
Wrestle Peter Pan Day 1 Card:
- Hinata Kasai debut match
- Muscle Sakai Retirement Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Muscle Sakai
- TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita) vs. Schadenfreude International (Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada)
- DDT Extreme Championship: To-y (c) vs. Yuya Koroku
- KO-D Openweight Championship: Kazusada Higuchi (c) vs. Jun Akiyama
Wrestle Peter Pan Day 2 Card:
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Danshoku Dieno
- DDT Universal Championship: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. MAO
- KO-D Openweight Championship: Winner of Higuchi vs. Akiyama vs. Yuki Ueno
Both days of Wrestle Peter Pan will be live on the Wrestle Universe streaming platform.
More from LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header Photo – DDT Pro-Wrestling – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on Yuki Ueno, DDT Wrestle Peter Pan, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, TJPW, and more on Wrestle Universe.
