With NOAH being bought out by CyberAgent, and being placed on the DDT Universe service. Eyes have been brought over to the company of Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). The company has a perception of a high barrier to entry. So this will be the start of a series to explain some concepts that pop up in DDT, and explain what they are. All in an attempt to make a step into watching a little bit easier. First off will be the promotions that fall under the DDT Umbrella. Now not all of them are integral to DDT, but they can have matches on larger shows. So being familiar with the names and what they are, is very useful knowledge.
DDT Pro
Dramatic Dream Team is the main promotion having started in the late 90s, and is the essential core of everything under the DDT umbrella. The creative and comedic style of wrestling became their signature. With titles such as the Ironman Heavymetalweight title making waves in the United States. Despite that, they do not shy away from having high-quality wrestling matches, with big names past and present. It is with this mindset that they created two of the biggest names in modern wrestling, in the Golden Lovers, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.
Tokyo Joshi Pro
Founded in 2013, Tokyo Joshi Pro is the sister promotion to DDT. With the main focus being on the Joshi style of wrestling. Only recently has the promotion gotten a major spotlight shined on it. With its partnership with All Elite Wrestling and recently a show attached to Wrestlecon in late March there has been a significant focus on the promotion. Major names from the promotion have been making their mark internationally such as Maki Itoh and Yuka Sakazaki being the major breakout stars of the promotion.
Ganbare Pro
Ganbare Pro is an offshoot of DDT. It’s existence being in-universe Ken Ohka was given 15,000 Yen to make a major wrestling promotion. This promotion is the smallest of all of the ones that run under the DDT banner, and is generally not acknowledged as much as some of the others here. Choosing to remain a smaller more intimate kind of setting. But it deserves to be recognized due to Ken Ohka being a common fixture of the DDT roster. And some major names that were once part of the DDT roster such as Shigehiro Irie, becoming part of the Ganbare Pro roster.
Pro Wrestling Noah
Now it’s not entirely known at this point how far apart DDT and Noah will keep things at this moment in time. It’s worth bringing them up due to the fact that they will have some form of representation at Peter Pan 2020. Which is noteworthy as that is one of DDT’s biggest shows of the year. But Noah has been around for 20 years and has been a name on the tongue of a lot of puro fans. Recently, the focus was drawn to it with the culmination of its Global Jr. Heavyweight League. It has a style unlike any of the other promotions in the DDT umbrella, so even if they stay separate it is worth noting.
There are some inactive promotions that you’ll also hear about either due to a wrestler being a part of it. Such as some roster members being part of DDT New Attitude (DNA) which was to show off Trainees that DDT had to offer. But it was important to focus on the currently active promotions as those are what will be brought up the most. And if someone goes in blind they’re bound to get lost. Most importantly because they are all separate promotions. With their own storylines, and very rarely will they intersect with each other.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this 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. Make sure to subscribe to DDT Universe to see more of DDT and the promotions under the DDT umbrella.
