Judgement 2023: Longest 5-Hour Special in Korakuen History (Japanese: Judgement2023〜後楽園史上最長5時間スペシャル〜, Hepburn: Jajimento 2023: Kōrakuen Shijō Saichō Go-jikan Supesharu) was a professional wrestling event promoted by CyberFight's DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). It took place on March 21, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Korakuen Hall.[2] It was the twenty-seventh event under the Judgement name and the eleventh to take place at the Korakuen Hall. The event aired domestically on Fighting TV Samurai and globally on CyberFight's video-on-demand service Wrestle Universe.
| Judgement 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring various DDT wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | CyberFight | ||
| Brand(s) | DDT Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | March 21, 2023 | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Venue | Korakuen Hall | ||
| Attendance | 1,138[1] | ||
| Event chronology | |||
| |||
| Judgement chronology | |||
| |||
Sixteen matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show, and five of DDT's nine championships were on the line. In the main event, Yuji Hino defeated Yukio Naya to retain the KO-D Openweight Championship. Other prominent matches saw ShunMao (Mao and Shunma Katsumata) defeat Harimau (Kazusada Higuchi and Ryota Nakatsu in a Falls count anywhere match to retain the KO-D Tag Team Championship, Tetsuya Endo defeated Naruki Doi to win the DDT Universal Championship, Jun Akiyama successfully defended the DDT Extreme Championship against Kotaro Suzuki, and Makoto Oishi won a three-way match to win the vacant O-40 Championship.
Production
editBackground
editJudgement is an event held annually around March by DDT Pro-Wrestling since 1997. It has been marking the anniversary of the promotion since the very first official event produced by DDT on March 25, 1997. Over the years, Judgement would become the biggest show of the year until 2009 when Peter Pan became the flagship event series.
Storylines
editJudgement 2023 featured a total of sixteen professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3]
On February 26, at Into The Fight, Yukio Naya defeated Harashima to become the #1 contender to Yuji Hino's KO-D Openweight Championship.[4]
Event
editThe preshow included three matches and was broadcast on DDT's YouTube channel. In the first one, "DDTeeen" division competitors Ilusion and Munetatsu Nakamura defeated El Unicorn and Raimu Imai. El Unicorn unmasked after the bout concluded. In the second one, Yuya Koroku and Yuki Ishida outmatched Toui Kojima and Kazuma Sumi in tag team action. In the third bout, Keisuke Ishii and Soma Takao picked up a victory over Kazuki Hirata and Yoshihiko.[5]
On the first main card bout, Makoto Oishi defeated Gorgeous Matsuno and Shinichiro Kawamatsu in three-way competition. Next up, the team of Pheromones (Yuki "Sexy" Iino, Danshoku "Dandy" Dino, Yumehito "Fantastic" Imanari and Koju "Shining Ball" Takeda) wrestled the Anti-Pheromones Task Force (Akito, Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato and Yusuke Okada) into a no-contest. The sixth bout of the event saw Max the Impaler and Heidi Howitzer picking up a victory over Antonio Honda and Super Sasadango Machine in tag team competition. In the seventh bout, Saki Akai defeated Masahiro Takanashi in singles action. Next up, Harashima and Keigo Nakamura outmatched Yukio Sakaguchi and Hideki Okatani in tag team competition. In the ninth match, Takeshi Masada defeated Hikaru Machida in singles competition. Next up, Jun Akiyama defeated Kotaro Suzuki to secure the fourth consecutive defense of the DDT Extreme Championship in that respective reign. Next up, All Elite Wrestling's Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sanshiro Takagi in singles competition. The thirteenth bout saw Yuki Ueno picking up a victory over Samuray Del Sol in singles action. In the fourteenth bout, Tetsuya Endo defeated Naruki Doi to win the DDT Universal Championship, ending the latter's reign at 67 days and one successful defense. In the semi main event, Mao and Shunma Katsumata defeated Kazusada Higuchi and Ryota Nakatsu to secure the fourth consecutive defense of the KO-D Tag Team Championship in that respective reign.
In the main event, Yuji Hino defeated Yukio Naya to secure the first successful defense of the KO-D Openweight Championship in that respective reign.[6][7]
Results
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 21, 2023). "DDT Judgement 2023 - Longest 5 Hour Special In Korakuen Hall History". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 東京・後楽園ホール「Judgement2023〜後楽園史上最長5時間スペシャル〜」. DDT Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ Carlan, Lewis (February 26, 2023). "DDT Pro-Wrestling Into The Fight 2023 Full Results (2/26/2023); Major Title Change". PWMania.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ DDT Pro-Wrestling (March 21, 2023). "- YouTube" 【LIVE】3.21 後楽園ホール大会「Judgement2023〜後楽園史上最長5時間スペシャル〜」の第2試合までを生配信！＜3月21日(火)13時20分頃〜＞. youtube.com (in Japanese). Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Carlan, Lewis (March 21, 2023). "DDT Judgement Results – March 21, 2023". PWMania.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Dark Angelita (March 29, 2023). "DDT: «Judgement 2023» 5 títulos en juego". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Daly, Wayne (March 21, 2023). "DDT Results: Judgement 2023 ~ Longest 5-Hour Special In Korakuen Hall History – Tokyo, Japan (3/21)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved March 21, 2023.