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DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, but the promotion was eventually bought and managed by Shoichi Ichimiya until December 2005, when Sanshiro Takagi took over as the new president. In 2017, DDT was sold to CyberAgent. Takagi retained his position, while Takahiro Yamauchi took over as the new DDT director.

DDT became one of the top promotions in Japanese indie wrestling by creating a unique sports entertainment style, often parodying WWE, with a Japanese puroresu flair to the matches. DDT has had agreements with various MMA and professional wrestling promotions around the world. DDT's biggest event is Peter Pan, held each year since 2009.

The cards' matches tend to be a mixture of Japanese lucharesu (a mix of lucha libre and traditional puroresu), worked shoot-style, hardcore brawling and comedy matches. DDT is in many ways a parody of American pro wrestling, particularly WWE, using over-the-top gimmicks (most notably Danshoku Dino) as well as unique match types including a hardcore match in a campsite (which featured use of bottle rockets as weapons), an "Office Deathmatch" (where the ring was set up to resemble a section of an office building, complete with cubicle walls and computers), and a "Silence Match" (where wrestlers were forbidden to make loud noises, resulting in slow-motion chops and punches and featuring the commentary team speaking in a faux-whisper).

In January 2020, DDT's parent company CyberAgent purchased Pro Wrestling NOAH, with DDT's executives taking over NOAH's operations and NOAH's content appearing on DDT's streaming service.

Championships[]

Active[]

Inactive[]

  • DDT Jiyugaoka Six-Person Tag Team Championship

Union Pro[]

Sub-Brands & Sister Promotions[]

DDT runs several sub-brands and offshoots, regularly experimenting with the different ways wrestling can be done and presented.

  • Union Pro Wrestling is the revived version of the notorious indy sleaze promtions from the early 1990s and is now run by Shuji Ishikawa. It is the most consistent of the sub-brands when it comes to running shows.
  • Hard Hit is more of a stand up worked shoot style hybrid using rounds and a points system for its matches.
  • MUSCLE began as Muscle Sakai’s parody of HUSTLE but since then has gained a life of its own and is now about whatever crazy idea Sakai thinks of at the time.
  • Cruiser’s Game focuses on high flying wrestlers and is handled by MIKAMI.
  • BOYZ feature handsome wrestlers from around the indy scene and is kept under the watchful eye of Johnny Edojima, who is played by Danshoku Dino.
  • Tokyo Women's Wrestling is a promotion that was created to train and nurture new female wrestlers. Although being run by DDT, unlike most of the other sub-brands and offshoots, Tokyo Women's Wrestling remains separate from DDT and its other brands.
  • Yago Pro was a sub-brand that to date existed for a single night and was run by Yoshiaki Yago.

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