Judgement 2023

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 will air domestically on Fighting TV Samurai and globally on CyberFight's video-on-demand service Wrestle Universe.

Judgement 2023
Promotional poster featuring various DDT wrestlers
PromotionCyberFight
Brand(s)DDT Pro-Wrestling
DateMarch 21, 2023
CityTokyo, Japan
VenueKorakuen Hall
Attendance1,138[1]
Event chronology
← Previous
Into The Fight 2023		 Next →
Mega Max Bump 2023
Judgement chronology
← Previous
2022		 Next →
—

Sixteen matches were contested at the event, including one on the pre-show, and five of DDT's eight 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

Background

Judgement 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

Judgement 2023 featured 16 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

The 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]

Results
No.Results[6]StipulationsTimes[1]
1PIlusion and Munetatsu Nakamura defeated El Unicorn and Raimu ImaiTag team match[2]8:15
2Yuya Koroku and Yuki Ishida defeated Toui Kojima and Kazuma SumiTag team match[2]9:02
3Keisuke Ishii and Soma Takao defeated Kazuki Hirata and YoshihikoTag team match[2]10:39
4Makoto Oishi defeated Gorgeous Matsuno and Shinichiro KawamatsuThree-way match for the vacant O-40 Championship[2]4:54
5Pheromones (Yuki "Sexy" Iino, Danshoku "Dandy" Dino, Yumehito "Fantastic" Imanari and Koju "Shining Ball" Takeda) vs. Anti-Pheromones Task Force (Akito, Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato and Yusuke Okada) ended in a no-contestEight-man tag team match[2]11:21
6Wasteland War Party (Max the Impaler and Heidi Howitzer) defeated Antonio Honda and Super Sasadango MachineTag team match[2]7:46
7Saki Akai defeated Masahiro TakanashiSingles match[2]9:19
8Harashima and Keigo Nakamura defeated Eruption (Yukio Sakaguchi and Hideki Okatani)Tag team match[2]12:26
9Takeshi Masada defeated Hikaru MachidaSingles match[2]6:31
10Damnation T.A (Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul and Kanon) defeated Chris Brookes, Drew Parker and Hagane ShinnoSix-man tag team match[2]11:55
11Jun Akiyama (c) defeated Kotaro SuzukiSingles match for the DDT Extreme Championship[2]10:48
12Konosuke Takeshita defeated Sanshiro Takagi by referee's decisionSingles match[2]13:17
13Yuki Ueno defeated Samuray Del SolSingles match[2]13:28
14Tetsuya Endo defeated Naruki Doi (c)Singles match for the DDT Universal Championship[2]20:49
15ShunMao (Mao and Shunma Katsumata) (c) defeated Harimau (Kazusada Higuchi and Ryota Nakatsu)Falls count anywhere match for the KO-D Tag Team Championship[2]18:15
16Yuji Hino (c) defeated Yukio NayaSingles match for the KO-D Openweight Championship[2]22:23
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show

References
  1. Kreikenbohm, Philip (March 21, 2023). "DDT Judgement 2023 - Longest 5 Hour Special In Korakuen Hall History". cagematch.net. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
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