By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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DDT “DDT Goes Philadelphia”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
April 4, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at The Auditorium at Penns Landing Caterers
This event was part of The Collective in Philadelphia, Penn., on Thursday, April 4, 2024. As with the other shows in The Collective, attendance is perhaps 800. Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard provided commentary.
1. Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos defeated Bryan Keith and Shota at 8:29. Brookes and Lykos are from UK’s Progress Wrestling. All four began brawling before ring announcer Emil Jay could finish introductions. Brookes hit a senton on the smaller Shota (NOT NJPW’s Shota Umino!). Keith hit an Exploder Suplex on Brookes for a nearfall at 4:00. Shota mouse-trapped Lykos’ arms and got a nearfall. Shota hit a Lungblower to Lykos’ chest, then a frogsplash for a nearfall at 7:00. He dove through the ropes onto Brookes, then onto Lykos. Lykos hit a swinging brainbuster on Shota for the pin. Decent opener.
2. Tetsuya Endo defeated Andrew Everett at 11:29. Quick reversals at the bell and Endo hit a dropkick. Everett hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 2:30, then an Asai Moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Andrew hit a hard chop that leveled Endo and he was in charge. Everett nailed a Chokeslam for a nearfall at 5:00. Everett missed a springboard 630 Splash. Endo hit a Sasake Special to the floor on Everett. In the ring, Everett hit a chokeslam-style powerbomb for a nearfall, but he missed a top-rope Shooting Star Press.
Endo fired back with a handspring-back-spin kick, then a Torture Rack-into-a-powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Everett nailed a Poison Rana, and he peeled down the strap of his singlet. He set up for a chokeslam, but Endo turned it into a Canadian Destroyer! Endo hit a Pele Kick in the corner. They fought on the ropes, and Endo hit a second-rope Torture Rack Bomb. He went to the corner and hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press for the clean pin. That was really good.
3. Chiitan defeated Dan the Dad at 5:15. Chiitan is the cat mascot character, and the crowd loves this silliness. Dan offered a handshake; Chiitan knocked the coffee cup out of Dan’s hand. This is all comedy as the cat costume has an oversized head and you can’t really do anything in a costume this big. Dan set up a board bridge, but Chiitan hit a superplex through the board bridge for the pin. Harmless and the crowd liked it.
* Chris Brookes attacked Chiitan from behind; he and Dan hit the mascot with board shards. This brought out Yoshihiko, the human-sized mannequin. This comedy just doesn’t do much for me but I acknowledge the crowd is all-in on it.
4. Yoshihiko defeated Kazuki Hirata at 5:23. Hirata wears a long robe and he danced his way to the ring. I must reiterate — he fought a lifeless mannequin.
5. Billie Starkz vs. Mao ended in a double-pin/draw at 10:54. He wasn’t taking her seriously, so she kicked him in the stomach. Mao channeled Orange Cassidy, putting his hands in his pockets, hitting a shoulder tackle, doing a flip with his hands hidden. She hit a forearm, so he dropped her with a straight punch to the jaw at 2:30, and he took charge. She hit a spin kick to his jaw and a German Suplex. She hit some Yes Kicks to his chest. Mao fired back with his own spin kick to her jaw. They traded forearm strikes. He hit a stunner, but she hit a neckbreaker over her knee at 4:30.
They rolled to the floor and got chairs from under the ring and tossed them into the ring. Mao hit a Michinoku Driver onto a folded chair. He hit a second-rope Michinoku Driver onto the folded chair for a nearfall at 8:30. He picked her up, put her on his shoulders and tossed her like a lawn dart through a board in the corner, but only got a nearfall. He clocked her on the cheek, dropping her to the mat, and he put her on a board bridge. He went for a 450 Splash but she moved, so he crashed through the board bridge. She got an O’Connor Roll, but he pulled her down, and all four of their shoulders were down, so we had a double pin.
* The ref said they will decide who is champion based on a game of “rock-paper-scissors.” After a couple draw, Mao won with “scissors” over Billie’s “paper.” A silly way to decide the title, but it fits with this show, I guess.
6. Daisuke Sasaki and Kanon defeated Nick Wayne and Takeshi Masada at 7:10. I don’t know any of the Japanese wrestlers. At first glance, Sasaki make me think he’s the Japanese version of Raven, with a dark jacket, emo T-shirt and dark makeup under his eyes. Kanon has short black hair combed straight down into his eyes. Masada has a young face and long hair that reaches his shoulders. All four brawled at the bell, with Kanon trading blows with Wayne. In the ring, Sasaki’s team worked over Masada. Wayne made the hot tag at 3:00 and cleared the ring. Wayne nailed an Asai Moonsault to the floor on both opponents.
In the ring, Wayne hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Sasaki hit a backbreaker on Wayne, and he applied a crossface. Masada hit a brainbuster for a nearfall on Kanon at 5:30, then a leaping Flatliner for a nearfall. Wayne and Masada hit stereo superkicks. Sasake hit a low blow kick on Masada! Kanon immediately hit a clothesline, then an assisted-Dominator faceplant to pin Masada. Good action but this definitely could have gone longer.
7. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Shunma Katsumata at 10:04. My first time seeing Katsumata; he has short, uncombed shaggy hair and a young face. He came out first, and he attacked as Takeshita emerged through the curtain. They got in the ring, where Shunma hit several superkicks and was in charge. He’s smaller than Takeshita, perhaps by six or so inches. He hit a DDT on the floor at 1:30, and they traded slaps to the face. Back in the ring, Shunma hit a double stomp to the chest. Takeshita hit a jumping knee at 3:30 that sent Shunma to the floor. Takeshita hit a suplex on the floor. In the ring, Takeshita hit a Helluva Kick and a standing powerbomb.
Takeshita hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 5:00. Shunma mounted Takeshita and hit a series of punches. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Takeshita dropped him with a hard forearm at 7:30 and it popped the crowd. Shunma hit a suplex for a nearfall. He went for a frogsplash but Takeshita got his knees up. Takeshita nailed a rolling elbow for a believable nearfall at 9:30. Takeshita hit a running knee to the chin for another nearfall. He locked in a Jericho-style Lion Tamer/vertical Boston Crab, and Shunma tapped out. That was hard-hitting.
8. Yuki Ueno defeated Mike Bailey at 18:51. Ueno has a title belt but it is NOT on the line. Bailey hit a brainbuster to open the match for a nearfall just 10 seconds in! They immediately traded forearm strikes. Ueno went for a plancha but Bailey kicked him in the ribs as he came down to the floor. Bailey hit some stiff kicks on the floor. Bailey hit a Russian Legsweep onto the edge of the ring at 2:00. He then nailed his Triangle Moonsault onto Ueno, and we got a “Speedball!” chant. In the ring, Bailey hit a top-rope flying double knees to the back as Ueno was draped on the top rope at 4:00, and he began jawing at ref Scarlette Donovan. He hit another kneedrop to the chest for a nearfall.
Bailey locked in a Trailer Hitch leglock, but Ueno quickly reached the ropes at 6:00. Ueno hit a suplex and they were both down. He hit a head-scissors takedown, then a corkscrew plancha to the floor on Bailey. In the ring, he hit a running knee to the back of the head and got a nearfall. In the ring, Bailey hit a series of kicks and his running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 8:30. They hit snap German Suplexes and both collapsed at 10:30. They got up and hit simultaneous clotheslines, then overhand chops.
Bailey hit a headbutt. Ueno hit a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall. They went to the ring apron, where Ueno hit another half-nelson suplex, and they collapsed to the floor at 12:30. Bailey nailed his moonsault double kneedrop on the apron, landing squarely on Ueno’s chest. In the ring, Ueno hit a huracanrana and a Shining Wizard, then he nailed a top-rope frogsplash for a believable nearfall at 15:00. Ueno missed a Best Moonsault Ever, and Bailey hit another moonsault knee drop, then a Buzzsaw kick to the head for a believable nearfall.
Bailey nailed the Ultima Weapon summersault knee drop for a believable nearfall at 16:30. He set up for a Flamingo Driver, but Ueno escaped and hit a Poison Rana, then a Meteora running double knees for a nearfall, but Bailey grabbed the ropes to break the count. Bailey nailed the Green Tea Plunge/mid-ring Spanish Fly, then a superkick. He set up for the Tornado Kick, but Ueno hit a running knee to the chin! However, Bailey kicked out at one. Ueno hit a standing dropkick to the chin, then a swinging neckbreaker for the pin! That was fantastic.
Final Thoughts: Two incredible matches to close the show. Ueno-Bailey has to be among the best indy matches of the entire WrestleMania weekend. Takeshita-Katsumata was really good for second, and I’ll go with Endo-Everett for third. Yes, this show had the silliness of Chiitan and Yoshihiko and that’s an acquired taste (and not my preference) but the crowd enjoyed it. This show was mid-afternoon on Thursday, and the crowd was large and into the action. These Collective shows have all been quite fun.
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