Ultimate Party (2020)

Promotional poster for the event, featuring various wrestlers

### Tagline(s)

"Let's see DDT Pro Wrestling together!" (Japanese: DDTプロレス一緒に見ようぜ!, Hepburn: *DDT puroresu issho ni miyou ze!*)

## Information

### City

Tokyo, Japan

**Ultimate Party (2020)** was a professional wrestling event promoted by DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The event took place on November 3, 2020, in Tokyo at the Ota City General Gymnasium. This was the second event promoted under the Ultimate Party name. The event was headlined by Tetsuya Endo defending the KO-D Openweight Championship against his DAMNATION stablemate Daisuke Sasaki. The event aired live on CyberFight's streaming service Wrestle Universe.

Another high-profile match scheduled for the show featured Konosuke Takeshita facing Jun Akiyama. The event featured two other title matches with Chris Brookes defending the DDT Universal Championship against Yuki Ueno and Sanshiro Takagi defending the DDT Extreme Division Championship Shinya Aoki in a Weapon Rumble match.

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the event had some restrictions in attendance, following the declaration of the State of Emergency in Japan.

## Production

### Background

Usually, DDT holds two major events each year, often in venues such as the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, the Nippon Budokan or the Ota City General Gymnasium.

#### Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, other wrestling promotions began to cancel or postpone their shows in an attempt to prevent further spreading of the COVID-19 virus. At the end of February, DDT began holding shows with no audience and only essential staff present. DDT's sister promotion Pro Wrestling Noah began holding shows behind closed doors in an empty TV studio under NOAH TV name, with the shows being streamed in the DDT Universe. This led to all DDT doing the same in May, with all programming being relocated to the DDT TV Show Studio. On April 23, DDT announced that the event would be postponed, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, following Japan's declaration of State of Emergency. On May 16, it was announced that the event would be rescheduled to take place on June 6 and June 7, with the event being moved to the DDT TV Show Studio in Tokyo, without an audience and the event would be broadcasted live on AmebaTV and CyberAgent's streaming service Wrestle Universe.

Originally, the event was scheduled to take place at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, but DDT decided to change to the Ota City General Gymnasium due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Kenny Omega also announced that due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19, he was unable to work in the event.

### Storylines

Ultimate Party 2020 featured ten professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storyline. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The event was headlined by Tetsuya Endo defending the KO-D Openweight Championship against his DAMNATION stablemate Daisuke Sasaki. On August 23, 2020, Endo defeated fellow DAMNHearts stablemate T-Hawk in the finals to win the 2020 King of DDT. Usually, the winner of the tournament would receive a shot at the KO-D Openweight Championship, but since Endo was already holding the title, he was allowed to choose his challenger. Endo initially named Kenny Omega who previsouly wrestled returned to the promotion at last years event, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, travel restrictions prevented him to travel to Japan. This led to on September 9 at Get Alive, Endo nominating his DAMNATION stablemate Daisuke Sasaki as his challenger instead. On September 27, Sasaki turned on Endo and tried to kick him out of DAMNATION. However, Sasaki was the one to be kicked out instead, revealing that he had planned to expel him. Having been kicked out of DAMNATION, in an interview with *Yahoo Japan* on October 14, Sasaki announced that we would retire if he lost to Endo.

Since June 2020, Jun Akiyama began feuding with Konosuke Takeshita, after he challenged Akiyama to a match on June 20. Akiyama went to DDT to teach the King’s Road style but Takeshita was more interested in experiencing Akiyama's personal wrestling style. As part of their feud Akiyama formed the Junretsu stable with Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase and Hideki Okatani, who subsequently entered in a rivalry with All Out. On July 23 at Summer Vacation, ALL OUT and Junretsu faced off in a tag team match, which Akiyama scored the win for his team, after pinning Takeshita. The following month, Takeshita challenged Akiyama to a match, but instead of being a tag team match, which they were even, Takeshita suggested a singles match, which he accepted. Their match was announced later that night by DDT. Their rivalry later extended to rest of the members of All Out, culminating on October 3, when Akiyama pinned Akito in a tag team match.

On September 27, Nautilus (Naomi Yoshimura and Yuki Ueno) sucessfully defended the KO-D Tag Team Championship against Chris Brookes and Drew Parker, with Ueno pinning Brookes. On October 10, after Chris Brookes sucessfully defended the DDT Universal Championship against Yoshimura, Yuki Ueno confronted Brookes, before Brookes telling him that he was too weak to become the DDT Universal Champion, even weaker than Yoshimura. Afterwards, Ueno challenged Brookes to a match, with DDT Assistant producer Hisaya Imabayashi making the match official at Ultimate Party. Brookes and Ueno, before putting Ueno in the *Octopus Stretch*. On October 17, Ueno taunted Brookes, after pinning his partner Shota in a tag team match with his finishing move the *Praying Mantis Bomb*. Brookes, who was furious for Ueno humiliating him, attacked him following his match on October 25.

Also on September 27, after Shinya Aoki sucessfully defended the DDT Extreme Division Championship against Antonio Honda in a Lost Point system match, DDT Assistant producer Hisaya Imabayashi asked Aoki to choose his opponent for the Ultimate Party, leading him to pick Sanshiro Takagi. Aoki then allowed Takagi to chose the stipulation for their match, with Takagi deciding it to be a Weapon Rumble match. On October 25, Aoki announced that he was vacating the DDT Extreme Divison Championship and was quitting DDT, before Takagi assured that match would still happen at Ultimate Party. Takagi suggested that Aoki's decision was a negotiation tactic, before stating that Aoki didnt signed their contract because it remembered him of his arriage anddivorce registrations.

The event also featured a tag team match between CIMASoma (CIMA and Soma Takao) and HARASHIMarufuji (HARASHIMA and Naomichi Marufuji), after their match Wrestle Peter Pan was cancelled due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. CIMA had suggest Takao to challenge them into a match on October 25 and even renaming himself to DIMA, if he beated either HARASHIMA or Marufuji.