DDT Pro Wrestling-Themed Bar Closes Downtown

By Scott Roeben, on June 06 2025
2 min read 6 comments
Downtown Las Vegas Las Vegas Las Vegas Bars

A wrestling-themed bar in downtown Las Vegas, DDT, has closed.

DDT was located in the space that was previously Bocho Downtown Sushi in the Tony @ Carson building that was previously the John E. Carson building. Not that John Carson. It’s all pretty complicated.

DDT opened in Sep. 2024 and went down for the count on May 18, 2025. Sorry, we are not a wrestling person.

This spot is as challenging as giving Andre the Giant a piggyback ride from Mandalay Bay to The Strat. Note: We may not be a wrestling person, but we are a “Princess Bride” person.

The name of the place was inspired by a wrestling move, the DDT, which stands for “Driver Head First to the Mat.” How they got “DDT” from that, we may never know, but perhaps the person who came up with the initialism had been driven head-first into the mat a few too many times.

We popped into DDT when it opened and the folks involved, including owners Suzanne Tyson and Randall Tyson, were universally nice.

“Sterkte,” you guys. Suzanne Tyson is South African. She’ll get it.

There’s some irony in the fact a wrestling-inspired bar couldn’t make a go of it, yet wrestling is experiencing a surge in popularity in Las Vegas due to Wrestlemania. The event was hugely successful and there are rumors it will be back soon.

DDT faced lots of challenges. Back in the day, DDT is exactly the kind of hangout Tony Hsieh would’ve supported or subsidized.

Now, small businesses need to be self-sufficient and rents have been raised to more realistic levels by ownership, Boston Omaha Asset Management. This change of landscape has resulted in a number of small businesses moving on, from Downtown Cocktail Room (being replaced by another lounge, Daphne’s) to Flippin’ Good to Smashed Pig to Donut Hole and others.

We’d heard DDT was on the ropes for several months before it closed. Is that even a wrestling term? We always liked the word turnbuckle, mostly because “exposing the turnbuckle” sounds dirtier than it is. “Kayfabe” is another fun word to say. We are not making light of the closure of DDT, we are using a technique called cognitive reframing. You know, cognitive reframing, like when wrestling fans convince themselves wrestling is real because they can’t admit they like soap operas. You didn’t expect a photo caption to pivot or go this deep, did you? It’s called a “turn,” like when John Cena turned heel. By the way, we often pretend to not know about this when we know everything. We broke the story Wrestlemania was coming to Las Vegas, for example. The less you seem to know, the more people underestimate you. Genius is best deployed, not displayed. Ditto modesty.

We hope the good folks at DDT will find another location, but marketing a one-off bar takes deep pockets in a crowded and competitive market, including an entire bar-hopping district a short distance away on Fremont East.

The bell has rung at DDT, and we have exhausted our list of wrestling terms. Yes, it was a very short list. Also something about tapping out, which is arguably bar-related, but it’s a little late for that now.