9/14/19
Naoya Nomura vs. Sam Adonis – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
Sam Adonis is back on the blessed Zen Nihon mat, ready to take over the promotion by storm with his generic 90’s American Wrestler skill-set. I had a feeling he was calling the action in this one, because most of the match wouldn’t have looked out of place on an old WCW Thunder taping. Decked out in his Proto-Buff Bagwell tights, Sam led young Nomura through a whole set of Powerplant-approved dropdown and leapfrog sequences that walked the line between extremely competent and super bland. What grabbed me the most about the match was a philosophical disagreement over sexiness superiority that resulted in Lil Naoya unleashing a full on HIP SWIVEL worthy of Hiroshi Hase. An important moment in pro-wrestling history. **3/4
Suwama vs. Jake Lee – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
As great as this match was, I spent a lot of it absorbed by the reactions of the female fans in the first few rows. A clash between older women cheering for Suwama and younger fangirls supporting Jake made up most of the crowd noise and helped push the generational war subtext of the match all way to the surface while simultaneously acting as a weird metaphor for the current state of the All Japan fanbase. The AJPW crowds mostly consist of older folks these days, but the younger/pu-joshi demographic would be right there for the taking if the Jake Lees and Naoya Nomuras of the world would be pushed more agressively and built up to Kento’s level.
Happy Voices of Wrestling Land business-bullshit talk aside, I really loved this match. It was a Suwama match all the way through and you can never really go wrong with Big Match Suwama. He stepped in the grumpy Neo Jumbo role that he’s so comfortable in and put Jake through the fucking wringer, making him fight for the adoration of those fangirls. It felt tighter than their Champ Carnival match from this year (which was already pretty awesome), thanks to Suwama being somehow angrier and Jake selling huge and making those comebacks matter.
Despite the house show vibe of the venue, both guys were laying into each other like they were at Budokan Hall and worked enough nuclear near-falls to make the match feel like a proper All Japan main event. I mean, you know you’ve got something special on your hands when Jake busts out THE DOCTORBOMB! The kind of match that would make Jake Lee Believers out of anyone. ****1/4
9/15/19
Zeus vs. Dylan James – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
Are you a fan of burly, muscular men loudly smacking each other in the chest with knife-edge chops while grunting menacingly like Kaiju monsters? Well then you’ll dig this match. At least, I did. No exaggeration: this was ALL CHOPS ALL THE TIME, with a couple of strength spots peppered in, and it totally worked. Both of these guys are very good at maximizing the impact of every single little thing and this special talent for violence was on full display in this match. At some point, Dylan James landed a simple elbow drop that looked more devastating than a Canadian Destroyer through a table. Meanwhile, Zeus made a strong case for the apron-Superplex-to-the-inside-of-the-ring as the current greatest spot in wrestling. The effortlessness of it all never seizes to amaze me and James sold it adequately – like white hot death. ***1/4
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Ryouji Sai – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
Total redemption for the 30 minute snoozefest these two had in this year’s Champion Carnival. This one also went long, but they made much better use of their time and kept everything engaging all the way through. Outside of a clunky apron spot, everything was fairly straight-forward: both guys beating the shit out of each other and trying to prove their toughness. Sai was on the receiving hand of most of the brutality and picked his spots nicely – I especially dug his climbing top-rope middle kick to the chest as a match turning point.
As much as I give shit to Ishikawa for not protecting his big moves, I am in absolute awe at the loudness of his forearm strikes. These things SMACK. Plus, Big Shuj Knight actually didn’t lean too hard on the overkill for this one, mostly relying on his Giant knees instead of throwing out every bomb in his arsenal. Surprisingly good stuff. ***1/2
9/16/19
KAI vs. Yuma Aoyagi – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
KAI had one of the best All Japan matches of the year with Kento in January and then bizarrely decided to fuck off to Dragon Gate to do Lucharesu sprints for the entire year. This was his first singles match since and it was quite a good time. He played the grumpy vet to offset Yuma’s fired up babyface act and despite a bit of miscommunication here and there, the two were a good fit together.
It needs to be said that KAI has one of the most amazing tope suicidas in wrestling – his concern for the good people in the front row after the dive really warms my heart. Aoyagi showed solid offense including some beautiful rolling German suplexes and a nifty Tornillo plancha, but he still seems a step behind Nomura and Lee in terms of presence. The kid clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously, which gives him a goofy charm but doesn’t exactly scream Triple Crown challenger. ***1/4
Taishi Takizawa vs. Gianni Valletta – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
A shockingly pro-Valletta crowd made this one of the more watchable Gianni matches in recent memory. The Korakuen faithful wanted their Brody ripoff to triumph against the Kaientai Dojo invader and he ALMOST did. Using the power of professional wrestling (Tope con hilo off the apron! Tiger Driver! Fighting-spirit fuelled strike exchanges!), Gianni showed his worth as Third Best Gaijin Regular (I’m not counting Joel Redman) but ultimately could not resist the Dark Chain Arts that led to his untimely demise. What a story. **1/2
Yoshitatsu vs. Jiro Ikemen Kuroshio – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
Yoshitatsu is many things. World Famous. Bullet Club Hunter. Spiderman Aficionado. Sadly, he will never be more popular than Ikemen wearing a god damned watermelon jacket. This entrance-delaying genius had the crowd in the palm of his hand for the entire match and the outpour of support from the All Japan fans was quite a sight to behold. The guy never fails to captivate: for every questionable comedy sell-job, he’ll pull an amazing bump or a freaking springboard headscissors off the top-rope out of nowhere. Yoshitatsu wasn’t the most convincing ALL JAPAN ENFORCER ever, but he did fine. The Yoshitatsu Fantasy rollup counter was very, very cool. **3/4
Kento Miyahara vs. Joe Doering – Oudou Tournament (Round 1)
I would’ve taken a lot more of this. 11 minutes felt on the short side for a Kento/Joe Korakuen main event, but it still got the job done as a Kento Gets His Ass Kicked type of match. Obviously, the main hook was Kento’s speed and dickishness clashing with Joe’s size and power advantage – and that was good stuff. As much as Kento brought the fight to Doering, the crowd relished seeing the crazed egomaniac ace getting destroyed by the big gaijin and it made for a fun dynamic. Joe is such a beast on offense – it’s hard not to pop for his stuff. Great cutoffs all over the place, monster Stan Hansen elbowdrops and a massive Spinebuster out of nowhere. Kento seemed to be having some issues with his Blackouts, but he made up for it by selling a lot and made Joe look like a major threat. Super fun match. ***1/2
