Nobuhiro Shimatani vs. Chikara
Chikara using the Sephiroth theme for his entrance is the most enlightened decision any man has ever made. The Grandson of Rikidozan is the true final boss of pro-wrestling, the only living being worthy of calling himself the One Winged Angel. His tenacious screaming spots haunted Shimatani like those pesky specters haunted Cloud Strife in the Final Fantasy 7 remake. But what does it all mean? Are the ghosts trying to preserve the timeline of the original game? Is Chikara trying to preserve the tradition of Japanese wrestling by only screaming and chopping? Yes to all of the above. *
Antonio Honda vs. El Lindaman vs. Intelligence Sensational Grand Passion Mask #4 – 3-Way Match
What is your platonic ideal of a wrestling match? A grueling back and forth between two top-level athletes, or three pals sitting around and talking shit to each other? If you went with the second option, then this is the match for you. Nothing less than a pure conversational epic that escalated into casual underwear-based shenanigans. Passion Mask #4 seemed familiar once he unmasked himself, but I don’t want to ruin the man’s mystique by thoroughly researching his identity. *3/4
Soma Takao & T-Hawk vs. Mineo Fujita & Leo Isaka
The cast of obscure Z-listers on this show is a sight to behold. Since diving into DDT this year, I’ve been able to make sense of most of the gimmicks and angles, yet for the life of me I couldn’t explain this Mineo Fujita fellow. Stalker weirdo with an obsession for dick punching? Also, very clumsy and randomly screams a lot? His boyish partner Leo Isaka was a lot easier to grasp. A promising youngster who works Marvelous and BASARA – he gelled well with T-Hawk and helped fill the straightforward wrestling portion of the match. **1/4
Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
Damnation-Produced: Where The Big Boys Play. Former KO-D champion Big Shuj showing up in his old stomping ground to support his ex-stablemates was pretty cool. Any segment featuring him and Higuchi = pure protein gold. Two bulls just running into each other with lariats and shoulderblocks. Even if this was a low-stakes midcard tag, Ishikawa made sure to drop The Gooch right on his head and shoot headbutt him in the face a few times. What a considerate man. Paulie seemed eager to derail the match with his high-pitched selling comedy bullshit, but the other guys were able to keep the action firmly planted into nutritious beef territory. ***
Tetsuya Endo vs. Ryuchi Sekine
The Internet tells me Sekine hails from BASARA, but I won’t be fooled. That monkey tail hanging from his tights can only mean he’s one of the last survivors of Planet Vegeta. Damnation booked a god damn Saiyan on their show. A goofball worthy of the Dragon Ball lore, Sekine initially came off as a major dork but ended up having a really fun match with the champ. Endo pulled a neat balancing act here, playing along with Sekine’s light-hearted shtick while always making sure to remind everyone of his own undeniable coolness. They packed in some good stuff in their ending stretch, Endo giving the underdog plenty of shine before wrapping it up with his aerial superiority. ***1/4
Daisuke Sasaki vs. Tsutomu Oosugi
A strong main event and probably the best Sasaki performance this year. These guys were trained by Dick Togo and Ultimo Dragon respectively, so they embraced their roots and had themselves a lucha-flavored affair. From the opening chain wrestling to the clever counters and smart dive placement: the match had a huge emphasis on craft and it was a refreshing change of pace from the recent Sasaki matches drowned in bad WWE tropes. The layout was well put together, with hints of leg work gradually giving way to an urgent back and forth. Some of the late-match sequences felt like these guys were 5 matches deep in a year long rivalry. That’s how smooth and well thought-out everything came off. Naturally, Sasaki couldn’t stop himself from adding a nonsensical ref bump to the finish, which killed my enthusiasm for a minute, but everything before that was supremely enjoyable. ***1/2
