Captain Lou’s Top 10 – August 2020

Promotions Watched : AJPW, DDT, NOAH, Dragon Gate, Ganbare Pro

Here’s a potentially-fun new feature to kick off autumn. I made a list of my favorite matches from the various shows I reviewed throughout August, so you won’t have to read through all of this insanity to pick out the best stuff. DDT has a big presence on the list due to King of DDT rolling across the month. A great jumping on point if you’re curious about the serious side of DDT, featuring standout performances from your barber’s best friend T-Hawk, handsome legend Minoru Tanaka and evil sexy acrobat Tetsuya Endo.

The other big highlight of August was GHC champ Go Shiozaki cementing his place as both the one true Green Ace and a serious Wrassler Of The Year contender. Back to back memorable title defenses against Marufuji and Kenoh will do that for you. Match of the month goes to the absolute banger of an Open the Dream Gate title match between Doi and Eita. A 30 minute miracle of the handclap-only era.

Most of these are available on Wrestle Universe, AJPW TV and Dragon Gate Network. If these are not an option for you, just use other nefarious means. Enjoy.

The Top 10

1. Naruki Doi © vs. Eita – Open The Dream Gate (Dragon Gate 8/2/2020)
2. Go Shiozaki © vs. Kenoh – GHC Heavyweight Title + GHC National Title (NOAH 8/10/2020)
3. Katsuhiko Nakajima © vs. Kenoh – GHC National Title (NOAH 8/4/2020)
4. Hagane Shinnou © vs. Asuka – Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title (Ganbare 8/22/2020)
5. Tetsuya Endo vs. Minoru Tanaka – King of DDT Round 3 (DDT 8/10/2020)
6. T-Hawk vs. Akito – King of DDT Semi-Finals (DDT 8/23/2020)
7. Go Shiozaki © vs. Naomichi Marufuji – GHC Heavyweight Title (NOAH 8/5/2020)
8. T-Hawk vs. Tetsuya Endo – King of DDT Finals (DDT 8/23/2020)
9. HARASHIMA vs. Kazusada Higuchi – King of DDT Round 2 (DDT 8/9/2020)
10. Koji Iwamoto © vs. Dan Tamura – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title (AJPW 8/30/2020)

Honorable Mentions

1. Konosuke Takeshita vs. El Lindaman – King of DDT Round 2 (DDT 8/9/2020)
2. Naruki Doi, Don Fujii, Susumu Yokosuka & Shuji Kondo vs. Kento Kobune, Taketo Kamei, Sora Fujikawa & Madoka Kikuta (DG 8/15/2020)
3. Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takashi Sugiura & Kaz Hayashi (NOAH 8/22/2020)
4. T-Hawk vs. Yuki Ueno – King of DDT Round 3 (DDT 8/10/2020)
5. Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, Shinya Aoki & Keigo Nakamura vs. Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani (DDT 8/23/2020)