DDT x OSAKA PRO = LOVE.
Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani vs. Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
I’ve missed this opening match crew. Four fine young men who know how to add interesting new wrinkles to the foundational principles of the Japanese wrestling opener. Whether it’s Watase breaking up Naya’s Cobra twist with a missile dropkick or little Keigo springboarding his way into your heart, there’s always a fun side of creativity to go along with their plate of meat and potatoes. Big Boy Naya only needs to replace that blank stare of his with some proper monster emoting and he’ll be set. **3/4
Danshoku Dino, Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am Hiroshi vs. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
How long has Trans-Am Hiroshi been working the telekinetic yoga master gimmick? His supernatural abilities and relaxation techniques were a welcome new addition to the usual mix of forced anal-entry, fake injuries and Toryumon dances. Yes they were. *
Daisuke Sasaki vs. Makoto Oishi
Pupils of Dick Togo and MEN’s Teioh working a solid 9 minute match based around clever technical wrestling reversals is certainly a thing that makes sense. Oishi is the perfect guy for this type of format, as his shtick is all about the tricked-out rollups and leg attack cutoffs. Also very much appreciated his Osaka Pro shoutout with the Super Delfin Tornado DDT/Delfin Clutch combo. Sasaki (now decked out in midlife crisis glam rock eyeliner) didn’t bring the same quantity of quality offense to the table, but his Crossface counters and Pedigree out of the backslide were inspired. **3/4
HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano vs. Kengo Takai & Naomi Yoshimura
This seemed to be headed nowhere fast early on but picked up big time once HARASHIMA worked his magic with Yoshimura. Their big chop war lit a fire under the other two guys and the action eventually settled into Very Acceptable Wrestling territory. Fun sidenote on Takai: this guy was part of the original DDT crew way back in 1998 and would go on to spend many years of his career working a friendly canine gimmick for Osaka Pro. So this show is very much a full circle moment for him. **1/2
Jun Akiyama & Magnitude KIshiwada vs. Akito & Shunma Katsumata
Uncle Jun and Big Daddy Magnitude might be the most powerful tag team of all time. Shunma made the mistake of talking smack to the masked man before the match and he awakened the volcanic fury of Osaka Pro’s former Big Boss MA-G-MA. Kishiwada worked this one like he was still the top monster in the territory, laying into Katsumata and destroying his knee with chairs. Always keen to stomp on someone’s knee, Akiyama joined in on the fun and Shunma sold his ass off to great effect. Tight structure, fun babyface comebacks and the mother of all Last Ride finishes courtesy of Magnitude. Loved old man Kishiwada trying to start shit with Akiyama as payback for their slight bit of communication. What a worker this man is. ***1/4
Tetsuya Endo, CIMA & Soma Takao vs. Chris Brookes, Tsubasa & Kuishinbo Kamen
Talk about a nostalgia rush. Haven’t seen Kuishinbo in ages, so his entire routine was a huge hit with me. The candy distributing entrance, the comedic tag team misfires, the ensemble leg sell sequence – this is the stuff of legends. Having CIMA on board was another win as he played a fine catcher for all of Tsubasa’s lucha spots and showed natural chemistry with Brookes. The Mad Paulie interference spots right in front of Red Matsui got a bit out of hand near the end, but considering how light hearted the whole thing was, I couldn’t care less. Kuishinbo! CLAPCLAPCLAP! Kuishinbo! ***
‘’IT WAS ME ALL ALONG, AUSTIN!’’ – Daisuke Sasaki under the Kuishinbo Hood after taking out Endo.
Konosuke Takeshita & Billy Ken Kid vs. HUB & Yuki Ueno
Someone forgot to tell Take and Ueno that this was supposed to be a harmless bit of interpromotional fun, so they went out there and gave us a full preview of their next singles match. God bless these lads. The Current Ace/Future Ace dynamic between these two is COLD HARD CASH: Underdog Ueno pissing off Takeshita with slaps, Take using his size advantage to stay on top and just beaming Big Ace Energy. Fuckin’ love it. They have the type of chemistry that can headline a Sumo Hall card, much like Ueno has with Endo. I was happy to see Snake Lord HUB and the heroic Billy Ken Kid as well, but literally all I could think of after match was ‘’WHEN IS THE NEXT UENO/TAKESHITA MATCH’’. Still, everyone went hard here and the Osaka fan favorites more than played their part. Quite enjoyed the creative double team spots, namely the 4-man pileup car crash Armaggedon and stereo WR’s from HUB/Ueno. Hell of a good time. ***1/2
Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Masato Tanaka & Shigehiro Irie
God damn. This reminded me a lot the 30 minute draw from the ZERO1 anniversary show in March. A proper battle between four bruisers. Nothing fancy, just non-stop ass kicking. This was also Irie’s first match on the main DDT roster in ages and he made a grand statement by brutalizing the shit out of Sakaguchi, the guy widely considered to be DDT’s toughest. God’s favorite teddy bear might have the most impactful forearm strikes in wrestling right now. Think Minoru Suzuki-level loudness but without any of the spectacle. The guy just throws ‘em without warning and then someone’s face explodes. Unlike a lot of the lesser 30 minute draws that clogged up tournament season, you could feel the urgency in this one. Big Gooch and Tanaka threw out everything in those last minutes: shoot headbutts, lariats, Sliding D’s. A bunch of dudes trying hard to win a match by destroying each other. I’d gladly take Irie back as a permanent DDT uppercarder. ***3/4
