Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani vs. Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
These guys have had much better matches, but this still did the trick. Despite getting much learner in the last few months, Naya hasn’t forgotten how to work like a big boy and him blocking all of Hideki’s signature spots was a nice touch. **
Danshoku Dino & Antonio Honda vs. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai vs. Kazuki Hirata & Toru Owashi – 4-Way Tag Match
I mean, adding an electrical sound effect to Dino’s butt shenanigans might’ve been the best idea this crew had in ages. Owashi immediately trying to hand the O-40 title to Sakaguchi before the match was another pretty solid gag, as everyone (me included) tends to forget that this guy is freaking 47 years old. *1/2
Akito vs. MAO – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
Didn’t really work for me. There were a couple of interesting ideas here and there, but most of the match came off as bad comedy chain wrestling, with Akito having to dumb himself down to let MAO pull his cutesy bullshit. Does MAO have to be this extra all the time? **
HARASHIMA vs. Chris Brookes – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
Super tight 10 minutes of action with both guys bringing the hate and laying into each other like people trying to win a tournament. HARASHIMA taking a disgusting bump on that Sabu legdrop thing to the floor added some real drama to Brookes’ arm attacks and made me 100% bite on the Octopus near submission. Meanwhile, Brookes’ RKO Outta Nowhere counters are still pure indie trash but the match was so well laid out that I almost wasn’t bothered by the one during the ending stretch. PS – HARASHIMA’s ganmengiri timing is second to none. ***1/4
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Daisuke Sasaki – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
Oh man, Takeshita is the best kind of Puro nerd for randomly busting out Koji Kitao’s Thunderstorm (Cloverleaf Giant Swing) in the middle of this match. Really enjoyed this one. Sasaki’s best match since his technical face-off with Tsutomu Osugi on that Damnation Produce show a while back. A lot more cohesive than his big Ultimate Party main event with Endo. Every section of the match smartly built off their Overpowered ace vs. Crafty rudo dynamic and brought a ton of fun twists and turns. The cheating spots were integrated seamlessly and never dragged the action down. Hell, the Paulie interference even helped setup that rocking apron lariat from Take. Good times! ***1/2
Makoto Oishi vs. Shunma Katsumata – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
Another fun match that played to both wrestlers’ strengths and didn’t overstay its welcome. As seen in the tricked-out chain wrestling opening and various nifty counters that populated the match – the chemistry between these guys is sharp as hell. Lots of creativity all the way through. What with Katsumata’s apron 619 leg sweep and that wild crucifix bomb spot. They structured the match around Oishi’s Fujiyama kneelock, with Shunma repeatedly finding clever ways to avoid it until he finally ran out of ideas. No complaints. ***1/4
Yuki Ueno vs. Kazusada Higuchi – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
In today’s least surprising news, this was the best and most physical match on the card. King of Badasses Higuchi used his power advantage to beat the shit out of consummate babyface Ueno, who fought back with his high-flying tenacity and it all ruled. Very much a spiritual sequel to the scorching Eruption/Nautilus double title match from October, with new Universal champ Ueno getting to showcase his growth as a singles star. In classic Higuchi fashion, the man brought the pain with killer lariats and chops while Ueno bumped like pinball and showed guts by throwing some ill-advised slaps. Not a huge fan of Ueno casually using the Northern Lights Bomb as a random transition, but he was able to make up for this sin by setting up his signature suplexes in exciting new ways. An action-packed 11 minutes with both guys looking great. ***3/4
Tetsuya Endo vs. Jun Akiyama – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
They had the right idea in going with a heavyweight vs junior template – Akiyama controlling most of the match and Endo using his aerial swag to gradually make comebacks. However, Endo’s never been the most compelling babyface and his lack of underdog appeal was even more glaring right after a Yuki Ueno match. So, while everything somewhat made sense, the lack of urgency and character hooks kept the action from ever reaching the proper next level. It was far from a bad match or anything: Endo hit the mother of all Sasuke Specials and let’s not forget that a three star Jun Akiyama match is still better than most matches. I think my favorite part was Uncle Jun shouting out his turbulent teenage son Kento Miyahara with that corner knee/release German/running knee combo. ***1/4
