Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Keigo Nakamura vs. MAO, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
Basically, an Osaka Pro 6-man masquerading as a DDT opener. Complete with Ref Matsui getting hiptossed and little Keigo Nakamura doing the twirl and LUCHA HOP. Speaking of Keigo, working with MAO inspired him to try out a bunch of new flips and it all looked smooth as silk. God bless these idiots. **1/4
Kazusada Higuchi vs. Makoto Oishi – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
Two masters of their craft working a wickedly smart clash of styles for YOUR viewing pleasure. Higuchi might be a mountain of a man and your favorite immovable object, but even he can fall prey to Oishi’s laser sharp leg attacks. A real David vs Goliath-type showdown with Oishi using knee dropkicks as his metaphorical slingshot to slow down the giant. The Gooch’ is good enough to make this type of match work without losing any of his monster luster. He’ll sell and let himself get outsmarted at all the right moments but will also gently remind you that you could be one lariat away from certain death. I am throwing all the stars at the finish because 1) the Fujiyama kneelock was so well built that I was convinced Higuchi was toast and 2) the Iron Claw counter was the kind of shit you would see from the final boss in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie and the fact it actually ended the match is incredible. ***1/2
Yuki Ueno vs. Soma Takao – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
Considering Takao’s unreliable track record in singles action, this was better than I expected. This man will never set the world on fire with his heeling, but here he was working with such a good babyface that I ended up buying into their structure. Ueno was bumping, selling, making faces and his contagious energy was coming through even with this dry-as-fuck single camera + low volume setup. The kid knows how to pull on your emotional strings and proceeded to do just that when he slapped the shit out Soma and forced him into an unexplainably engaging throwdown. Both of these guys have sharp execution and there were fun counters all the way through. Bonus points to Soma for stealing Kotaro Suzuki’s Endless Waltz for the finish. ***1/4
Tetsuya Endo vs. Shunma Katsumata – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block B)
There’s the banger you always wanted these guys to have. Just kidding, Shunma came out as Joker Katsumata and they only did Lego spots. Fuck. You never know when the Clown Prince of Crime will strike and ruin Shunma matches. This is the kind of dread that Batman has to cope with on a daily basis. The uncertainty. The fear. The chaos. Yes, this match was actually a journey through the mind of Bruce Wayne. Or at least Lego Bruce Wayne. **1/2
Chris Brookes vs. Yukio Sakaguchi – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
While this didn’t have the comic book world-building of the previous match, it did have some pretty decent wrestling. Brookes drove the match with his leg work/foot fetish and did a good job putting over Sakaguchi as a serious threat. Scrambling for the ropes whenever Yukio would try to hook on a submission or immediately going down for his strikes were nice little touches that added to the BRITWRES vs. SHOOTER theme. Classic theme. I could’ve done without the back and forth faux-epic fighting spirit no-sell bit (always feels wrong for Brookes) but the mid-air sleeper finish was awesome. ***
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Akito – D-Oh Grand Prix (Block A)
A needlessly long match with some cool ideas and an interesting structure. Didn’t love it, but didn’t outright hate it either. Going after two different limbs in the same match is a tricky proposition. Akito went about it in a logical way here, targeting Take’s injured arm and moving to the leg to cut down his mobility whenever he was starting to fight back. Takeshita’s selling was on point and kept the two stories from getting too convoluted. My main issue with the match wasn’t so much with Akito’s game plan, but more in the lack of drama that came with it. The framework and selling were there, yet so many of Akito’s holds felt much too basic to suspend disbelief. Takeshita wasn’t going to tap to some hammerlock at the 15 minute mark. The late-match counters brought some actual excitement to the table and wrapped up the match in a fairly satisfying way, even if a lot of the early sections could’ve been left on the drawing board. ***
