Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura vs. Yusuke Okada & Toi Kojima
I couldn’t have asked for a better preview tag for the upcoming Ueno/Okada Universal title match. They explored a new side of their already-pretty-great dynamic here, with Ueno basically going ‘’Fuck this, I’m out’’ any time Okada’s temper would flare up. Very relatable. They also did a bunch of sweet All Japan armdrags and added new rollup functionality to Yusuke’s interceptor Tornado DDT. Keigo and Kojima were the ideal companions for this opening match wrestling odyssey, both youngsters responding nicely to their sempai’s authoritarian provocations. ***
The Young Bucks’ Autobiography © vs. Danshoku Dino vs. Antonio Honda vs. Kazuki Hirata vs. Saki Akai – 5-Way Match – Ironman Heavy Metal Title
‘’Killing the Business’’ as Heavy Metal champ is a pretty decent gag, but there have been more memorable inanimate object champions. The scope of comedic possibilities is just too narrow with the book. So narrow that they had to bring in a SECOND book to spice things up. Dino blowing the book on book finish made me sad but Ref Matsui did his best to save it.
HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya vs. Daisuke Sasaki, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Mad Paulie
Not much to say about this wrestling match. It was definitely a wrestling match. Business as usual for everyone involved except for Shimatani who was determined to upgrade his gimmick from ‘’mildly annoying little dude’’ to ‘’extremely annoying little dude’’. Follow your dreams, kids. I did laugh at Damnation not bothering to save him for the finish. **1/4
Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino vs. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino
The recent program with Hino offered the perfect opportunity to phase out Iino’s haka shtick, but it looks like the guy is doubling down on his bullshit. I don’t know! First half of this match had so much Iino comedy wackiness that my brain had already checked out by the time the actually-pretty-good-wrestling came around in the second half. I’m super into Endo/Soma/Hino as KO-D 6-man challengers, but this was such a weird match to get them over as a trio. **1/2
The post-match All Out breakup angle being done through an ADULT CONVERSATION instead of someone turning on someone was weirdly refreshing. DDT, the mature pro-wrestling company.
Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani vs. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Chris Brookes
A lot to like here. Not only did this wet my appetite for the Uncle Jun/Higuchi KO-D title match (Gooch no-selling the ring-post and brain clawing Akiyama to death during the finish = all awesome), but it also piqued my interest in a potential defense against Sakaguchi. Pure piss and vinegar in all of their interactions. The non-Akiyama sections of the match were pretty swell too – particularly dug Oishi and Yukio taking it to the mat. Speaking of Oishi, I popped big time for his BOUNCING DIAMOND DUST~! Not sure how this guy can keep coming up with cool new shit all the time, but here we are. ***
Shunma Katsumata © vs. MAO – Kid’s Room Death Match – 37 Count Edition – DDT Extreme Title
The culmination of Shunma’s toy death match obsession and one of the most straight up fun matches of the year. A weirdo psychedelic trip on par with the Shiozaki/Fujita GHC title match from last year, where a very goofy premise was turned into high art thanks to the sheer power of pro-wrestling fighting spirit. I’ve never been a huge fan of Katsumata’s Lego-ISM, but this had two things over most of his previous attempts at toy transcendence.
First, the bumps and viciousness were on a completely different level. Yes, this was two dorks fucking around in a ring filled with legos, but this time around they were clearly intent on destroying each other. Second, the wacky UWF point system cranked up the drama like crazy and turned the ending stretch into an absolute nailbiter. Shunma having to kick out before 1 on a bunch of near-falls was highly inspiring and immediately sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Could’ve done with a slightly shorter Meeting of the Minds toy table sitdown, but it did lead to the incredible Moonsault double kneedrop from MAO, so I won’t complaint too much. Innovative concept, big high spots and likeable characters. The complete DDT experience. ****
