Hideki Okatani vs. Toi Kojima
A couple of young boys doing young boy things. Kojima still feels as green as his ring gear. Both in terms of his general awkwardness and complete inability to throw a chop. I know he only has a few months of experience, but c’mon kid, just lay ‘em in. Okatani (sporting a SWEET FADE) tried his best to make it work and they eventually got to a decent place in the last minute or two. **
Saki Akai Photobook ©, Antonio Honda & Saki Akai vs. The Young Bucks Autobiography, Danshoku Dino & Keigo Nakamura – Ironman Heavy Metal Title
Well. After a lot of shenanigans and much perviness, the Heavy Metal title has been reclaimed from the relm of books and is now back in the hands of dumb human beings. Suck it, literature. Another riveting chapter in the eternal struggle between DDT pro-wrestlers and inanimate objects.
HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi vs. Konosuke Takeshita & MAO vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie vs. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya – 4-Way Tag Match
How did this turn out so well? Life is full of mysteries. What could’ve easily been midcard filler afterthought turned into a legit fun match thanks to a blindingly-fast pace and plenty of creativity. Even the haka elbow couldn’t ruin this one. MAO brought the flips, Take unwittingly joined Damnation for like 5 seconds and I’m pretty sure there was a stacked Superplex/Powerbomb at some point? Lots of cool shit. Now that All Out is no more, they might as well run with Iino and Naya as a permanent big boi tag team. It’s not like they have anything better to do. ***
Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
YES! Higuchi is getting more and more unhinged as the feud with Akiyama rages on. Today he wrestled barefoot, chopped the shit out of anything that moved and attempted a god damn sumo charge on the KO-D champ. And that’s on top of his usual routine of shoot headbutting the ring-post and slamming people on the floor. I’m extremely into this.
While Uncle Jun was busy fending off this monster, Oishi rounded off the rest of the match with his technical expertise. Always dig him and Sakaguchi taking it to the mat. These four gentlemen also decided to work one of the better countout finishes I’ve seen in a while, adding another layer of chaos to this thing. Hell of a good time. ***1/4
Shunma Katsumata © vs. Chris Brookes – DDT Extreme Title – Barbedwire Casket Death Match
The best kind of car crash. Shunma working the Super Hardcore Katsumata gimmick is usually a bad sign, but this was way better than any of his previous experiments with the wacky Joker gimmick. Much like his rocking title defense against MAO, the action went beyond the usual cutesy lego tropes and landed in actual hardcore territory.
Both guys bumped like complete lunatics and took barbedwire boards to the back like there was no tomorrow. Hell, they even referenced the one and only MR. POGO~! Gotta respect any match with nods to W*ING. I’m a bit torn on the JOKER DRUIDS interference segment, as I don’t think it went exactly as planned but it still provided some serious laughs. Undertaker comedy weirdness aside, they brought it home in spectacular fashion for the finish. Too much fun. ***1/2
Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota © vs. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino – KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles
Another day, another DDT 6-man ripper. Only 48 hours after the All Out Final Fight 6-man, which I described as DDT out-Dragon Gating DG, we get more of the same high-octane Lucharesu revival greatness. This company truly is spoiling us this year. As with most matches from this recent batch of multiman mayhem, this one had a user-friendly Shota in peril section that never overstayed its welcome, wickedly-smart dive placement, clever bits of comedy and innovative sequencing that kept you on your toes for 13 minutes straight.
Endo obviously can get the job done in singles matches, but this type of setting might be the best environment for him. The guy just effortlessly out-flashed everyone, both with his high-flying and some unexpectedly dope submission counters with Akito. He also took the mother of all backflip bumps for Hirata’s TITLE MATCH BOMBER (possibly the greatest move name of all time). You want all of this! ***1/2
Yuki Ueno © vs. Yusuke Okada – DDT Universal Title
There is no cooler story in pro-wrestling at the moment than this Okada DDT run. Neglected by All Japan for an entire year despite his painfully-obvious potential, the guy decides to follow Uncle Jun to the Dramatic Dream Team where he immediately starts turning heads. A first non-title match with Ueno in January put him on the map and this sequel confirmed what AJPW nerds knew all along. The dude is a star.
Leaving behind the dueling limb-work structure of their first meeting, both guys went in full big match mode and had themselves a proper Korakuen Hall main event. Less submissions and more raw emotion. Actually, the entire story of the match was right there in the introductions. Smiley pretty boy Ueno cockily refusing the opening handshake set Okada off on an Akiyama-ISM-fueled warpath that forced the champ to take him very, very seriously.
Clearly, a lot of care went into the layout. Not one dull moment to be found – both wresters’ vibrant personalities easily holding the match together until the big bombs later on. The big bombs were pretty fucking great too, but the selling and reacting is what put it all over the top. Moments like Okada RUSHING for that Brainbuster after the apron German suplex and Ueno’s scream of pure agony after kicking out of the Sudden Death. Two professional wrestlers wrestling professionally.
Okada’s a made man and DDT have an exciting new rivalry in their back pocket. Sometimes, everything works out. PS – Whoever’s booking All Japan must feel pretty dumb right now. ****1/4
