Sanshiro Takagi, Yukio Naya, Chikara & Yakan Nabe © vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Hiroshi Yamato & Keigo Nakamura – KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles
Not gonna lie, I groaned pretty hard when big boss Sanshiro introduced the 8-man tag straps. As karmic punishment for my lack of faith, I’ve found myself enjoying almost all of these goofy ass tag defenses. This one wasn’t on the level of the Team Disappointing Sons/Young Dramatics match from a few Korakuens back, but there was still a lot of dumb midcard fun to be had.
Yatsu threw a god damn YATSUGOYE with his new bionic leg, Keigo rocked shaved eyebrows and a new big match singlet that I could only describe as PURPLE GALAXY-themed and Yamato showed what a pro he is by carrying comedian Nabe through a watchable pro-wrestling sequence. Peak two and a half star-wrestling. **1/2
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Daisuke Sasaki – King of DDT (Semi-Finals)
These two had a super tight match in last year’s D-Oh Grand Prix. This didn’t come anywhere close and made me question my sanity on multiple occasions, BUT also provided enough cool shit to keep me on board. I think? On the one hand, the structure made about zero sense (big Mad Paulie expulsion sequence to set-up 5 minutes of back-and-forth rest holds). On the other hand, Takeshita did a TESTICULAR FIGHTING SPIRIT POWER-UP and the most insane tope suicida INTO Brainbuster counter you’ve ever seen. There were flashes of brilliance all the way through, even if the shenaniganz and lack of urgency tested my patience. ***
Yuji Hino vs. Kazusada Higuchi – King of DDT (Semi-Finals)
Just what the doctor ordered. That is of course, if the doctor ordered you to watch two large men chop each other right into oblivion. While Hino’s second round match with HARASHIMA was a more subversive take on the Hino Formula, this was a return to the tried-and-true monster mayhem that the big man excels at.
The Gooch was a great dance partner here as he enthusiastically partook in all the beef-trading action (to the point of getting his chest absolutely ripped to shreds), popped the crowd with a bunch of insane feats of strength and added his own meathead twists to Hino’s meathead tropes (Brain claw cutoff to the no guard stance = genius). The Wheel of Beef was not reinvented but sometimes it doesn’t need to be. ***1/2
Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Sakai vs. Danshoku Dino & Yuki Iino vs. Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku – 4-Way Tag Match
The most insane DDT comedy match in a long, long time. The Mad Paulie Potion plotline has given way to the Danshoku Potion, turning Eruption and Yuki Iino into uncontrollable hornballs. As dumb as the whole thing was, the final reveal of Danshoku Sakaguchi and Koroku’s reaction were pretty spectacular. **1/4
HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata vs. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
Shimatani and Hirata opening this match with peak Dragon Gate levels of speed and execution was not something I expected! The rest of the action stayed in the more expected midcard wrasslin’ lane, but still offered a few memorable moments. You had Yoshimura and Paulie proving themselves to be quite a good chunky pairing and most importantly: Owashi’s incredible reaction when he realized Hirata was his only hot tag option. **3/4
Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani vs. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
Few things in wrestling bring me as much joy as Akiyama beating up Shunma. And I say this as a Shunma fan. Beside this golden pairing, the major highlight here was my biological son Okatani effortlessly hanging with the big boys. Him cleaning house on Sauna Club and then unleashing a new Dragon sleeper THING was tremendous professional wrestling. I’m dead excited by how quickly this kid is developing. Also, I was completely shook by Uncle Jun’s NEPPOWERED’ European uppercuts. Possibly the greatest form of offense I have ever seen. ***1/4
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuji Hino – King of DDT (Finals)
Pure tournament final gold and probably my favorite Hino match since that ZERO1 scorcher he had with Okabayashi in the pre-COVID universe. Both finalists put in big time performances and worked within a structure that benefitted everyone, including YOU, the Dramatic Dream Team viewer. Takeshita rushing for the kill right at the bell helped bypass the usual ‘slow build’ epic format and instantly gave the match a refreshing vibe.
Another fun idea here was to abandon any notion of a 50/50 match and instead focus on turning Hino into a complete monster. Hino’s not a guy that needs a lot of help to convey his power advantage, but Take still went out of his way to get the point across. Lots of selling, bumping and fighting from underneath to put over the red-haired bruiser’s gnarly cut-offs.
Thanks to that rock-solid foundation, the heroic babyface comebacks felt earned and the late-match escalation reached an organic fever pitch. The best twist came when Takeshita failed to slap on his chickenwing thingy aka. THE TAKECLIP. Takeshita clearing the entire tournament with his new death trap would’ve been the predictable thing to do and I loved how they threw a wrench in that story.
Shit out of luck, the DDT Ace 2.0 had to figure out another way to pierce through Hino’s armor and it made for a brilliant finish. Those last 5 minutes were as gripping as it gets, Hino asserting himself with a COLOSSAL last stand before inevitably meeting his doom. Great fucking Big Match Wrestling. ****1/4
