Makai Club #1

Bryan could never get the Row a Boat Armbar spot over like Backlund did

I'm another one that finds his ROH run rather soulless. He's obviously insanely talented and has tons of good matches but I'd much rather watch the average Austin Aries ROH match than the average Bryan Danielson match. He definitely clicks more in the WWE environment where he was more limited, which made him more focused and cohesive, by the house style and perception of being a small guy. I wouldn't go as far as to say that he cosplays wrestlers and imitates styles but I think there is something to there being more interesting wrestlers within those styles that Bryan is influenced by. I guess Fujiwara is the comparison but I tend to compare him to Fujinami more so because of the aerial and brawling capabilities. But the result is the same, I don't see Bryan better than either of them. And quite a few people on top of that.

I think it's best to look at this match along with the earlier tag team title match where Benoit also wrestled. It adds a little more stakes to the match, which is good since Kane is a weak PPV challenger even for Benoit.

There is not much more to say about Tenryu. He's not only able to project this amazing character but create compelling matches from it in any format, in any role. He's capable of being one of the best sympathetic sellers, just as well as being one of the most sadistic ass kickers. And he was able to keep up that consistent quality in his performances for nearly 20 years, with a not too bad pre-peak and post peak either. A career to envy. Top 5 candidate for me.

I'm not sure where exactly I'll rank him but I will and it'll be shockingly high. Top 50s, I'll say. Maybe higher. Chono is someone who just connects with me. I think he embodies everything great about wrestling. Charisamatic to the hills, not the most expansive wrestler - basic wrestler, basic brawler, not the most amazing signature moves either, but gets a ton of milage out of what he has, even before his neck injuries caught up to him (He won the G1 with a shoulder block, remember), has a very respectable match resume (top level singles matches, tags, gimmick matches, etc), and has links to a more classical era of wrestling, which doesn't matter to most people, but to me, the fact that Thesz helped trained him means the world. I think the Tenzan-Chono tag team run was really strong, more so than the Tenzan-Kojima team. I rate the fact that it elevated someone who was fresh off an excursion in Europe to someone for the future. Post peak Chono was still capable as well and still one of the hottest acts in the promotion all the way until the mid 00s. Not a bad career for someone who's career could've ended in 1992.

I thought this was a strong outing between the two. The added psychology with Nakajima breaking Shingo’s ribs and targeting them for the remainder of the match added some drama to the mix. Nakajima showed off some of his sadist personality that most enjoy him for, not only with his kicks but his menacing facial and body expressions. Shingo was solid when selling and working his way to a victory, gutting through the pain and surviving Nakajima’s best moves, such as the Vertical Spike and eventually winning with the Last Of The Dragon. This didn’t have that great match spark but it had some good character work and selling to hold it together. ***3/4

The match began with some solid wrestling spots between the two, which included a roman knuckle lock battle between the two. Okada also drew the ire of the Osaka crowd with some unclean attacks on Shingo Takagi’s neck, using the rail. Following the little smattering of boos, Okada went more aggressive towards Shingo and more antagonistic against the crowd in a rather subtle way. He didn’t taunt them but he wasn’t friendly while playing to them either. Shingo was much more receptive to his crowd, by comparison. Some of the middle portions of the match felt a little too methodical but the story didn’t stray too far - Okada continued his targeted assault on the neck, using the money clip several times and dropping Shingo on the floor with his tombstone. I thought the match truly kicked into another gear when Shingo was trying to mount a comeback, first besting Okada slightly coming out of the elbow exchange and hitting a Made In Japan on Okada. Some of their sequences were really good, both bringing something new and exciting to a tired match routine. I liked how Okada hit a german suplex when Shingo had blocked his rainmaker attempts and returned back to an attempt that was then blocked. And that was followed up with a terrific counter by Shingo from the rainmaker into the last of the dragon. The crowd made a heck of a noise at the close two count. And of course, they concluded a terrific ending with a Rainmaker and Okada getting his first title defence in the books. My feelings are the same. This was a great match and a fantastic closing stretch, along with some good character work. But some of the wrestling felt a little too methodical and slow. ****

Well shit. They did it. Honestly, I thought it would be good-great but, like a lot of highly touted matches, wrestled like a match trying to be the greatest match unlike what this was, which was them going out there, following the story they were actually telling and wrestling the match and not the moment. There was no gratuitous let’s soak in the crowd moment, or something similarly manufactured. They simply tried to win. Both wrestled with intent, aggression and with follow through. Omega was aggressive from the off, hurting Ospreay quickly with his approach and spent the whole match following up on that with some of the most dangerous stunts he could think of. In classic Kenny fashion, there were some call backs to his previous matches, like the table spot with Okada, but in this case, they linked into the story of the match in a natural way. Omega put the table on the injured back of Ospreay, after he just crashed into the edge of the ring. Exactly the right thing for the right moment. Moreover, Ospreay proved that his best self is him selling for his opponent and working from beneath. His selling was great at times, playing into the blood extremely well and the effect it should have on you, while still providing some excellent offence when he could. This match was Omega heavy however, but luckily, this was the best Kenny Omega performance since 2018. I’ve never been in love with Omega’s work during his AEW. He was usually good but rarely great and NEVER this good. And he showed up big time in this match. This was nothing short of amazing. A quality dome match. ****1/2

I haven't seen this match for nearly 5 years now (wow, how time goes) but I remember loving it. I remember the build being solid for this and it all just manifested for an entertaining match that I couldn't find much fault in. A-Train never looked as good as he did during this period either. It all just came together for him and Benoit could do no wrong either. I was huge on Benoit while running through the TV for this year. I rated it around 4 stars. Not exactly a MOTYC but a step up from the rest of the show which was one of the more disapointing PPVs involving the Smackdown talent. MOTN.

What it lacked for selling, it made up for big bumps and just generally being exciting. It had its lulls admittedly, but the barricade and table spots more than made up for it. Dragon Lee took massive bumps for both, even the table dive, for which he was the one doing the move. Rush acted like the big prick like an older brother should act in a fight and it was amazing. And him mouthing off at his Mum (??? Some blonde women) was also amazing. More of this Rush please. Dragon Lee got a big rub by kicking out of Rush’s corner dropkick as well. I thought this was really good. Easy match of the night up-to this point in the show. ***3/4

Good match but I’m really lost if this is considered a great match. Some of the counters were good, like Yuta countering Garcia’s sharpshooter with the bulldog choke was great. Otherwise, the counters didn’t pop me. The whole sequence between Yuta countering the choke into the elbows and Garcia reversing it and doing the elbows himself seemed so planned and rehearsed. No real spontaneity. What else I liked was Garcia biting the ear of Yuta and hitting it. That was something with bite to it, something tangibly more interesting than counters to perfunctory grappling and slap sequences.

Great match. I thought they made good use out of the 2/3 Falls stipulation, using the time wisely, not waiting for the first fall in 4 minutes as is the norm, and building properly to the finish for each fall. The first fall did tend to feel overdrawn though, so it’s not perfect. But I think they paced the match well for the most part. The blood aspects didn’t seem to add anything to the match, nor did the ref bumb which was stupid for several reasons, including legitimately knocking the referee loopy but the wrestling was really good. Not as good as their first match but it was a great outing nonetheless. ****

The pacing was amazing. It made the 20 minute run time feel just as small as their 1997 sprint. The wrestling was hot with no real time wasting. It was all action. Taue went all in and went very hard which Akiyama replied with the same. But it found time to build to its biggest spots, such as the Nodowa off the top rope, perfectly. Taue wasn’t messing around in what would be one of his last big matches but Akiyama was too much and was way too determined to win the GHC Title once again. Thrilling. ***3/4

Almost immediately, this spilled into the far reaches of Korakuen Hall. Chairs went flying, the walkways were littered with wrestlers. The match is able to simmer back down to the ring where Dragon Kid and Yoshino have a little exchange. CIMA and Tanizaki follow and CIMA throws a towel at Tanizaki to wipe the grease from his hair. Saito comes in and doubles teams up on CIMA but it backfires and Saito blasts Tanizaki with a dropkick. Tanizaki is pissed and kicks Saito in the stomach, then walks out. Mori becomes the target of Blood Generation, getting ripped apart by all four one, sometimes three, at a time. Things turn around when Yoshino throws salt but misses Mori and gets Doi, who gets rolled up by a returning Tanizaki. It was a ruse! Tanizaki teases CIMA later on and CIMA is irate coming in attacking wildly which is rather uncharacteristic even for a heel CIMA. Dragon Kid becomes the centre of attention for a bit, being an effective FIP, selling and bumping around for Kishiwada while getting some offence in, almost eliminating Yoshino with a Hurricanrana. CIMA and Tanizaki gets some spots in before CIMA plants him with Schwein, TWICE! Tanizaki is gone. The tide gets turned quickly as Dragon Kid is soon eliminated by Yoshino and Mori almost follows him before Saito intervenes. CIMA and Kishiwada level Mori with moves but Mori continues to survive, almost winning the match after countering the Last Ride with a sunset flip. Incredible false finish! Yoshino and CIMA hit double drop kicks, one of which was very stiff, and Kishiwada attempts the last ride one more time but Mori counters into the cross arm breaker. Kishiwada slams Mori twice but Mori refuses to break the hold, turning it into a triangle and Kishiwada passss out! Mori wins it for his team, a man down. Fantastic finish. Mori submits the Open The Dream Gate Champion. One of the best matches of 2006, for sure. The match starts off relentlessly but slows down without sacrificing the energy set by the opening fracas. The match incorporates some storytelling with Tanizaki teasing a heel turn but that’s turned on its head for the first elimination. The match integrates singular feuds, like Dragon Kid v Masato Yoshino and Anthony W. Mori vs Magnitude Kishiwada with tremendous tag team wrestling. The match peaks with the amazing closing stretch with the drama of the two captains fighting to beat each other. CIMA is the glue of the match for me, along with Dragon Kid and Ryo Saito. He had some great exchanges with Tanizaki but also showed good character work and true leadership instincts, ordering his troops into action constantly. One of my favourite things about the match is it didn’t do the obvious trope of going down to the last man. There was enough drama in the 3 v 2 disadvantage and it made use of the Captain’s Falls and the heightened stakes that it brought to the match. ****1/2

It’s amazing the difference between Mark Henry against an all timer like Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry against Kurt Angle. It’s matches like these that Mark Henry is considered a bad wrestler during this time period. The high profile wrestlers, like Angle, have no clue what to do with him or how to make great use of his size. Mark Henry applied a bearhug which lasted an eternity, only ending when Angle hit a hara goshi to escape, which was pretty cool but the crowd barely made any noise. Nor did they make noise when Henry kicked out of the Angle Slam. And I mean no noise. Silence. Angle then begins to cheat, using the chair and exposed turnbuckle before holding the ropes for the school boy. Shocking. 1/2*

DDT Into The Fight 2005 - 30/01/2005 KO-D Openweight Title Match: MIKAMI (c) vs. Dick Togo The DDT Dramatic Fantasia version joins in progress (5-6 minutes approx). Togo is beating on MIKAMI with punches but first misses with a baseball slide into the post and then he gets launched into the ring post on the apron and then once more which causes Dick Togo to start bleeding. MIKAMI hits a magnificent moonsault to the floor in the follow up. The match goes back into the ring where MIKAMI hits a punch to the head and throws Togo into a ladder, MIKAMI’s favourite weapon. MIKAMI puts extra emphasis on his punches, making sure that they target the wound of Togo. MIKAMI even throws a downward elbow that thankfully missed for Togo’s sake. Togo cuts off MIKAMI with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but MIKAMI, quick as a cat, rolls Togo up and locks in the figure four leg lock. Togo reverses the hold and then hits a dropkick to MIKAMI’s injured ribs, turning the tide. I didn’t love how little MIKAMI kicking out of the Pedigree from the top rope meant. It was more of a lead-in to Togo attempting it off a ladder, which is nuts. MIKAMI backdrops him and hits a dive off the ladder. Togo shrugs it off though as they trade more roll ups. MIKAMI then sets up a Swanton Bomb off the ladder, and it looks absoltuely gorgous when he hits it, but he doesn’t go for the pin, instead hitting a 450! Togo kicks out of it and is staggering but he hits a last gasp powerbomb for a nearfall. Togo hits mean lariats, then pedigree and finally the senton to win his first KO-D Openweight title. Cue Cypress Hill. The match is really good offensively but the selling isn’t all that good. Super moves were brushed aside too easily for the next sequence but the sequences were usually cool enough to keep the match on track. Dick Togo is met with challengers, including Sanshiro Takagi. MIKAMI is out until May, most likely due to injury as well. ***1/2 DDT Don't Try This At Home 2005 - 25/02/2005 KO-D Openweight Title Match: Dick Togo (c) vs. Sanshiro Takagi Sanshiro Takagi had beaten KUDO in a mini tournament to get this title match. I like the older version of Takagi. The funny president who does Weapons Rumbles. But this version of Sanshiro Takagi is an absolute baller. He is a total Austin fanboy and it shows but the imitation is a good one. He opens the match with some awesome punches and this awesome energy that sucked you right in. The match spills into the crowd where Takagi hits a running lariat, causing himself to almost fall down the chairs. The match comes back to the ring where Togo puts Takagi through a table and busts him open. Togo goes to work on the cut with nasty elbows and stomps. Togo goes for a springboard dropkick but he slipped on the ropes and sold his leg (like a pro). I could tell it was a botch because after Takagi attacked the leg, Togo cut him off and resumed control. The blood begins to pour a bit more when Takagi fires up. Takagi hits an awesome lariat and does a few other things like a back diving elbow to Togo. The referee takes a bump after Togo pushes Takagi into her and Togo’s goons, some dude who looks like George Banks from Mary Poppins, Nobutaka Moribe and Tomohiko Hashimoto (who are the KO-D Tag Team Champions), attempt to interfere. Takagi thankfully gets rid of them quickly as they head into the closing stretch. Takagi escapes the Pedigree but gets caught in the Crossface. Takagi gets a few nearfalls on Togo,, including a DDT off the top rope. Dick Togo hits the pedigree but Takagi no-sells it. Awful. Dick Togo has his hands on knuckle dusters and uses it to block a powerbomb. The usual combo of the pedigree and senton follow and Dick Togo retains. I do realise that Takagi is likely parodying the fighting spirit spot but it still annoyed me and came across as gratiotius. It marred what was a really good showing from him. Togo kicks ass in this cheating heel role and he lives to fight another day. ***1/2 DDT Judgement 9 8th Anniversary Show - 27/03/2005 KO-D Openweight Title Match: Dick Togo (c) vs. Yusuke Inokuma Yusuke Inokuma comes out dressed as a transformer type character. Lol. Togo wasted no time in going after Inokuma, easily bestig Inokuma on the mat, then dictating the pace with an armbar and a headlock. Togo and Inokuma exchange punches and there is a bit where Togo sells his hand, leaving him vulnerable for a school boy. Inokuma looks so minor league (it is DDT tbf) but he puts some solid offence together while he could before Togo regained control of the match. Togo antagonises Inokuma’s seconds, which include Muscle Sakai, Danshoku Dino and Yoshihiko. They want to call to throw in the towel but Inokuma stops them. Suddenly the Rocky music plays, which is hilarious, and Inokuma’s hope spot begins. Togo cuts it off but Inokuma kicks out of the pedigree, giving him a minor chance. Soon Yoshihiko interferes in aid of Inokuma but accidently hits a dragon rana instead. Dick Togo gets rid of the rookie and wins with the Pedigree. This was nothing like the matches against MIKAMI and Sanshiro Takagi which were bloody brawls. This was a light match that had some comedy in it. It’s probably worth skipping if you want the former and dislike the comedy aspect of DDT. I happen to enjoy those parts of the promotion so I liked it. Dick Togo and Mr George Banks’ look-alike are bragging after the match when Takagi comes down to the ring and seemingly wants another title match. DDT Max Bump 2005 - 04/04/2005 KO-D Openweight Title No Rules Match: Dick Togo (c) vs. Sanshiro Takagi Dick Togo apparently now has my favourite wrestling referee of all time, Yukinori Matsui, in his pocket, putting another obstacle in the way of Sanashiro Takagi. Takagi is such a wannabe Stone Cold and it’s actually the best thing ever. Matsui immediately shows his colours, distracting Takagi before he and Togo can lock up and Togo naturally takes advantage. Matsui’s smug look is gold! He slow-counts Takagi on the pinning attempt, letting everyone know that Takagi is in for a tough time. They establish Takagi as the stronger and better of the two early as Takagi gets the better of him of a few occasions and Togo needs the help of Matsui to best him, such as ignoring an obvious low blow and even taking Takagi’s had off the rope, which should’ve caused a break in the arm hold Togo had on. More interference comes into play as a table is set up and Togo has help planting Takagi through it. The match skipped ahead a bit to Takagi smacking Togo with a broken piece of wood before he launched Togo into the sea of chairs in the crowd. Takagi looks good, despite everything else in the match, as he pretty much kicks Togo’s ass. The distractions are constant though and Togo is crafty enough to make use of them. Matsui’s slow counts benefit later in the match when Takagi hits a powerbomb and Togo is given time to kick out. Soon Matusi even goes as far as to use a steel chair on Takagi but Cherry is having none of it. This prevents Matsui from counting the pin after Togo hits the pedigree. Matsui drags Cherry in the ring and Dick Togo goes to hit a running lariat but hits Matsui instead. Awesome spot. An announcement is made that Cherry is now the referee. Dick Togo attempts to use a chain but Takagi grabs it and gets rid of it, which the crowd cheers. Hashimoto and Moribe interfere once more. Moribe grabs the chair but hits Togo when Takagi ducks! In comes the new KO-D Tag Team champions, Seiya Morohashi and Tanomusaku Toba to even the odds. Takagi and Togo hit the closing stretch. Takagi hits a load of Stunners which Togo kicks out of but Takagi levels Togo with a running lariat to win the KO-Openweight title for the fourth time. While that was an entertaining spectacle. DDT’s version of Stone Cold vs Dude Love, with the referee having a major role to play in the match, so to speak, this wasn’t exactly a match for Dick Togo fans as Takagi basically ate him up and the booking relegated him to a minor role. Sanshiro Takagi came out looking like a star though which was the ultimate goal. ***1/2 As far as the matches go, I liked this run a lot. Dick Togo with a stable behind him as a heel champion just works as a premise. The title win and the first match against MIKAMI and Sanshiro Takagi were awesome. They both contained blood and had Dick Togo's finger prints all over them. The last two, however, didn't. One was a title defence in a nightclub against a comedy wrestler, which I enjoyed, but it didn't really suit Dick Togo's strengths and the change to Takagi was more about Takagi and Yukinori Matsui than Dick Togo. Nevertheless, this run had a good set of matches that add to Dick Togo's resume in a positive manner.

DDT King Of DDT 2022 Final Round - 03/07/2022 King Of DDT 2022 Semi Final Match: Naomi Yoshimura vs. Yuki Ueno Good semi finals. A tad better than their D-Ou GP match but the pacing was stronger and the stakes are more urgent, also reflected well in their performances. Ueno nailed some good dropkicks and Yoshimura showcased his biggest moves for the finals. ***1/4 King Of DDT 2022 Semi Final Match: Jun Akiyama vs. Kazusada Higuchi Unlike the prior semi final match where the momentum was even, Higuchi had to dig deep to beat Akiyama who looked to be in firm control for a large points in the match. Akiyama blasted Higuchi with his knee strikes and constantly looked a threat with the guillotine choke. Higuchi sold the beat down really well, garnering much needed sympathy against Akiyama which will serve him going into the Finals which is now for the Vacant KO-D Openweight Title. ***1/2 KO-D Openweight Title King Of DDT 2022 Final Match (vacant): Kazusada Higuchi vs. Naomi Yoshimura Admittedly, I knew the result of the match as I didn’t watch it live. I do, however, raise my hands in victory upon hearing the news. Why? I don’t know. I’m a big dork, I guess. So the appeal of the match wasn;t who was going to win but how Higuchi would do it. Higuchi came into the match worse for wear with Akiyama aggravating a neck injury which gave Yoshimura licence to attack early on. Mostly the match seemed to be inevitably Higuchi’s with all his signature moves being the focus point that the match is built around. Yoshimura had his moments like that tremendous feat of strength of the superplex and him blocking the Claw Hold on its first attempt was a terrific spot too. They had a cool chop exchange that had a great sense of tension behind each strike, and the way they elevated it to lariat strikes and then Higuchi blocking the Judo Throw was some amazing pieces of wrestling. The crowd broke the rules to gasp for it because it was executed so well. And the closing stretch was nothing short of a hoot. Yoshimura was able to survive on Claw Hold Chokeslam, which is a big way to put him over in defeat and Higuchi had to block another Judo Throw attempt - a last gasp effort to win by Yoshimura - before executing one more to win the title belt. And Sakaugchi and the rest of Eruption storming the ring was a tremendous touch. It felt genuine and heartfelt. I've been watching DDT for several years now and outside of HARASHIMA, Higuchi was the first guy I really connected to and wanted to see acheive and seeing him win the title is just that. That's what wrestling is all about. ****1/4 TJPW Summer Sun Princess '22 - 07/07/2022 International Princess Title Match: Maki Itoh (c) vs. Alex Windsor Clearly, Windsor had impressed someone when she faced the TJPW women during their mini tours to Europe earlier in the year, because she not only got a spot on the show but won a title against Maki Itoh. She was decent in the match but not extraordinary. Not that Itoh was either. Windsor’s character work could do with some fine tuning as she’s a little too preoccupied by projecting it than being a real person. The work was fine. This was a Maki Itoh match so it was heavy with Itoh-chan spots Windsor fed her well though and did enough to pick up the convincing win. *** Miyu Yamashita vs. Thunder Rosa This was somewhat disappointing. Perhaps it was me not liking that Yamashita came off as the lesser of the two, no I’m not talking about the roll-up finish, but throughout the match, it didn’t seem like Miyu was in her home promotion but the fans got behind her nonetheless. Miyu didn’t exactly gel with Thunder Rosa perfectly either. There were some sloppy moments, but not too many, and the match didn’t flow like Miyu matches do even against the low midcarders. It was enjoyable but that's about as far as I’m willing to praise it. Perhaps the rematch will actually deliver but given how AEW treats outsiders that aren’t making them money or staying there for periods of time, I don’t expect much. *** Princess Tag Team Title Match: Magical Sugar Rabbits (Mizuki & Yuka Sakazaki) (c) vs. Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Arai and Yuka work the mat to start, ending in a stalemate, before tagging in their respective partners. Mizuki put her hand up, Saki Akai did as well but seeing the height different, Mizuki stomped her feet which was a cool character moment for Mizuki who is the more blander of her team. The match quickly gets into the comfort zone of MSR working over Yuki Arai, then Saki Akai. Yuki Arai was the main focus of the match with being the main FIP, thus working most of the key spots. Mizuki and Arai worked well together as much as Arai and Yuka did, I thought. Yuka worked aggressively, forcing Arai into a defensive position whereas Mizuki and Arai flowed more with their even footed story. The highlight of the match was MSR showing off their team work which was impressive and creative as it always is. But the challengers had their moments too. Like Yuki Arai slamming Mizuki down and Saki Akai suplexes Yuka, who was on the ropes, onto her. And some of the most compelling aspects of the match was MSR’s attempts to thwart Saki Akai’s Quetzalcoatl, which eventually came followed by a double kick to get the three count, crowning new champions. It was a really good match. I suppose the result shouldn’t have come to a surprise considering it’s Yuka Arai but it was a good effort. Obviously Mizuki and Yuka carried the nuts and bolts of everything but Saki Akai and Yuki Arai held up their worth. And it was obviously an emotional moment for them, especially Arai, who cried. ***1/2 Princess Of Princess Title Match: Shoko Nakajima (c) vs. Rika Tatsumi I see Shoko as the ultimate player who has the key to winning each time. I love that she has a finishing combo that seemingly works every time, because for what she lacks of true, engrossing energy, like Rika Tatsumi displayed in the match, she has in strong booking that consistently reinforces the notion that she is a force. And champions really need that one key thing and she has it. That’s a rare trait to have. Now Tatstmi was amazing in the match. While it’s unfortunate that she did the Goto under the waterfall gimmick and lost just the same, she came out like a star in defeat. She picked Shoko apart, using the dragon suplex, then hip attacks (some from the top rope to the outside of all things) before transitioning to the dragon sleeper which may have been the best use of a submission in the closing stretch of the entire year. The crowd and I were hooked into thinking that was the moment but that killer combo of the DDT & top rope senton was inevitable. **** DDT Ganbare Pro Wrestle Sekigahara 2022 - 10/07/2022 Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Stacked opening bout with three former KO-D Openweight Champions. Ishii is no slouch either, being a tremendous wrestler when on form. A true wrestler’s wrestler. Ishii and Irie are a super fun tag team. One of the most underrated of the 2010s era of tag teams for me. They aren’t DoiYoshi or YAMADoi or even the Young Bucks but they were a very good team. Ishii and Ishikawa have this awesome little exchange where Ishii is blasting Ishikawa with kicks and Ishikawa is staggering but staying on his feet like a wounded giant, which just eggs Ishii to do more. Irie and Ishikawa do more of the Big Japan strong division style which I’m less fond of but it’s decent enough. There is a cool bit where they are exchanging headbutts but Irie is winning and hits several more than necessary while Ishikawa was on his knees. The wounded giant story comes into play later when Irie and Ishii are working together to knock him out of the ring. Kodaka takes a smaller role within the match because, as stated on the english commentary, he is working a BASARA show later in the night, also explaining why this is the opener. But he doesn’t shy away from taking some of the bigger bumps of the match like when Ishii dropped him on his head. Plus his closing stretch with Ishii is splendid. ***1/2 Minoru Suzuki vs. Shuichiro Katsumura I can imagine Suzuki thinking about how nice this match-up is as Katsumura loves to work that submission heavy style and Suzuki being a student of Fujiwara, it’s an interesting match. And they do exactly as expected. Katsumura is on the skinny side but he’s really crafty and suprirses Suzuki with his armbars. Suzuki then attacks the leg underhandedly, first using the ropes and then gets a chair involved. The match does fall into the trap of Suzuki-isms with the elbow strikes though. And there are some dreadful elbows mixed in with some decent ones. The only bright sparks of that portion of the match were the crowd rallying behind Katsumura who was falling behind and Katsumura countering a corner one with a cross armbreaker. The match gives Katsumura a decent amount of false finishes like the Gogoplata submission but Suzuki was able to put him away eventually with a Gotch Piledriver. That concluded what was a good match. It was a little different from the usual Suzuki match but that dreaded spot reared its ugly forehead. ***1/2 Calamari Drunken Kings (Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi) vs. Romance Dawn (Shota & Soma Takao) While this was on the long side of things, I thought this was a super piece of work. CDK was doing some solid work this year, sneakily ranking up there as one of the best tag teams of 2022. They work together very well to work over Shota with double team spots to isolate Shota and add tension to the match. Brookes was excellent in the match with his technical work which is normally Takanashi’s strong point. He also did some great heel spots, such as attacking HARUKAZE, who was accompanying Romance Dawn to ringside, ripping at her mask and then later launching her to the outside onto the other accompanying GanPro wrestlers. But the MVP of the match was Shota, who was sublime as the selling babyface. And he had to be as Shota did pretty much nothing all match. He went missing so Shota took on all of the responsibility, working for sympathy as well as working for the upset win over the KO-D Tag Team Champions. And the Gannosuke Clutch finish was magnificent. I’ll never get tired of seeing it used. ***3/4 Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Match: Yumehito Imanari (c) vs. Ken Ohka Worthy main event. In the classic Ganbare spirit, this was all heart when it mattered. Ohka did what's right and put over the hardest working man in the DDT Universe, Imanari. The commentary reinforces the point that this is two friends putting it all on the line and they deliver on that. The match doesn’t go crazy trying to top Okada vs Omega. It’s done simply and builds to a satisfying finish. ***

This is sort of the forgotten match between the two because of how closely linked to their GHC Heavyweight Title belt later in the year. It’s easy to confuse one for the other. The match starts off well with quick action and heated flurries from KENTA. The match presents a clear stylistic difference where Marufuji is all about the unpredictable, fast paced sequences which included strikes and aerial moves whereas KENTA was a bit more simple and relied more on force than creative technique. The match also follows the classic trope of working a body part - in this case, Marufuji works the left knee of KENTA, first using the barricade. But that’s largely forgotten once the bigger spots of the match begin to flow. KENTA and Marufuji work splendidly together in that regard, naturally being able to pull off some spectacular moves that wow the crowd but still come off like a fight for a title. And unlike their reputation, the spots are built up really well - Marufuji attempted to hit a Shiranui on the apron but KENTA blocked it to try for a German which Marufuji blocked before hitting a superkick and only then could Marufuji nail the Shiranui onto the floor. The closing stretch was excellent; KENTA hit a fisherman's brainbuster off the top, got an amazing double nearfall on the running knee and the Go To Sleep before finishing Marufuji off with another Busaiku Knee. Just a wonderful match outside the needless limb working spots of the match. ****

Old Man Flair is a riot. He’s not peak Flair but he’s still a watchable, entertaining presence. Put that Flair in North Carolina and you get a quality main event. Edge knows how to work with Flair and monger heel heat with his mannerisms and sleazy nature. He’s in good form as Champion so this just works as a match. The result is obvious but there are some moments where you have hope. And that’s all you need. ***1/4

DDT Judgement 2022 ~ 25th Anniversary - 20/03/2022 KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Title Match: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) It's hard to say this is the generational match with veterans such as Honda and Owashi in one of the teams but it's sort of the first wave of DDT wrestlers against the next wave. Team D²T is an appropriate name to call back to that history. And this was the first great start to the show. They packed some of the bigger gimmicks in DDT in this match such as Hirata, Yoshihiko, Honda, etc and they did well to include their spots among the, tad more, serious Legends side. Although it was just as hilarious seeing GENTARO react to Yoshihiko than anything else. I'm not really into Poison Sawada as a gimmick but he's not a detraction whatsoever. All in all, this was a fun opener. *** Special Single Match: Saki Akai vs Maya Yukihi These two had no chemistry in the build-up to this but they were somewhat handicapped by being forced into doing teaser spots which, unless you're Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu, aren't always great to watch. But they put in a great effort when allowed to have sustained momentum and actually work each other. Akai got a good win, throwing some good kicks and holding her own through Yukihi's submission sequences. The transition from the Octopus Hold to the Quetzalcoat was sweet as hell. The best moments of the match came from Yukihi though, who does have something to prove after leaving the comfort zone of Ice Ribbon. She had some great head kicks that would rock anyone and her Swanton bomb looked terrific. ***1/4 DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match No DQ “I’m Sorry” Match: Sanshiro Takagi vs Michael Nakazawa Despite being 52 years old, Takagi still does what he does best, and that is fuse the Attitude Era brawl, plunder and all, and the DDT gag style together to make a compelling match. It didn't reach the heights of MAO vs Takagi but it had its memorable moments, such as Takagi hitting a piledriver on Nakazawa over a toilet and Takagi crashing the DDT Mobile in the pyramid of chairs as Hyper Misao did at Grand Princess the night prior. This was worked in a similar way to an I Quit match so thee rest of the match was the two doing things to each other until Takagi threatened to power bomb Nakazawa through stacked boxes and Nakazawa quit. And then Takagi put him through it anyway, because he's the president and what is anyone going to do about it. Nakazawa humbled himself and offered a present in the form of Christopher Daniels announcing that DDT wrestlers will go to the United States. Big news indeed. *** Special Tag Match: Isami Kodaka & Yukio Sakaguchi vs 37 KAMIINA (Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata) This opened up with Sakaguchi going on his back and challenging Ueno to pass his guard which Ueno was able to do after some persistence before Sakaguchi changed position and regained control. Which was a call back to last years' singles match. Shunma and Kodaka paired off naturally with Kodaka consistently beating Shunma, despite his best efforts. Kodaka didn't hold back in nailing Shunma with kicks either. The better parts of the match happened when Ueno and Sakaguchi were in the ring. But this had some solid tag team wrestling to offer with Kodaka and Sakaguchi throwing double kick combos out there. Ueno got the win over Sakaguchi in an emphatic way, after hitting three of his biggest moves. ***1/2 LiLiCo Retirement Match: LiLiCo, Ryohei Odai & Akito (w/ Junretsu) vs Pheromones (Danshoku “Dandy” Dino, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Easily the most gimmicked and outrageous match of the nights. Pheromones played all the hits, no matter how perverse it was. But it was rather amusing and entertaining. LiLiCo got a good send off, with most of the match revolving around her and Odai, her husband. All good fun, albeit far too long. Plenty of things happened in the match but they aren't best described in words. It's all visual. The best part of the match was Junrestu serenading LiLiCo after the match. Jun Akiyama 30th Anniversary Match: Burning Wild (Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori) vs Eruption (Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani) Burning Wild returns for the 30th Anniversary! But this is also a massive test for Okatani to face these two at a stage like Ryogoku. One of the main story threads was Okatani trying to prove himself against his old mentor, Akiyama. He's still in the development stages but he was very good in the underdog who never backs down role. It didn't quite mirror Akiyama v Kawada but it didn't need to either. Okatani came out looking good, even if Akiyama is above him by a wide margin. The other story was Higuchi showing his strength against people who are the same size as him. Higuchi was certainly able to beat Omori towards the end, as he should've but I can't say that I didn't find those exchanges a bit disappointing. There is more to heavyweight wrestling than chops and lariats. ***1/2 DDT Universal Title Hardcore 3 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) vs Jun Kasai vs MAO I knew that this would be a great match. These are three of the craziest wrestlers in Japanese wrestling today and when you put them together, that chaos was only going to grow. The weapons being used were very on brand - MAO brought in a steel beam and Kasai brought in skewers (that went right into everyone's skulls) and used a broken piece of word to stick into Sasaki's forehead. Naturally everyone was bloody and battered. Sasaki, in particular, got cut open badly. He had half of his face painted white but once the blood started to pour, the white turned into dark red. The finish was nuts as well. MAO hit an emerald flying flowsion of the beam, that was then placed between two ladders, on Sasaki through a table to win the Universal Title. MAO was the third wheel in the Sasaki and Kasai feud and he seemed determined to be considered as a threat and came out the victor. ***3/4 KO-D Tag Team Title Match: DISASTER BOX (HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura) (c) vs CDK (Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi) Like the other tag team matches of the night, this was pure quality without ever turning into anything special. HARASHIMA is clearly taking a step back to allow Yoshimura to be the star of the time, but without that extra spark, they never get past that ceiling. Yoshimura is steadily improving as the workhorse of the team, however. He came off looking strong, forcing CDK to have to double team him consistently to get anything on him. Brookes winning by practically ripping Yoshimura apart in a manner classic British wrestlers would be proud of made for a great finish. ***1/2 KO-D Openweight Title Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs Tetsuya Endo It's appropriate that this was the main event for such a landmark show. Long time rivals going against each other one more time. Endo has never beaten Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Title before and this seemed to be his time. The storytelling in the match with Endo changing his approach, adopting a more technical and methodical approach to the match, to good success. Takeshita, in turn, went to the sky more than he has done in a while. This slowly built up until the 25 minute mark where the high impact signature moves came out. Takeshita hit some nasty brain busters and hit all his signature moves but Endo couldn't be denied. For a 46 minute match, this was paced well. If anything the match felt too long at the end rather than the start feeling stretched out. But this was a quality main event. ****1/4

Between the two, Punk has absolutely blown Bryan out of the water since they've showed up. In terms of promos, presentation and matches, I've preferred Punk every step of the way. Bryan had a great match with Omega and a few good matches with Hangman Page, who I don't like all that much, but the rest has been underwhelming to me. I see the match against Nick Jackson and, while it's fundamentally good, I wasn't engaged in the match whatsoever. Similar to the matches against Miro, Jon Moxley, and Lee Moriarty. I actually found the Moxley match to be very boring and lacking in much quality. The whole BCC story has, honestly, been a bit of a turn off for me. It all feels a little hollow and I can't get invested in what they are doing with the stable, Bryan included. Whereas with Punk, I have nothing but praise and excitement for him. He doesn't have the most amazing matches week to week but I get a lot of value out of them, even if it's against wrestlers who I don't care for. His promos can be a little cheerleaderish but he makes them work. The feud against MJF was phenomenal and even if the dog collar match didn't deliver like I expected it to, it still progressed both wrestlers forward in an effective manner. Plus their Dynamite match is one of the best AEW matches ever.

This was decided after Lita congratulating Linda on declaring her intentions of divorcing Mr McMahon - in a long tedious promo, I might add - and he was understandably mad at this so this was made as punishment. And since one isn’t a wrestler, it’s not much of a punishment. HHH and Austin are above the Hardys in levels but it’s still a great opportunity for them to beat the WWF and IC champs. What an odd punishment. Jeff Hardy thought so as well. The match itself was solid. The Hardys put up a great fight despite being out-matched. The Hardys and Lita pull off some big dives, something that HHH and Austin can’t really counter which gives them a small edge. Plus Stephanie isn’t really a trained wrestler, unlike Lita, so they exploit that by separating the men from Stephanie which allows Lita to get the win. Austin and HHH beat her up afterwards with a steel chair… ***

This was another Rhyno squash against Crash who throws himself around the ring. Hardcore Holly helps out this time when Rhyno attempts to Gore Molly Holly again

This started out all normal. Jericho and Benoit are rough with each other and all looks good untiL Regal starts being an asshole and the match breaks down. I’m loving this story. **

After Slaughter ran away last month, this was the perfect stipulation for this feud. This felt absolutely huge as well. For all the talk that this match was built for Bruno Sammartino, Backlund pretty much perfected the style of match intended. Slaughter’s sole intent was to escape and cheaply win the WWF title by escaping the cage without engaging Backlund first but Backlund wouldn’t have it. Slaughter had to beat Backlund down but it was never enough for him to get a chance to escape. Slaughter took every chance he could find to escape, whether it be through the door or over the time but Backlund would hang on to the boots or, at one point, low blow Slaughter. Whatever it took. I once praised Orton’s performance against Batsita in their 2009 Steel Cage match for committing to escaping but Slaughter blew it out of the water. He’s brilliant in this. Bumps, selling, character work. Everything. He’s hanging onto the edge of the cage door, hanging sideways as Backlund pulls at him, like his life depends on it. He’s just sublime. As is this match. Excellence at every degree. And the finish was just so good. Slaughter and Backlund are punching each other on the top of the cage when one of Backlund’s punches - a peach of a punch at that - and a slam into the top of the cage, sends Slaughter down, typing his legs in the ropes, allowing Backlund to triumphantly exit the cage. Holy cow! This felt like a Rocky Movie. ****3/4