Daisuke Sekimoto

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Jmare007]

As I said in the Microscope, my favorite wrestler to watch from Japan in the last 7 years.

 

Even though he can be guilty of the same flaws current puro guys have (overkill, too much fighting spirit, repetitiveness) he also has too many standout performances and great matches to not be considered. I think you can make a legit case for him being a top 3-5 worker in 09',10',11' and 12'. He can play the Ace very well, he's at his best as the invading beast in smaller dudes promotions (DDT, Chikara) and can held his own in an "epic" style matches (though I think those are his biggest flaw).

 

He probably wont make it higher than 50-60, but he will be on my list.

 

 

 

Some recomendations taken from the Microscope thread:

 

Maximum Tag League - Semi Final: Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuko Miyamoto & Takashi Sasaki (BJW 4/28/09)

Another great tag match in Korakuen Hall. Miyamoto gets distroyed at the begining by Daisuke and Dangan, so it's up to Takashi to level things up. Still, that's not enough as Tanaka/Sekimoto always find a way to get the upperhand but Miyamoto refuses to die every single time he's in the reciving end of a German Suplex. The finishing strech is awesome

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Masa Takahashi - KO-D Openweight Title Match 4/4/10 DDT

 

Daisuke smash puny Masa! But Takahashi has a plan and lots of fighting spirit to counter that, he may go a little overboard with his facial expressions and fighting spirit spots but I was so into the match that didn't really care, loved everything this match.The crowd eats up this incredible underdog story that has a big chance of being my puro MOTY for 2010.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Kota Ibushi - KO-D Openweight Title Match DDT 5/3/10

 

First minutes are kinda slow but the match starts building in intensity until Daisuke decides to slap Kota...from then on these 2 went BATSHIT CRAZY, from elbows to stomps to the absolutely brutal headbutts. Man, I wish this had one last Ibushi comeback before getting killed by the champ, but given that Sekimoto had to wrestle a few hours earlier for Big Japan, I was more than pleased with this.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya - AJPW 3/21/11

 

Although it didn't have the atmosphere of their first match at Korakuen, they made it up with a better version of what they did in February. It's amazing how great this was considering it went longer than 30 minutes - it seems that in today's puro, everything has to be shorter than 25 to be really great - and that the February match suffered from them going so long. This didn't have the same amount of overkill than their first encounter and it benefited from it. The Sekimoto/Soya exchanges are brilliant and Oka/Sanada aren't far behind. A legit MOTYC.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama - BJW 4/28/11

Fucking awesome match, exactly what I expect from an interpromotional encounter. A hot crowd, hate and clear faces and heels. Korakuen is firmly behind the BJ guys and Hama uses this to deliver THE performance of his career. It's worked refreshingly smart considering who is in the ring and the fact that it's a title match.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi & Ryuichi Kawakami vs Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Masashi Otani - BJW 2/12/11

Even better than the usually great Strong BJ tag. It has even more hate and stiffness than normal, and you have the story of the rookie Otani trying to survive the attacks of Oka, Kawakami and specially Daisuke. Everyone looked great in this, just a brutal (in a super fun kinda way) match.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto, Shinobu & Yugi Okabayashi vs. Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami - BJW 6/27/11

Strong BJ for the motherfucking win! Holy crap this was all kinds of awesome. Shinobu and Yoshihito bring the HATE, Daisuke & Okabayashi the muscle and Ishikawa & Kawakami the resilience. Action packed 6 man tag with a couple of GREAT nearfalls. And all of this in just 11 minutes.

 

 

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs SUWAMA & Takumi Soya - REAL WORLD TAG LEAGUE, Day 1

Very good tag match, it builds very slowly but I was happy with the payoff in the end. The first 3/4 of the match are mostly about Daisuke and Yuji beating the leaving hell out of Soya, who does a good job at being the FIP (specially in his hope spots). Then SUWAMA gets in and we get a great finishing stretch. LOVED Daisuke not being able to deadlift SUWAMA and asking Okabayashi for help, but Oka is too tired and gives the young Soya enough time to interfere, save his partner and lead us to the ending.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Suwama & Takumi Soya - Death Vegas

Man was this fun or what. I was gladly surprised that the Yokohama crowd (which had been dead for most of the show) decided to participate in this, of course it wasn't even close to a Korakuen crowd but at least it was something. Completely different from the RWTL match as Soya/Suwama are clearly the bad guys. They did a great job heeling it up all things considered. It ran a little too long with Takumi being a little too resilient for my taste but overall this was very good. I loved how the crowd started to get anxious about Oka and Daisuke not being able to win, even booing the referee's pin fall counts. Also, I hate to say it but I'm HYPED for Suwama vs Sekimoto at Korakuen Hall on 1/2, I tried not to get my expectations up but after this I wanna see this 2 bring the hate and stiffness to Korakuen in a singles match.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Suwama - AJPW 1/2/12

 

So yeah, this was great and oddly enough met my high expectations. Heated as a interpromotional matches between two aces should be. Suwama, aware of Sekimoto's freaky strength, takes out his back and leaves him helpless. Locking in a crab, whipping him in to the barricade, just making him his bitch basically. This is all fuel to Sekimoto's comeback. He sells the back well and leaves you on the edge of your seat whenever he attempts a big power move.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuji Okabayashi - BJW 02/26/12

Definitely the best match of their trilogy. It's so fun watching how Yuji has grown as a performer and as a threat to Daisuke, from Korakuen believing more in him every year to going head to head in the bombs department against Sekimoto. The headbutts were brutal but I've kinda become numb to them ever since Daisuke and Ibushi tried to kill each other in 2010. A great heavyweight battle, can't wait till they meet again in 2013.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yoshihito Sazaki- Strong Climb Tournament Final BJW 3/26/12

Maximum Tag League - Semi Final: Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuko Miyamoto & Takashi Sasaki (BJW 4/28/09)

Another great tag match in Korakuen Hall. Miyamoto gets distroyed at the begining by Daisuke and Dangan, so it's up to Takashi to level things up. Still, that's not enough as Tanaka/Sekimoto always find a way to get the upperhand but Miyamoto refuses to die every single time he's in the reciving end of a German Suplex. The finishing strech is awesome

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Masa Takahashi - KO-D Openweight Title Match 4/4/10 DDT

 

Daisuke smash puny Masa! But Takahashi has a plan and lots of fighting spirit to counter that, he may go a little overboard with his facial expressions and fighting spirit spots but I was so into the match that didn't really care, loved everything this match.The crowd eats up this incredible underdog story that has a big chance of being my puro MOTY for 2010.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Kota Ibushi - KO-D Openweight Title Match DDT 5/3/10

 

First minutes are kinda slow but the match starts building in intensity until Daisuke decides to slap Kota...from then on these 2 went BATSHIT CRAZY, from elbows to stomps to the absolutely brutal headbutts. Man, I wish this had one last Ibushi comeback before getting killed by the champ, but given that Sekimoto had to wrestle a few hours earlier for Big Japan, I was more than pleased with this.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya - AJPW 3/21/11

 

Although it didn't have the atmosphere of their first match at Korakuen, they made it up with a better version of what they did in February. It's amazing how great this was considering it went longer than 30 minutes - it seems that in today's puro, everything has to be shorter than 25 to be really great - and that the February match suffered from them going so long. This didn't have the same amount of overkill than their first encounter and it benefited from it. The Sekimoto/Soya exchanges are brilliant and Oka/Sanada aren't far behind. A legit MOTYC.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama - BJW 4/28/11

Fucking awesome match, exactly what I expect from an interpromotional encounter. A hot crowd, hate and clear faces and heels. Korakuen is firmly behind the BJ guys and Hama uses this to deliver THE performance of his career. It's worked refreshingly smart considering who is in the ring and the fact that it's a title match.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi & Ryuichi Kawakami vs Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Masashi Otani - BJW 2/12/11

Even better than the usually great Strong BJ tag. It has even more hate and stiffness than normal, and you have the story of the rookie Otani trying to survive the attacks of Oka, Kawakami and specially Daisuke. Everyone looked great in this, just a brutal (in a super fun kinda way) match.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto, Shinobu & Yugi Okabayashi vs. Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami - BJW 6/27/11

Strong BJ for the motherfucking win! Holy crap this was all kinds of awesome. Shinobu and Yoshihito bring the HATE, Daisuke & Okabayashi the muscle and Ishikawa & Kawakami the resilience. Action packed 6 man tag with a couple of GREAT nearfalls. And all of this in just 11 minutes.

 

 

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs SUWAMA & Takumi Soya - REAL WORLD TAG LEAGUE, Day 1

Very good tag match, it builds very slowly but I was happy with the payoff in the end. The first 3/4 of the match are mostly about Daisuke and Yuji beating the leaving hell out of Soya, who does a good job at being the FIP (specially in his hope spots). Then SUWAMA gets in and we get a great finishing stretch. LOVED Daisuke not being able to deadlift SUWAMA and asking Okabayashi for help, but Oka is too tired and gives the young Soya enough time to interfere, save his partner and lead us to the ending.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Suwama & Takumi Soya - Death Vegas

Man was this fun or what. I was gladly surprised that the Yokohama crowd (which had been dead for most of the show) decided to participate in this, of course it wasn't even close to a Korakuen crowd but at least it was something. Completely different from the RWTL match as Soya/Suwama are clearly the bad guys. They did a great job heeling it up all things considered. It ran a little too long with Takumi being a little too resilient for my taste but overall this was very good. I loved how the crowd started to get anxious about Oka and Daisuke not being able to win, even booing the referee's pin fall counts. Also, I hate to say it but I'm HYPED for Suwama vs Sekimoto at Korakuen Hall on 1/2, I tried not to get my expectations up but after this I wanna see this 2 bring the hate and stiffness to Korakuen in a singles match.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Suwama - AJPW 1/2/12

 

So yeah, this was great and oddly enough met my high expectations. Heated as a interpromotional matches between two aces should be. Suwama, aware of Sekimoto's freaky strength, takes out his back and leaves him helpless. Locking in a crab, whipping him in to the barricade, just making him his bitch basically. This is all fuel to Sekimoto's comeback. He sells the back well and leaves you on the edge of your seat whenever he attempts a big power move.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuji Okabayashi - BJW 02/26/12

Definitely the best match of their trilogy. It's so fun watching how Yuji has grown as a performer and as a threat to Daisuke, from Korakuen believing more in him every year to going head to head in the bombs department against Sekimoto. The headbutts were brutal but I've kinda become numb to them ever since Daisuke and Ibushi tried to kill each other in 2010. A great heavyweight battle, can't wait till they meet again in 2013.

 

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yoshihito Sazaki- Strong Climb Tournament Final BJW 3/26/12

Brilliant, just brilliant. I was disappointed with Daisuke's work in the Bad Bones match (specially his control section) but man did the guy stepped up in the final. And Yoshihiko....oh man, his work as the underdog was fucking beautiful. Sekimoto gains control in the first minute and proceeds to work over Sasaki's neck, from then on it's all about Yoshihito working from behind trying to overcome Daisuke's brilliant work over that body part. Both men executed their roles to perfection and Korakuen understood what this was all about. The final minutes are outstanding and if you are not rooting for Yoshihito then you don't have a fucking soul.

 

[fxnj]

I thought he was the best in the world in 2011 and 2012, though I haven't seen a whole lot of his stuff from afterwards. I'd also add to that list the tag against Kasai and Numazawa to show his diversity.

[DylanZero]

Amazing wrestler once he "got it". But before that he often seemed to foray into deathmatch style a little too much for my liking early on in his career and it's crazy to think he's been wrestling as long as he has and that's no compliment because nothing he did struck me as special until 2011.

 

My two favorite matches of his weren't even mentioned by the OP and that was vs Hidaka in 1/1/11 in Z1 and vs Madoka last August in BJW. (And I definitely think those guys should/will get nominated, possibly by me) His number of matches in numerous settings and promotions make him a strong candidate for best of the younger active wrestlers going. How far can that take him though? Could easily see him making it above someone like KENTA among fans of his if we're objective. Definitely possible.

[GOTNW]

I like modern puro a lot. Sekimoto just doesn't do it right. He's always felt like a video game wrestler, nothing he does feels organic or particularly significant. The Suwama matches got pimped as MOTYCs and I swear you can find better Yano/Iizuka tags. Dull strike exchanges, no layout, it was a chore to sit through. Before everyone got injured there were probably at least 5 guys I preffered in Strong BJ only.

[Alan4L]

My two favorite matches of his weren't even mentioned by the OP and that was vs Hidaka in 1/1/11 in Z1 and vs Madoka last August in BJW. (And I definitely think those guys should/will get nominated, possibly by me)

Madoka as a top 100 wrestler of all time????

[NintendoLogic]

I find Sekimoto overall to be a dull meathead, but I did really enjoy the match where he tagged with Okabayashi against Akebono and Hama on 1/3/12.

[Childs]

I'd like to read a Sekimoto supporter's concise case for why he's good. I ask because I haven't been able to get into any of the pimped BJW matches from recent years.

[W2BTD]

Lol, literally seconds after I hitting send on a microscope post saying that I think Sekimoto is the kind of guy PWO might really dig, I find this thread where people seem to be tepid on him. Figures.

 

This guy is GREAT. If I vote, this is a top 20 guy, maybe higher. He's a beefy guy who works exactly like a beefy guy should. I love wrestlers who can convey a sense of real heart & fight, and he does it better than almost anybody. His offense looks stiff & brutal. He sells with fantastic facials and sounds. His matches always, ALWAYS hold my full attention and are well structured with awesome peaks. Despite his size and physical strength, he still manages to do a great job being a sympathetic babyface when called for, which isn't easy for big powerhouse dudes (see:Mark Henry, who is generally awful at doing anything besides making mean faces).

 

I don't think Sekimoto has a single major flaw.

[Childs]

At least tepid and curious instead of tepid and dismissive

[W2BTD]

I thought for sure he'd be a modern puro guy you guys would really dig pretty much across the board. With a gun to my head, he'd have been my pick...

 

...and I'd be dead, apparently!

[Childs]

Honestly, I haven't watched many of his matches with a focus on his performance. It's more a case of I'd watch the few BJW matches that made Will's MOTYC sets, find them to be overkill and not dig beyond that. But I'll do another go-round, given how much he's loved by you and others.

[Dylan Waco]

I like Sekimoto, but I don't think he's a particularly great, or even good, wrestler. For every match of his i like there are two that are built around fighting spiritish Schtick and things of that ilk. He's not even one of the best 20 guys in modern Japan by my tastes.

[DylanZero]

I think where Sekimoto shines, as you can tell in my favorite matches of his list is being able to pull off the big vs. small matchup, as well as being a strong tag wrestler. I'm not as big a fan of some of these other guys in terms of some of his matches against other big guys, I would describe him as more hit or miss (but with more hit!) and definitely has examples of what Waco's talking about. I think he really has a grip on how to make guys smaller than him look not only good enough to pull off exciting stuff, but believeable in their offense and that they can win to me as well as the fans in the arena and against the right underdog has created some really great high-end stuff.

 

Also thought his team with Okabayashi invading other promotions like AJPW was the most interesting thing going at one point. Though also had a really disappointing singles run there as well.

 

Like I said, how far can this run carry him? Pretty far according to Joe. I like it! But truthfully he's really not a lock for my list.

[GOTNW]

 

I don't think Sekimoto has a single major flaw.

This might be true. Might. I struggle to find anything he does insulting. But he doesn't really have a single major quality. And what makes him better than say, Suwama, Morishima, Sugiura, Go Shiozaki, Takaiwa, Kojima or Okabayashi? What is your argument for Sekimoto as a top 20 guy of all professional wrestling ever? What are the matches that he has produced that you are so high on that you would put him on that level?

[Jmare007]

He does has some flaws. I definitely agree he is hit or miss when facing other heavyweights. As I said in my previous post, he is guilty of a lot of the things that modern puro guys have that make matches feel either too long or with too much overkill. Sometimes it seems he tries to force an "epic" match when it's not needed. Specially when he is working in Zero-One.

 

But to me, his misses aren't THAT bad. I'm still entertained with the stuff he does in matches. To be honest, I'm just a sucker for his schtick. All that said, I don't see a case of him being a top 20 dude ever at all.

 

 

I'd like to read a Sekimoto supporter's concise case for why he's good. I ask because I haven't been able to get into any of the pimped BJW matches from recent years.

 

Can you remember some of the matches you watched? It might be easier giving you a list if we know what you've already seen. But the short answer would be what Joe said, he's just a beefy guy who can play the role of a "big dude" very well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FWIW. Not that anyone is saying this but the matches I posted are far from a definitive Sekimoto list. Even though I love all those matches, I just did a quick search from another forum I post on and c/p the reviews I had so I could make a thread in the Microscope and nominate him.

[Alan4L]

 

I don't think Sekimoto has a single major flaw.

This might be true. Might. I struggle to find anything he does insulting. But he doesn't really have a single major quality. And what makes him better than say, Suwama, Morishima, Sugiura, Go Shiozaki, Takaiwa, Kojima or Okabayashi? What is your argument for Sekimoto as a top 20 guy of all professional wrestling ever? What are the matches that he has produced that you are so high on that you would put him on that level?

 

His matches have way more heart and story than the likes of Suwama, Morishima, and Sugiura. And I like all those guys, but they're not in Daisuke's class. They don't even sniff his class.

 

As Jmare said, there is a great list of matches in the Microscope thread including this one which I just added. It's a very different style of match for him as it's really really focused on a body part instead of overall demolition.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKhSHTV67vQ

[DylanZero]

I like Sekimoto a lot but you guys are forcing my hand here a bit. Sugiura's had a fine run of consistency (Well, brutality in many ways, but still did great for his style and at least pretty good for most) that's lasted since he was still a Jr. in like 2002. Even now his team with Tanaka is basically doing a better version of what Sekimoto/Okabayashi did in early 2013.

 

Sekimoto has been wrestling since before 2000. The first 10 years of his career I can think of literally 2 matches I would say were even above average. The rest ranges from flatout bad, to mediocre, to...deathmatch. To me that doesn't hold up at all against some of these other guys, some he does but especially not Sugiura.

[Alan4L]

the best

I like Sekimoto a lot but you guys are forcing my hand here a bit. Sugiura's had a fine run of consistency (Well, brutality in many ways, but still did great for his style and at least pretty good for most) that's lasted since he was still a Jr. in like 2002. Even now his team with Tanaka is basically doing a better version of what Sekimoto/Okabayashi did in early 2013.

 

Sekimoto has been wrestling since before 2000. The first 10 years of his career I can think of literally 2 matches I would say were even above average. The rest ranges from flatout bad, to mediocre, to...deathmatch. To me that doesn't hold up at all against some of these other guys, some he does but especially not Sugiura.

the best Sek & Oka stuff is 2012.

 

I loved alot of Daisuke stuff from 2006 to 2010 particuarly his many matches with Masato Tanaka (although I'm sure some would find them to have to much "overkill"). His great DDT title run was 2010 also. The matches with Takanashi, Ibushi and HARASHIMA in particular are fabulous.

 

I love Sugiura but I think his matches have been missing something for a few years. They tend to devolve into "I hit you, you hit me" with no real story, build or crescendo. I have also found that alot of his stuff from 2003-2009 which I loved at the time, hasn't held up favourably on rewatch. It's still very good stuff, but matches I thought were MOTY type level were not quite that. Meanwhile the top Daisuke stuff from 08 and 09 has surprised me by how well it holds up or in some cases is better than I remembered.

[DylanZero]

Got mixed up on the years there sorry. For some reason I had them starting in AJPW in 2012 instead 2011, my bad.

 

Well, I'll give his early stuff more of a chance, but I will say his DDT run wasn't something I'd consider very good at all (No fault of Sekimoto's because I actively dislike his opponents). I also want to say I really want to like what I see with him because I'm a fan. For a list like this my argument was there wasn't enough there, if there is more than what I remember and what we're talking about here with Tanaka I'm an easy sell. Looking forward to it.

[Jmare007]

Ehh, I thought Sekimoto was having very good matches as early as 01' against Ohtani (were Ohtani wasn't the sole reason why the matches ruled) in singles and tags. I remember a match against Kamikaze in Zero1, tags against Sasaki/Nakajima and Tanaka/random partners in 06' that were pretty damn good too.

 

He certainly wasn't consistent but I think he was better that you are painting him out to be on those early years.

 

 

I became a fan of his after watching his matches against Tanaka in 07' and 08', but I'm not sure those are gonna held up when I rewatch them. I did enjoy the times they faced each other in the Fire Festival in the last couple of years, something about those two dudes colliding against each other entertains me. But they did seem way too long for what they were going for and just "fine" with some fun moments.

[Alan4L]

he had a great 2006 tag against Kensuke & Nakajima too.

 

If you're not adverse to parting with some coin, I'd really recommend some of his best wXw stuff. 16 Carat 2011 Night 3 against Generico is one of the best matches I've ever seen live. 16 Carat 2012 Night 2 against Big Van Walter is often talked about as the best match in promotion history and then finally the match vs Walter from the World Triangle League last year is like a bigger better version of the Okabayashi match I linked to earlier.

 

On the topic of seeing him live, I'd put him in a class with Danielson, Kobashi, Generico, Liger and CIMA when it comes to the best wrestlers I've seen at making crowds I've been a part of be completely engaged at all times in what they were doing.

[DylanZero]

The '01 match with Otani and the '06 tag vs Sasaki/Nakajima were the exact two matches I was thinking of when I said "above average". And we're still looking at maybe a dozen matches over a decade.

 

The stuff from wXw I'm very excited about watching though.

[GOTNW]

 

His matches have way more heart and story than the likes of Suwama, Morishima, and Sugiura. And I like all those guys, but they're not in Daisuke's class. They don't even sniff his class.

Heart? What do you mean by heart? His willingness to withstand a certain amount of Chops? I don't think "heart" is a quality that really matters in pro-wrestling. Brock Lesnar doesn't have any "heart" but he's better than a million guys that do. Story? Pro-wrestling matches in general aren't examples of great narration and Sekimoto would be the last guy to credit for something like that. I saw that Sekimoto vs Okabayashi match. I have it ranked as the 31st greatest japanese pro wrestling match that occurred in 2013. I can see why some would rate it higher-even a lot higher-but for someone to rate Sekimoto as one of the greatest 20 wrestlers ever based on matches like that being the most high-end stuff he's done......don't get it sorry.

[Childs]

 

 

His matches have way more heart and story than the likes of Suwama, Morishima, and Sugiura. And I like all those guys, but they're not in Daisuke's class. They don't even sniff his class.

Heart? What do you mean by heart? His willingness to withstand a certain amount of Chops? I don't think "heart" is a quality that really matters in pro-wrestling.

 

Really? Conveying a great desire to win and overcome the odds isn't important in pro wrestling? Everyone from Ricky Morton to John Cena to Kenta Kobashi would beg to differ. Feel free to be skeptical about Sekimoto. I'm skeptical about him myself. But that's a silly statement.