[2017-04-29-DDT] Konosuke Takeshita vs Tetsuya Endo

[aaeo_]

An hourlong draw might seem like overkill for a match with these two, but I thought this was good. Takeshita focuses on Endo's neck through the first half of the match and Endo works Takeshita's leg. There's some really dramatic stuff going on there but sadly, they both blow it off through most of the second half and then it comes back in the last ten minutes. Takeshita also has an annoying tic of no-selling big moves to hit a suplex or something of the sort, which happens a handful of times on that final stretch and I was really annoyed by. I find that sort of thing endearing in wrestlers who come across as underdogs but Takeshita doesn't, so I guess it bothers me. Endo's selling is better but his strikes are really bad. Nevertheless, I liked the overall progression of the match. There's moments of real spite and high drama. Having beaten him in their last singles match build-up tags, Endo doesn't take Takeshita seriously at first until he starts beating the shit out of him and working that neck. The swings of momentum through the match seem to mostly come from counters, which is one of the things Takeshita does best. He also eats a great kick to the face while in the top rope towards the end. Endo's offense escalates nicely, until the shooting star press which fails to put Takeshita away.

The match lost me a bit in the final ten minutes because of the two nitpicks I mentioned. I still didn't love Takeshita and Endo taking other wrestlers' finishes for the finish, but I suppose after an hour of doing everything else, it makes some sense.

[Makai Club #1]

An hour draw is always interesting. I don’t believe I’ve seen it in Korakuen Hall, however and I’ve always wanted to see how the crowd would respond in such a place. I think the first half of the match was well worked, albeit it felt stretched out. Not necessarily through pace, because it was done at a normal speed, everything just felt extended. The match escalated well though, leading to a huge blow out for the second half with a bigger crowd brawl than the one they had earlier in the bout and a total bombfest with big suplexes and finishers. Nothing seemed to work and both guys sold that really well with their expressions and urgency. ****