[2022-06-16-DDT-King of DDT 1st Round] Jun Akiyama vs Yukio Sakaguchi

[corwo]

This match made me realize how much we missed out on by not getting an Akiyama run in the various shoot-style promotions. Imagine him mixing it up with Yoshiaki Fujiwara in PWFG, or Kiyoshi Tamura in U-STYLE. Sakaguchi made good use of his MMA background, laying it on thick with his strikes. That led to a moment early on where he downed Akiyama with a kick and subsequently followed up with an apron Penalty Kick. Akiyama was no slouch on the mat as he went hold-for-hold with Sakaguchi.

They began lighting each other up with knee strikes, frantically trying to put one another away. I especially liked how Akiyama transitioned directly from a modified sleeper into a pinfall attempt to capitalize on Sakaguchi’s exhaustion. That Akiyama and Sakaguchi were able to create a series of convincing nearfalls off of limited offense made the match all the more impressive. Sakaguchi survived an exploder suplex, but Akiyama rocked him with a few flush knee strikes and hit the wrist-clutch exploder for the win.

This was exquisite and made the most of its time. Despite the match clocking in at 11 minutes, I didn’t feel cheated. Sometimes, less is more. We could all do more to better appreciate morsels like this where we can get them.