wrestling / Video Reviews
Furious Flashbacks: DDT Into the Fight 2015
Image Credit: DDT Pro-Wrestling
Loading...DDT Into the Fight 2015
21st February 2015.
We’re in Tokyo, Japan at the Shinjuku FACE. This DDT show popped onto my radar simply because I’d enjoyed the big Saitama show so much that I wanted another DDT show and this one was in the books and on the ‘net. It aired on Samurai TV on the 26th February. Shinjuku FACE is a much smaller venue than the Korakuen. It’s basically a converted nightclub that resides halfway up a building in a stylish part of Tokyo. The card is much more straightforward than the gimmick-heavy Saitama show with straight up tags and the one stipulation being a No DQ. It’ll be a good chance to check out DDT’s roster in a less ridiculous environment than usual. No titles on the line this evening, just good old fashioned wrasslin’.
Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao) & MIKAMI vs. Shuten-doji (KUDO, Masa Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi) & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
Loads of talent in the opening match. All of TDF have had KO-D title matches in the last year. KUDO is one of the few men to have beaten HARASHIMA in the last calendar year too. TDF are fun loving guys whereas Shuten-doji are badass shooters. It’s an interesting dynamic. The straight up wrestling memo didn’t reach Matsunaga who blows his nose on his hands and wipes it on Takao’s face. This is the catalyst for heat on Takao as well as Irie looking as if he’s about to burst into tears. He looks like that quite often. Takao takes the heat segment quite well before a double hot tag, which is a goddamn mess so Sakaguchi starts kicking everybody’s ass. Considering the talent involved, the match is not particularly well structured and does not bode well for the evening’s entertainment. KUDO and Ishii beat the piss out of each other to improve matters and the momentum is regained from there as we hit a hot series of encounters and moves. Takanashi is particularly good and wrestles circles around Takao until Soma counters into the Guillotine Driver for the pin. There’s a feeling he got a bit lucky but seeing as he took most of the heat during the match, also that he overcame adversity to score the victory. Not a good start to the show. Perhaps everyone involved was a little disappointed to be booked in a throwaway 8-man tag.
Final Rating: **1/4
No DQ:
Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine vs. Toru Owashi & DJ Nira
Owashi is the only guy in this match who takes professional wrestling even remotely seriously. Dino has a homosexual gimmick, Super Sasadango Machine is a Super Strong Machine knock-off who does PowerPoint presentations and DJ Nira is a DJ. He wrestles this match in a leopard skin hoodie if that helps with the visuals. DJ Nira does have the good common sense to roll Dino up when he does his squatting-on-your-face spot though. I know it’s a comedy spot but why does no one ever counter it? SSM comes in to do the exact same spot and DJ Nira rolls him up too! Dino gets into a prolonged argument with the ref and slaps him, because it’s no DQ, before getting Nira to splash the ref in the corner, despite them being opponents. The ref keeps moving so Dino forces an apology out of him while Nira hobbles around selling his back. Then Dino dry humps the ref for what feels like an eternity. Owashi then boots his own partner in the face because he’s sick of the silliness. This is the first truly ridiculous match of the evening and it is dominated by the referee. Owashi frustrated with the poor standard of officiating, goes for a chokeslam on the ref but it’s countered into an armbar! They do the Nira spot into the corner again but again the ref moves and lariats Dino. This is fantastic. Yes, it’s completely ludicrous but it’s fun. The ref gets SSM’s mask put on him before powerbombing Nira for the win. I hasten to add that Dino & SSM win, not Dino & the ref. The referee in question, Daisuke Kiso, is one of my favourite ref’s in Japan normally. He looks like Jackie Chan with a teenage girl’s emo haircut. He was an integral part of this match paying off and when I thought we’d be getting a straightforward night of matches, I probably should have assumed Dino & SSM teaming would equal shenanigans.
Final Rating: ***1/4
Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi vs. Akito & Yasu Urano
Asahi just won the Extreme title from Akito in Saitama. As a reward he’s no longer billed as “X”. Asahi has gotten ridiculously over in DDT just because he’s always the mystery opponent. Akito is in a surprisingly good mood for a guy who just lost his belt. Akito vs. Asahi without the bells and whistles of the Extreme title stipulation changes is very solid. They’re both good wrestlers who can go on the mat. A lot of DDT’s guys are capable mat wrestlers. The match can’t seem to find it’s rhythm so they work heat on Asahi, the most over guy out there. This follows formula to a tee with low blows, missed hot tags and no tag switches. The crowd find it hilarious because it’s so dated and clichéd. And that’s what DDT is all about. They’ve gone out there and wrestled a match from 30 years ago, played it almost completely straight and the crowd are still chuckling along. They even set up a really obvious ref bump only to have the ref dramatically forward roll to avoid it. The referees are working overtime tonight. Asahi & Urano then get into a roll up duel, resulting in a rolling near falls and a double pin with two kick-outs, followed by more near falls and another double pin for the finish. That’s amazing! The whole match felt like some sort of high-art despite being a standard formula tag. It was really well done and the finishing sequence was glorious. Worth ½* extra to the score.
Final Rating: ***1/2
Kazuki Hirata vs. HARASHIMA
HARASHIMA is DDT’s ace. Hirata is a guy with a dancing gimmick who’s wrestling this match to get more Twitter followers. It probably shouldn’t be considered a spoiler who goes over here. The idea is to get burgeoning talent Hirata in there with someone of HARASHIMA’s talent so he can learn. Which he does. HARASHIMA slows him right down and gets Hirata focused. It shows the youngster how different the DDT main events are compared to the daft undercard. Hirata is weird to watch when he’s not trying to stop the match every couple of minutes to start dancing. Stripped of his dancing, he’s an ok wrestler but he doesn’t stand out. Despite HARASHIMA walking him through the match, it’s a very deliberate demonstration that Hirata isn’t ready to step up yet. Not like Endo was. Or even Takeshita. HARASHIMA bosses the grappling with little strikes inserted cleverly to add to Hirata’s misery. A fine example of this is a superplex, with a floatover into a double knee drop. HARASHIMA is rarely troubled and finishes the plucky upstart with Somato. Hirata is definitely popular but the match rather demonstrated how unprepared he was to step up.
Final Rating: **3/4
Tetsuya Endo vs. Yuji Okabayashi
Endo & Takeshita just lost their tag titles to Okabayashi & Sekimoto so this is a challenge from Endo to see if he can regain a little pride with a singles win. Okabayashi is a Sherman tank of a wrestler though. He flattens lesser men with brute force. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t look out of place going toe to toe with Tomohiro Ishii. Endo is lightweight compared to him and instead of working smart, sticking and moving, he opts to try and outwrestle Okabayashi. Given Endo’s skill in this area, it’s a tidy contest. This gives extra weight to my claims about Endo’s potential. Endo’s attempts to turn the match a grappling contest make it genuinely interesting as the wrestler is going against the Strongstyle powerhouse. Endo is met with power escapes and chops at every turn but Okabayashi cannot match him for actual wrestling skill. I think Endo might be onto something. Unfortunately his psychological approach, initially on a par with HARASHIMA, becomes generic and Japanese as we progress as he attempts to match Okabayashi at his strengths. It’s a Japanese mentality that you HAVE to be tougher than your opponent. Okabayashi kicks his ass for it. The only thing you’ll accomplish in a chop battle with Okabayashi is hurting your hand on Yuji’s barrel chest. When Endo does return to his tactical approach Okabayashi just powers out of everything and kills Endo with lariats. Endo’s advantage was gone the moment he decided to butt heads with the big man. Golem Splash finishes. Really good match, showing Endo’s tactical skill and potential. He is a prospective ace for DDT and could potentially break out and be a cross-promotional star. Not just because of his skill but because of his heart. His post match crawl across the ring to try and get at Okabayashi despite being absolutely fucked is wonderful. It’s top selling and storytelling. Endo has a big future.
Final Rating: ****
Golden Storm Riders (Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki) vs. Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Antonio Honda)
Takeshita’s switches with Ibushi demonstrate how capable he is as a mat wrestler. DDT have brought through a couple of really good wrestlers in the last year. Sasaki has been the guy to benefit most from Kenny Omega leaving as he’s slotted into Kenny’s role as Kota’s tag partner. He takes the best bumps in the entire company. The match isn’t without a comedic edge, brought by Honda. Sasaki starting assaulting Honda’s hairline, leaving precious follicles on the mat. Honda tries to pick them up and stick them back in his dome. The actual wrestling is solid with Sasaki & Takeshita having good chemistry and Ibushi bringing the thrills. Kota is so far above everyone in DDT that it’s not even funny but then he is one of the best wrestlers in the world and his commitment to DDT, considering he’s a top New Japan guy, is admirable. He’s also a ticket into the promotion for any new fans, anxious to see something different but contented by the presence of a familiar face. They may discover a few gems in the process. Sasaki is certainly a contender; throwing himself wholeheartedly into every spot and taking enormous bumps to get over everything from a Honda punch to a Blue Thunder from Takeshita. Ibushi is much the same way but while I’m constantly waiting for his exciting offence Sasaki is genuinely great at taking a beating. The stretch is enormous fun as everyone spills in for a four-way punch up. Takeshita & Sasaki take each other out leaving Honda alone with Ibushi. It’s only natural that Kota wins from there. First clocking Honda with a lariat then completing the victory with the sit out Last Ride.
Final Rating: ***3/4
Post Match: YOSHIHIKO runs out here, takes out the winners and challenges Kota Ibushi to a KO-D title match! So the prestigious main belt in DDT will be defended against a sex doll. The match went nearly 20 minutes too.
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