DDT 2015/12/13

Super Star Lanes 2015

(2015/12/13)

They only aired highlights from the matches pictured above. So yeah, nothing to write about, but honestly I’m only sorry for the last match (all hail Higuchi!), because it sounds like something good.

6.      KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine, Batten Burabura vs. T2Hide (Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata) ©

Your typical 6-man Title fuckery, Dino’s shtick is such a hit or miss, bus SSM, Owashi and Dancing K always bring some light-hearted fun and positivity into everything, therefore I gotta give a pass to this match.

**1/4

7.      No. 1 Contender - DDT Extreme Championship: Antonio Honda vs. Akito

In 2014 these two had an underrated classic no one ever talked about, and here they did it again. Honda and Akito are two of the very best company wrestlers and they have amazing chemistry together. This match was a beautiful and gripping human chessgame full of smart work delivered by two workers with huge game IQ. It felt like old Mid-West and South territories came to life, every little move and detail mattered, and they sold the struggle and limbwork exceptionally. Wonderful match!

****3/4

8.      HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Shigehiro Irie & Konosuke Takeshita

Just look at those four names, Christ almighty, fun was a guarantee, but they really gave their best and displayed some truly awesome tag team action. One would think Takeshita is the obvious fallman, but he was fighting and surviving like a madman, the closing stretch with Yukio was stupendously great, all the nifty and brutal counters were breathtaking, I totally wanna see them in a Korakuen main event. I don’t wanna go into details here, this match was simply too smart and the way they set and executed everything down to a T was captivating, every guy did so well in their respective roles.

****1/2

9.      KO-D Openweight Championship: Tetsuya Endo vs. Isami Kodaka ©

Very good main event title match, but not great. We’re accustomed to four star plus KO-D Openweight Title matches, so naturally this comes across as a slight disappointment, despite being good match. I really like Kodaka, I’ll forever be his fan due to crazy ass deathmatches he did in Big Japan, he’s an amazing underdog because he’s so short and skinny and willing to go through hell and back for our entertainment. I’ve seen him taking horrific beatings and death bumps on countless occasions and for that he’ll always have my respect. His back and arms tell the whole story and then some more. That being said, Isami Kodaka has no place in main event picture as a solo competitor, not in Big Japan and certainly not in DDT. Tag team champion – yes! Eternal underdog who occasionally tastes glory – yes! But he has no business being top dog in DDT, especially right now. His moveset and ring presence simply don’t match his main event appetite. He’s not a believable/compelling singles champion, no chance in hell. But the female parts of the fanbase adore him, so there you go, Sanshiro loves giving his fans what they want, and who am I to judge him, lol.

This match was super promising in first half, with Endo being a Roddy Strong to Kodaka’s back section, and there were some really unique little attempts at creating something different and fresh, which I loved, but then Kodaka stopped selling Endo’s hard work and the rest was mostly them exchanging moves (and bigger moves) until the finish. Shame that Endo got sucked into Kodaka’s web instead of the other way around, because Endo was really trying to accomplish something huge here, but Kodaka didn’t know that dance.

***3/4