Ultimate Party is creeping ever closer and episode ten of the DDT TV Show was heavy with matches previewing the fun to come. Sadly, COVID means it’s not quite as big a party as last year, but they’ve still got time to convince us that we’ll have a enjoyable boogie.
Soma Takao defeated Danshoku Dieno and Antonio Honda in a Three-Way
Honda and Dieno caught sight of Soma doing some weird lunges backstage which they construed as him practising his low blows. It’s okay, though, Dieno promised to protect all the balls. Do I need to review the match after that? It probably gave you an insight into what was going to go down.
Although, as comedy involving Dieno and a ball obsession goes, this was probably some of his better work. The opening reminded me a bit of a kid’s TV show, one where the protagonists have convinced themselves their neighbour is evil. Honda and Dieno were sure Soma wanted to punch them in the balls, and, for them, his every move only served as further proof that they were right.
Except, unlike that classic TV trope, they would turn out to be correct, Soma eventually grabbing his chance to go low. Then again, I guess it could be argued that it wasn’t his plan but a result of Dieno and Honda’s suspicion pushing him in that direction. Or, I may be overthinking this. Either way, lots of balls were crushed and even as someone who is generally a Dieno sceptic, I enjoyed it.
Verdict: I Laughed
DISASTER BOX (Naomi Yoshimura and Kazuki Hirata) defeated Eruption (Kazusada Higuchi and Saki Akai)
We’re previewing out double title showdown as Eruption and DISASTER BOX will face-off for both the tag and trio belts on the same day.
DISASTER BOX are somewhat handicapped in this endeavour by the fact that Sakaguchi terrifies Hirata, which, when you think about it, is rather sensible. All it took was a glance from the badass to cause Hirata to flinch away, the hollow thump of a kick presumably running through his mind. To give him credit, though, this might have been his first step towards conquering that fear. He took advantage of Sakaguchi murdering Naomi with a knee to roll him up and steal away with the win. Sure, it wasn’t decisive, but it worked.
Outside of that, it was a decent wee tag. Akai excels at wrestling people twice her size, so her vs Yoshimura was great, and I like watching Sakaguchi kick people. If you share that passion, you’ll join me in giving it the thumbs up.
Verdict: Conquer Your Fears!
DISASTER BOX (HARASHIMA and Yuki Ueno) defeated Chris Brookes and Shota
Shota was here as Shota, not Masa Takanashi. Brookes, meanwhile, was on his second show of the day, having teamed up with Otoki to face Pencil Army in ChocoPro. That match was fantastic, so if you’ve not seen it, make sure to check it out.
Perhaps that explains why Brookes was in no mood to wrestle his Ultimate Party opponent, Ueno. He was heeling it up the max, dodging away at every turn and only tagging in when Shota had the upper hand. Not that he kept it, Ueno managing to even the odds before proving that he can jump high enough to dropkick Brookes in the face.
After that scare, Brookes basically left Shota to it, Ueno getting the win with a Praying Mantis Bomb which is what I believe wrestling commentators call sending a message. Brookes was probably smart enough to understand it too, as this was a strong preview of a match that could be the dark horse to steal the show.
Verdict: Starting The Build
Junretsu (Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase and Hideki Okatani) defeated ALL OUT (Konosuke Takeshita, Akito and Shunma Katsumata) and Shinya Aoki
In theory, Akiyama and Takeshita should be a slam dunk of a feud. Grizzled veterans beating on young studs might sound like something you’d find on a porn site, but it works for wrestling too. Unfortunately, it has mainly revolved around Junretsu vs ALLOUT and has, quite frankly, bored me.
Sadly, this match was no different, something that wasn’t aided by the decision to eliminate Takeshita and Akiyama first. I guess it was a good twist, in theory, especially as it was Okatani who knocked Take off the apron, but it left us without our story.
What followed wasn’t bad, I just have zero investment in any of it. They did try and give some shine to people like Oishi, who I like, but they’re so clearly supporting players in this story. It’s hard to get over when you’re essentially playing cornermen for the boss. Still, if you’ve been a fan of the previous matches between these teams, you’ll probably continue to be so.
Verdict: It’s Still Not Clicking
Daisuke Sasaki and Hiroshi Yamato defeated DAMNATION (Tetsuya Endo and Mad Paulie)
Daisuke and Yamato came to the ring with chairs and matching dark eyeliner. Look, break-ups are hard. It sucks when you try to betray your bro only for all your other bros to choose him and betray you instead. Daisuke has got to work it out.
Despite that, this was a relatively restrained match for the majority. Yea, Daisuke and Endo’s segments were heated, but it never felt like they were in danger of boiling over. If anything, I could have used a bit more hate from Sasaki’. A smidge more fire as he tried to get revenge on the bastard who kicked him out. He and Endo’s interactions were great. I just wanted to see the black eyeliner take control.
The ending sequence did give us a bit of angry Sasaki, a ref bump seeing him low blow Endo and unleash on Paulie with a chair. It was enough to set him up for the win as his former alien pal tapped to a Crossface. Unleash the eyeliner, Daisuke! It’s time.
Verdict: Emo Daisuke
Daisuke mouthed off at Endo afterwards, saying he’ll be nothing without that belt. Sadly, he wasn’t to get the last laugh, Endo dropping him with ACNH and saying that he doesn’t care about the belt, it’s all about beating Sasaki.
Overall Show
That was another decent episode of the DDT TV Show. Nothing on here is going to blow your mind, and they are holding back a bit compared to what they were presenting during the height of COVID in Japan (makes sense, they can sell tickets now). However, it’s under two hours and is an easy watch, so you’ll hear no complaints from me.
Watch DDT: https://www.ddtpro.com/universe
Ramblings About Wrestling 
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