My final wrestling show of the trip was once again in the Tokyo Dome where, on a stacked card, there was only really one match I cared about. It was time for Tetsuya Naito to fulfil his Destino, and if he didn’t, well, I’d be writing someone a very strongly worded letter.
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With Tokyo Joshi finished, it was time to go to the second most important show of the day. January 4th at the Tokyo Dome is a New Japan tradition, and even if they were running two dates there this year, there was something extra special about the first. Watching Wrestle Kingdom a few years ago got me into Japanese wrestling and, well, have a look around this site if you want to know how important that was to me. So, let’s find out what New Japan gave me on my first trip to their biggest show of the year.
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January 4th might be Tokyo Dome day, but it’s quickly becoming Tokyo Joshi day too. Before making my way to Wrestle Kingdom, I wandered into Korakuen for the final time on this trip to watch a show with one hell of a card. Could it live up to it? Time to find out.
As has been the norm for reviews from this holiday, don’t expect too much in-depth detail. I don’t take notes and it’s much harder to write long reviews off of memory alone.
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On the 3rd of January 2020, I equalled the number of wrestling shows that I went to in 2019. That’s primarily because I was saving money to come here, but still, it’s a step up. It was my third trip to Korakuen since I’d arrived in Japan that smashed in the equaliser and it was to see DDT all on their lonesome without the help of those scary boys in Big Japan. I was looking for laughs and good wrestling, did they deliver? Let’s find out.
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January the second was Stardom time! Wrestle Kingdom may have been the initial inspiration for this trip, but let’s not beat around the bush, I was just as excited about watching Stardom. I’ve fallen in love with this company over the last year and having reviewed every show (I think, I certainly didn’t miss many) of 2019, being at their first of 2020 was a no-brainer. I was sober and fully with it, so I’ll be returning to the traditional structure. However, don’t expect any great analysis of the matches themselves because I was not taking notes.
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I intended to review this entire show, but it was already a week ago, and I’ve been to see DDT since then, so I can’t see myself getting a chance to do so before it becomes completely obsolete. However, I wanted to finish off my run through of the D-Oh, so here are my thoughts on Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuya Endo. It will be the last match I talk about from 2018, and while it’s a few days late, I would like to thank everyone that read the site in the last year. It was significantly more people than have ever read it before, and that means a lot to me.
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Down a nondescript alley in Ichigaya is a Chocolate Square. Nope, this isn’t the start to some weird Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rip-off, but it might be something just as magical.
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Stardom’s final show of the year has taken on all kinds of meaning. In many ways, it is setting up a new era for the company as they move forward under the stewardship of Bushiroad. However, it is a new era tinged by sadness as they said goodbye to Hazuki and had another wrestler announce their retirement (more on that later). Change is coming one way or another.
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I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but this is a wrestling website. So, while I’m sure you were all desperate for my takes on music and film, this is the biggy: my twenty favourite matches of the year. I’ll be keeping it short because I’ve written about all of these before, but there is no harm in dishing out a reminder.
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My biggest worry about making this Japan trip solo was how I was going to spend my Hogmanay. The idea of being on the other side of the world, all on my lonesome and sat in some random bar while the bells rang felt, well, a bit depressing. Thankfully, Big Japan and DDT came to the rescue, with their Tag Team Shuffle tournament, a show that went through midnight and gave me an excuse to see in the New Year in Korakuen Hall. Like yesterday, this won’t be a traditional review, but instead a ramble about the experience.
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