DDT returned to the Dojo for another fun wee show to fill in this continually widening gap without the joys of wrestling. Wash your hands, throw away your tissues and read me having a blather about what went down.
I think this is probably the most diverse match of the month list I’ve put together yet. In the past, I’ve had star ratings to work by when figuring this out and, honestly, I think that was restricting the way I did it. Now, I’m just pulling out the notebook and picking the ten that have stuck with me the most. So, welcome to a rather different, but certainly not worse, round-up of my favourites matches from last month.
Fresh off my favourite show of the year so far, Tokyo Joshi were back in the Dojo for another tournament. This time the roster was split into teams based on the colour of their attire, with wins earning two points, draws one and a loss none. The team with the most points at the end of the night would win themselves a day pass to a theme park, so that’s exciting. Will it be more hotly contested than the free meal? Time to find out.
Insert joke about Stardom drawing an awful crowd for their latest Korkauen here. For yes, with coronavirus still causing chaos, Stardom chose to hold their monthly trip to the Hall without any fans. It’s not all bad news, though, as they also streamed it for free on YouTube, making it the rare Stardom show that can be watched straight away and has commentary, with a whole load of familiar faces (including Jushin Liger) popping up throughout the show. If we’re lucky, it might even become a regular thing. Anyway, on with the wrestling!
Every one of these DDT Dojo shows has at least one super interesting match on it. For last Tuesday’s, that treat was newbie Royce Chambers taking on Chris Brookes in the main event. He was given a chance to show-off on the previous show. Now it was time to find out if he can do more than that.
Are you ready to get emotional? I feel like I’ve already said goodbye to Kagetsu at least a couple of times, but this is the actual last chance we’ll get to pay our respects to her before she goes on her way. Christ, that makes it sounds like she’s dying. In reality, she’s twenty-seven and is probably off to live an awesome life, but I’ll be sad all the same.
With Tokyo Joshi joining DDT in having shows cancelled by the coronavirus scare, they decided to give us a wee treat in its place. A one-day tournament that aired live from the Dojo with the winner receiving dinner coupons for Genghis Khan Kirishima, hence the convoluted name. It was taking place under what I shall refer to as snappy rules which were as follows:
Two count falls for the first three rounds with five minute time limits and janken tie-breakers.
Three count falls for the semi-finals with five minute time limits and one count fall tie-breakers.
Three count fall for the final with a ten minute time limit and a one count fall tie-breaker.
Thanks, as always, to ddtpro_eng on Twitter for all the translations.
Cards on the table, I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched Dynamite. Week three? The last AEW show I saw was probably the PPV, but I have kept an eye on what they’ve been up to, and people seem to be enjoying it. While that doesn’t mean Western TV wrestling has stopped being the Devil, I figured I’d tune in for Revolution and give them the chance to convince me otherwise.
DDT returned to Korakuen with a couple of big old matches on top. First up was the crowing of their inaugural Universal Champion, a belt that’s intended to help spread DDT across the globe. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that it shares a name with a certain title used by a company based out of Connecticut. Then, in the main event, we’ve got MAO vs Tanaka, which is all kinds of exciting. Shall we see what happened?
I have no deep connection to Manabu Nakanishi. By the time I started watching Japanese wrestling, he was firmly rooted in his role as a New Japan Dad. The years weighed heavily on him, and he’d slipped into the world of Young Lion matches and undercard tags. However, I’ve always loved the Dads. There is something beautiful about these grizzled old veterans, beaten up and hurting, but refusing to die. Every time they wander down to that ring, they are trying to prove their fire still burns. Perhaps ironically, Nakanishi would prove his fire is still roaring in his final ever match.