#309
Battle Royal 12:03
KO-D Openweight Title Unification Match: Dick Togo vs. Antonio Honda 18:43 of 26:24. Considering Honda is a comedy wrestler who has just started doing some legit big matches, this is awesome, but let's keep in mind that it's awesome only in comparison to Honda's usual work. Honda is a comedy wrestler for a reason. He is able to supply substance here, and that's why it's a good match. He doesn't execute anything that well though. He's certainly not slick or crisp. He's not even athletic, and he's only arguably coordinated, but his arm attack is very focused, and that created a nice backbone for the match. Stylistically, it's like an NWA Heavyweight title match from 35 years ago with logic, story, and nonsensical blood. Honda attacked Togo's arm early, and that gave him a chance, as Togo was forced to essentially wrestle the match with one arm. Honda busted himself open with his own tope, and Togo punched the forehead to further open the wound. One of the problems with the match is Honda forced Togo into a stationary match, and you always want Dick up and running. Another problem is, as Honda is used to doing short goofy matches, he hasn't developed the offense, stamina, or general comfort doing a match this long, and it showed in his inability to be particularly credible in the final act. Togo was solid here, but no more, as he was never able to do anything fast or dynamic, as Honda simply isn't good enough for Togo to show the sort of worker he is. However, Togo is good enough to adjust, and this is sort of the lazy Togo style we've started seeing in the last year or two, except that he was working hard here, he just wasn't being glamourous or showy. Togo is capable of worlds better than this, his 2/11/10 match with Billyken Kid proves he's still able to deliver a MOTYC, but this match is all about Honda, and the joker proved he's got a good serious match in him, even if it took a big title match against one of the best in the world to carry him to that level. ***
#310
Hikaru Sato & Daisuke Sasaki vs. Soma Takao & Tomomitsu Matsunaga 12:58
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs. HARASHIMA & KUDO 16:55. Entertaining match mixing stiff strikes and high flying. HARASHIMA is the most consistent wrestler in the match. I don't get why he isn't in demand from other promotions. The match is not surprisingly the best when he's in with Ibushi, but everyone makes good contributions. The main negative is Omega's magical Street Fighter powers are in full effect, and they take away from the credibility of the striking. I suppose the high flying is somewhat preposterous as well, but at least that's real in the sense that the guys have to actually do it. In any case, big time action back and forth for 17 minutes, but the match doesn't really build or have any sense of a climax, it just sort of ends at some point. ***1/4
#313
Kota Ibushi vs. Shigehiro Irie 8:19
Scramble Bunkhouse Anywhere Fall Match: DJ Nira vs. Tanomusaku Toba vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Danshoku Dieno vs. Kazuki Hirata 13:08
KO-D Openweight Title Match: Dick Togo vs. HARASHIMA 18:38 of 20:43. Really well wrestled match with pretty equally strong performances from both competitors. It was a Togo story match, but it felt equally like a HARASHIMA match because HARASHIMA really took it to Togo with his powerful kicks and flying moves. It was anything but a spotfest, as Togo was ready to capitalize every time HARASHIMA made a mistake. Togo's offense, and particularly his knee attack flowed rather organically out of HARASHIMA's misfires. HARASHIMA first injured his knee when Togo avoided his slingshot leg drop to the floor. High kicking the post didn't help HARASHIMA's cause either. HARASHIMA did a good job of putting over the knee injury, including delaying his comebacks because he was hurting too much. In the midst of a run, his knee barked enough when he slung himself over the top to the apron that he had to pause before delivering his swandive body press, which allowed Togo to get his knees up. HARASHIMA came back with a superkick, but collapsed before continuing on to a falcon arrow for a near fall. They left the knee in the final stages with HARASHIMA making a big push, but having his swandive sole turned into a Crippler crossface. HARASHIMA is vastly underrated and Togo is one of the only over 40 guys that should continue wrestling. ****
#314
Antonio Honda & Daisuke Sasaki vs. Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga 12:13
Kamikiri No DQ Match: Hikaru Sato vs. Takao Soma 14:13
KO-D Tag Title Match: GENTARO & Yasu Urano vs. KUDO & Makoto Oishi 14:09
#315
Hikaru Sato vs. Shinichiro Tominaga
Hiro Tsumaki & Gaylon Summers vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Shigehiro Irie
Yoshiaki Yago & Kengo Oka & Madoka vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Seiya Morohashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
DDT Extreme Title TLC (Tonkachi, Ladders & Chairs) Match: Isami Kodaka vs. Cao Zhang
#316
Sanshiro Takagi vs. Great Kayser
DJ Nira vs. Hideki Shiota
Takao Soma & Super Shit Machine & Tomimitsu Matsunaga vs. HARASHIMA & MIKAMI & Daisuke Sasaki. Digest
Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi vs. Antonio Honda & Michael Nakazawa
Yasu Urano vs. KUDO
Dick Togo & GENTARO vs. Kota Ibushi & Shigehiro Irie
#317
Hikaru Sato & Tanomusaku Toba & Rion Mizuki vs. Tsunehito Naito & Kazuki Hirata & Akihito 10:34
MIKAMI & Rojo del Sol vs. Mitsuya Hebigai & Sanshiro Dokumamushi 4:00
HARASHIMA vs. Antonio Honda 9:06
Danshoku Dieno vs. Johnson Gresham 8:52
#318
Battle Royal 29:39
KO-D Openweight Title Match: Dick Togo vs. Kota Ibushi 26:52 of 36:57. Nearly doubling the length of Togo's excellent 2/27/11 title defense against HARASHIMA didn't help because they did an Ibushi match that really didn't work at this length, as it lacked the story and focus which set the HARASHIMA match apart and was too lengthy to be an out and out spotfest. This was a more spectacular match with a higher level of difficulty, but given the way they wrestled it was too long, meandering considerably. It started out as an impressive Lucha style match, but they couldn't do that all night, and it began to settle into a somewhat inconsistent match which featured some amazing high spots but also too much wheel spinning. Togo did work Ibushi's neck some to set up a Crippler crossface victory, but apart from a sweet neck screw it was rarely all that compelling, and Ibushi didn't do a particularly good job of putting it over. Ibushi did some awesome stuff though including running the apron and hitting a quebrada to the floor, a swandive missile kick to the floor, and maintaining the offensive by hitting an overhead kick just after Togo landed on his feet to counter a suplex, but it felt as though Ibushi was intermittently rolling out a great move to maintain interest. I didn't like that Ibushi kicked out of a diving senton at 1, and it was weird seeing them all of a sudden doing a big K-1 kickboxing exchange 30 some odd minutes into the match. There was more than enough really good stuff here to recommend the match, but they either needed to incorporate it better so it worked within the context of a long grueling match or do a shorter more spot oriented match like they did on 8/31/08. That match did a much better job of showcasing Ibushi's strengths, as he was able to be more explosive and show his ability to stay on offense with a split second transition from a miss into often an even better manuever. ***1/4
Charity Wrestling Series on the Road Factory Pro Wrestling Again 5/1/11 Tokyo Miyaji Iron Works Factory: Sanshiro Takagi and Munenori Sawa vs. Kota Ibushi and Michael Nakazawa 33:31
6/8/11 Tokyo: HARASHIMA & Keisuke Ishii vs. Sanshiro Takagi &
Charity Wrestling on the Road Series 2nd ~ Storage Yard Pro Wrestling 7/2/11 Ishioka
Jun Kasai vs. Kota Ibushi and Michael Nakazawa and Mitsuhiro Yoshida and Sanshiro Takagi 25:27
Sanshiro Takagi & Kota Ibushi & Michael Nakazawa and Mitsuhiro Yoshida vs. God of the Storage Yard 6:25
Campingsite Pro Wrestling - Golden Star Series Final 9/26/11 Doshi Naturland Om Campsite: KUDO & HARASHIMA vs. Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa vs. Isami Kodaka & Ken Oka vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa 57:36
Dick Togo interview with match highlights from Universal, Michinoku Pro, Osaka Pro, & DDT
Ryuichi Sekine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga vs. Kazuki Hirata & Keisuke Ishii 5:20
Jinsei Shinzaki & Kesen Numajiro vs. Takagi Genjin (Sanshiro Takagi) & Tsubo Genjin 9:50
Gauntlet: GENTARO & Yasu Urano vs. HARASHIMA & Hoshitango vs. Danshoku Dino & Kota Ibushi vs. KUDO & Masa Takanashi vs. HANZO & MEN's Teio vs. Seiya Morohashi & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Gran Hamada & Super Delfin 8:58
Daisuke Sasaki & Ikuto Hidaka & Tomohiro Ishii vs. FUNAKI & Kaz Hayashi & Yuki Sato 13:54
TAKA Michinoku & The Great Sasuke vs. Antonio Honda & Jado 16:59
Dick Togo vs. Gedo 25:23
Ironman Heavymetalweight Title Royal Rumble: Daisuke Sasaki & Antonio Honda & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yuzuki Aizawa & Cherry & Riki Senshu & Emi Sakura & Tanomusaku Toba & Gorgeous Matsuno & DJ Nira & Hoshitango & Rion Mizuki & Makoto Oishi & Mister #6 & Yoshihiko 21:46
MIKAMI vs. Poison Sawada JULIE 8:59
KO-D Tag Title 4-way Elimination Match: HARASHIMA & HERO! vs. GENTARO & Yasu Urano vs Michael Nakazawa & Kenny Omega vs. Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sekimoto 23:31
Summer Night Fever in RYOGOKU 5 vs 5 Elimination Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Hikaru Sato & Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata & Akito vs. Yoshiaki Yago & Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Super Shit Machine & Kengo Mashimo & Minoru Suzuki 24:20
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt 13:50. New Japan seemed to dictate a short match, as everything else that could have lasted certainly got plenty of time, but there was finally a lot more substance to Devitt's match. Ibushi's kick and submission style was allowed rather than boxing him into being purely a stunt man, so this was a far more diverse match. Devitt even worked the knee during the early portion, though this didn't figure into the later stages. Kota actually got a bloody nose from Devitt catching him on a moonsault to the floor. There was enough of their spectacular aerial feats, but even in the finishing sequence they did far more power moves than in their past matches. It may not have been quite as good as their 1/4/11 NJPW match, but it was a different match that gives them room to continue to grow their program in the future. ***3/4
Danshoku Dieno vs. Bob Sapp 8:58
KO-D Openweight Title Match: Shuji Ishikawa vs. KUDO 27:24
Kota Ibushi meets a different challenger in each apartment room he unlocks. Opponents include Batten Tamagawa, Shigehiro Irie, Tanomusaku Toba, Ken Oka, Michael Nakazawa, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu.
9/23/14: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie vs. KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi 16:42
3/1/15 KO-D Six Man Tag Title: KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao 20:16
3/21/15 KO-D Six Man Tag Title: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao vs. KUDO & Masa Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi 14:22
2/23/14: KUDO vs. Yukio Sakaguchi 7:39
6/15/14 King Of DDT 2014 Second Round: KUDO vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga 16:11
11/6/11 KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO vs. Masa Takanashi 24:18
#353
World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Kenny Omega vs. Minoru Tanaka 24:26
KO-D Openweight Title Match: KUDO vs. HARASHIMA 26:01
#354
Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda & Keita Yano & Yuji Hino vs. MIKAMI & Masa Takanashi & Soma Takao & Daisuke Sasaki 12:08
Hikaru Sato vs. Michael Nakazawa 6:47
Battle Royal: Hikari Minami & Mitsuya Nagai & Tsutomu Osugi & Hercules Senga & DJ Nira & Akito & Gundan Hitori & Hoshitango & Kazuki Hirata & Hiro Fukuda 10:00
KO-D Tag Title Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie vs. Poison JULIE Sawada & Gorgeous Matsuno 10:54
Daichi Sasaki & Dyna Mido & Masashi Otani vs. Hiroshi Fukuda & Kotaro Nasu & Toru Sugiura
Akito & Jun Ogawauchi & Kouzy & Masaki Okimoto vs. HAYATA & Hiro Tonai & Soma Takao & Takumi Tsukamoto
GENTARO & HARASHIMA & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Kamui & Kazuhiro Tamura & Mototsugu Shimizu
Battle Royal: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kaji Tomato vs. Danshoku Dino vs. Atsushi Ohashi vs. Shinobu vs. Spark Aoki vs. Mio Shirai vs. Guts Ishijima vs. Karate Brahman vs. Kaji Burdock (Sabian) vs. Kaji Pot-au-feu vs. Mame Endo
Tag Team Gauntlet Match: Ryuji Yamakawa & Shadow WX vs. Sanshiro Takagi & TAKA Michinoku vs. Jaki Numazawa & Jun Kasai vs. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi vs. Antonio Honda & Great Kojika vs. Amigo Suzuki & CHANGO vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs. Brahman Kei & Brahman Shu vs. Hercules Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi vs. Emi Sakura & Masa Takanashi vs. Natsuki Taiyo & Yoshiko vs. Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Masashi Takeda vs. Chon Shiryu & Dynasty vs. Hide Kubota & Yasu Kubota
Fluorescent Light Tubes Death Match: Ryuji Ito & Takashi Sasaki vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Ken Oka
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tatsuhiko Yoshino
Daisuke Sekimoto & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Kengo Mashimo & Ryuichi Sekine
74 Man Tag: Abdullah Kobayashi & Amigo Suzuki & Antonio Honda & Atsushi Ohashi & CHANGO & Daichi Sasaki & Daisuke Sasaki & Daisuke Sekimoto & Dyna Mido & GENTARO & Great Kojika & Guts Ishijima & HARASHIMA & HAYATA & Hide Kubota & Hiro Tonai & Jaki Numazawa & Jun Kasai & Kaji Burdock (Sabian) & Kaji Pot-au-feu & Kaji Pot-au-feu 2 & Kazuki Hashimoto & Kazuki Hirata & Ken Oka & Madoka & Makoto Oishi & Masashi Otani & Masashi Takeda & Masked Buddy & Natsuki Taiyo & Seiya Morohashi & Shiori Asahi & Shuji Ishikawa & Soma Takao & Spark Aoki & Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Kubota & Yoshiko vs. Akito & Atsushi Kotoge & Carlos & Chon Shiryu & Danshoku Dino & Dynasty & Emi Sakura & Hiroshi Fukuda & Isami Kodaka & Jun Ogawauchi & Kaji Tomato & Kamui & Kaori Yoneyama & Karate Brahman & Kazuhiro Tamura & Kengo Mashimo & Kotaro Nasu & Mame Endo & Masaki Okimoto & Mio Shirai & Mototsugu Shimizu & Mr. PUSSY & Owen Phoenix & Ribbon Takanashi & Ryuji Ito & Ryuji Yamakawa & Sanshiro Takagi & Shadow WX & TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Sasaki & Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Toru Sugiura & Tsutomu Oosugi & Yasu Urano & Yuji Okabayashi & Yuko Miyamoto