DDT Goes Hollywood 2023 Review
Sometimes the joy of WrestleMania Weekend is getting exposure to things that you don’t normally watch in your weekly rotation. DDT is one such blind spot for me. I generally know of the names, but outside of a select few (looking at you Higuchi), I don’t know too much about them. Looking forward to seeing what they offer here!
Match #1 – Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko vs. 37KAMIINA (MAO & Shunma Katsumata) - DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Title Match
Yoshihiko comes out to the Ministry of Darkness Undertaker theme is peak comedy and exactly what I expect and hope for from DDT.
This was a fun comedy match, and MAO particularly gets the most out of the Yoshihiko schtick. Everyone plays their part perfectly in such a silly comedy match. this site proclaims ‘Death to Dull Wrestling’ and this match perfectly demonstrates that motto. Any match that includes a blow-up doll kicking out of a springboard Phoenix Splash at a count of 1 is alright in my book. I loved everything about this.
37KAMINA gets the win with a powerbomb / diving blockbuster combination, resulting in MAO becoming the new Iron Man Heavy Metal Champion.
After the match it becomes a free for all for the newly changed championship, which results in Yoshihiko walking out still as champion.
4.25 stars – A joyous celebration of the silly side of wrestling. Recommended.
Match #2 – Pheromones (Danshoku Dino & Yuki Ino) vs. Takagi Army (Michael Nakazawa & Sanshiro Takagi)
With light, there is dark. With joy there is pain. The lord giveth with the first match, and he taketh away with the second.
This is a prime example of what I dislike about DDT’s comedy formula. I know Japan has a different cultural perception, but quite frankly in 2023 ‘haha he’s gay, which is stupid’ is not a punchline to any joke worth telling.
Pheromones are my wrestling nadir. This ends in a no contest, to add to the shit sandwich that is this match.
0.5 of a star – Some of the worst of wrestling.
Match #3 - Andrew Everett & Nick Wayne vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
Higuchi is utterly wasted on an undercard tag as one of his only two bookings this weekend. However, Wayne is generally great and Everett is a good comedic foil to keep the bump card light.
This was a decent little match but didn’t live up to the potential of the quality wrestlers involved. The highlight was the fast exchanges between the very similar Wayne and Masada in the early portion of the match.
Given Wayne has a plateful of bookings this weekend, it’s understandable that this was very Everett-focused, but if a fairly underdeveloped comedy gimmick is your throughline then there is a definite ceiling on the quality of your match.
The win comes with Higuchi hitting the brain claw slam on Everett for the win.
3 stars – A decent tag match that is a misuse of all competitors.
Match #4 – Saki Akai vs. Vert Vixen
There’s been a lot of talk of the ‘airport test’ in wrestling recently, with it getting misused quite a lot. However, Saki Akai passes the airport test with flying colours. She walks into a crowd, you know that is a professional wrestler standing amongst you regardless if you’ve ever heard of her or not.
I hadn’t seen much of Vert, but I was impressed with what I saw. There was nothing groundbreaking in this match, but the work was solid. Nice short match to highlight Akai while giving Vixen a few spots to shine.
Akai gets the win with the Quetzalcoatl (a move that always pops me).
3 stars – Short, decent, and to the point.
Match #5 - Joey Janela vs. Tetsuya Endo
Janela’s a bit of an odd choice to put in this spot if you’re doing an Endo singles match, but given his standing in GCW then I guess I can’t begrudge the hustle to leverage himself into these spots.
This was unfortunately following Janela’s formula rather than Endo’s. A fair bit of stalling between spots, and the faster segments were limited by Janela’s top speed, which is about half of Endo’s. In the spots where Endo could do most of the work, the match kicked into gear (like the Sasuke Special to the outside).
This is not to say I dislike Janela at all, I think he’s an above-average worker and a fantastic promoter. But it just wasn’t the stylistic fit I’d have picked when using Endo.
Both guys get nearfalls from one of their respective finishers, and the match has a nice sense of escalation. I loved the spot of trading German Suplexes resulting in a double down., as well as the apron Destroyer. The work is quite enjoyable and results in a good match, despite my macro-level quibbles.
Endo gets the win after a big Shooting Star Press.
3.5 stars – A very good matchup from an odd pairing.
Match #6 - Eddie Kingston & Jun Akiyama vs. DAMNATION T.A (Daisuke Sasaki & KANON)
Watching Puro-Nerd Eddie Kingston live out his dreams and either fight or team with his heroes is one of the best ongoing stories in wrestling today.
Akiyama is definitely a bit washed, but his worst day is still better than most people’s best.
The match itself isn’t the most spectacular thing you’ll ever see, but is just plain fun to watch these guys mix it up in front of such an invested crowd. Akiyama gets the pin after an Exploder on KANON for the feel-good win.
3.5 stars – A crowd-friendly matchup made to celebrate the team of Akiyama and Kingston.
Match #7 - Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuki Ueno
I love the story of two childhood friends who both became equally great wrestlers, but one of them has managed to translate it into international success and is cocky about it, while the other is trying to prove his worth.
The work in this one is impeccable and is just operating on a higher plane of existence than anything else on this day of WrestleMania Weekend, with the potential exception of the Mark Hitchcock Supershow main event.
Both guys are working over each other’s necks with hard-impact slams and drivers, and it is breathtaking.
4.5 stars – An incredible main event that demonstrates exactly why these two are among the best in the world. Match of the Night. Highly Recommended.
AVERAGE RATING: 3.18 of 5 stars (or 6.36 of 10)
SUMMARY: The majority of this show was solid, with the highlights being the opener and main event. Probably the show from Thursday I’d say you need to go out and watch in full.
WATCH THE SHOW HERE: FITE
