KO-D Openweight Title Match: Kazusada Higuchi (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita - DDT Who's Gonna Top? 2022 - 25/09/2022
DDT has always been a quasi-Junior Heavyweight promotion, with exceptions, of course such as Daisuke Sekimoto, Shuji Ishikawa, but with Takeshita's weight gain over the past few years and Higuchi taking the top spot, the Heavyweights are back in action. Quick waistlocks to begin which Higuchi counters into a claw hold attempt that Takeshita blocks. Shoulder block exchanges get cut off with a leg lariat that catches Higuchi out. Takeshita rocks Higuchi with an elbow show and hits an impressive springboard plancha only for Higuchi to hit his own. The momentum continues to flow back and forth between the two with no one able to get sustained momentum against the other. Takeshita hits another impressive dive over the turnbuckle and then cuts off Higuchi's running clothesline with an awesome blue thunder bomb. Higuchi shows his great strength and skill with the great sequence of power moves that is followed by a snake eyes/running boot combo. All of which took place within ten minutes. The match picks up even more with a great buchikamashi from Higuchi with Takeshita following up with a jumping high knee. He misses the follow up, falling to the outside and Takeshita posts Higuchi, ala the Bryan Danielson/Nigel McGusiness spot, but Higuchi shows his spirit as the Godzilla he claims to be, brushing it off entirely and head butting Takeshita hard enough to draw blood. And from there the match elevates to a great level. Higuchi takes full control of the match from there, leading the match and executing most of the match's most dangerous moves with Takeshita barely surviving. In the closing stretch he was able to draw another powerful elbow show but Higuchi kept coming back. And the actual finish was pretty great as well. Higuchi pasted Taekshita with chops and then a headbut, which led intoTakeshita and Higuchi having their own version of the Mutoh/Chono strike exchange - jumping knee into buchikamashi and repeat. Great match with the right result of Higuchi winning as Champion, likely signalling the changing times with Takeshita wanting to work the US more. ****1/4
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