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No Disqualification Tag Team Match: HERO! & MIKAMI vs. Shogo Takagi & Toru Owashi
After debuting at Max Bump 2005, Toru Owashi has been on a tear, destroying everyone in this way. And the next up is MIKAMI and HERO!, who has been feuding with Owashi since his debut (Aka HARASHIMA, future rival and partner of Owashi). After a heated build, a no DQ match is set up. The high flying faces attack with stereo dives immediately, leading to a brawl around the ringside area. HERO steps up to Owashi, who beats on him in the crowds while MIKAMI goes after Takagi in the ring. As this is No DQ, Mikami’s favourite weapon (the ladder) comes into play as does a chair, which Owashi uses on MIKAMI. They double team him for a short while before HERO comes back into fold. MIKAMI is so effortless in the ring with his fancy kicks and dives. He rarely looks out of control, even if it doesn’t always land. He’s always calm and smooth in an odd sort of way. Takagai and Owashi had some nice synergy to their offence. Takagi hit a sweet hook that knocked HERO into a chokeslam and both portray this sizzling fury between the two of them. The match keeps coming back to the two ganging up on either HERO and MIKAMI but despite its repetitiveness, it’s a rather decent match. As the finish comes, HERO turns on MIKAMI by throwing a ladder at his head, costing them the match. HERO has turned to the darkside! Masa Takanashi, who is out due to a broken arm, is pissed on the outside. HERO changes his mask to a bluer one, to signify his heel term. How dastardly. A bit of a weird collection of booking since Owashi vs HERO was the feud until now but oh well. ***
KO-D Openweight Title Match: Sanshiro Takagi (c) vs. KUDO
The boss is back as champion and his first challenger is KUDO, who looks the exact same as he would later in his career (same attire and everything). KUDO wastes no time going after the champion but Takagi cuts him off and goes into his brawling schtick. The push into the post was a little lazy and the little adventure into the ringside seats offered nothing. But the match got some bite when Takagi started working KUDO’s leg. The match goes back and forth between the two, doing some neat counter reversal stuff, showcasing KUDO as well as a worthy opponent. The finish is kind of rough around the edges but is book ended by a mean lariat. Solid title defence for Takagi. KUDO looked good too. ***1/4
DDT Day Dream Believer 2005 - 23/10/2005
KO-D Tag Team Title Match: Darkside HERO! & Toru Owashi (c) vs. Daichi Kakimoto & Kota Ibushi
Unfortunately, there is no video package, so I’m blind coming into this. HERO turned heel and won the title with Owashi and now they are here. They brawl into the crowd with HERO taking Ibushi to the famous East sign post of K-Hall and Owashi taking Kakimoto to the west wide before pulling a face. The brawling was pedestrian but it sets the face and heel divide wider. The champions don’t do much but again, do the solid, basic heel team offence and they are talented enough to make it work. Owashi is a bit of a “just there” figure now but he really used to be a good worker. HERO aka HARASHIMA is the best wrestler DDT has ever had so we know what he can do, even if he’s not there just yet. Ibushi and Kakimoto sold and sold for the champions for the early parts of the bout. Ibushi, who is still a rookie, does some cool things but there are some rough edges that’ll get smoothed out soon enough. He’s a good babyface that HERO and Owashi can use to get heat though. HERO and Ibushi do some brief Junior Heavyweight spots with HERO usually besting them in him. Ibushi’s big hope spot was against Owashi where he’d throw kick combos. The finish came suddenly when Ibushi hit a spectacular no-hand springboard phoenix splash and Kakimoto pinned HERO with a deadlift dragon suplex. An insane combo! Great end to a solid match. ***
KO-D Openweight Title Match: Sanshiro Takagi (c) vs. Danshoku Dino
This has actually gotten some praise by the few people that have already seen it. The match begins with a cool exchange: punches into a criss cross, ending with Takagi diving onto Dino’s entourage. Takagi attacks all of them, throwing them all over the ringside area. While they were heading up to the crowd, the match skipped to later in the match with Takagi dominating Dino inside of the ring. Dino is able to regain control with the help of his group and works the arm with a brief over the top wristlock and some snug knee drops. Dino wrestling (fairly) always surprises me. Of course, he does teabag the arm (which is hilarious btw!) but he’s focused on winning gold and beating Takagi. The match continues its competitive nature even after Takagi hit a dragon screw off the top rope because then Dino’s friends would interfere - this included a wonderful gag where Muscle Sakai would just tell the referee to look at the far reaches of the building - before Dino sent them away in order to do this on his own. The closing stretch was solid as well. Dino survived quite a few lariats from Takagi, to prove himself tough and worthy of being champion, and eventually beating Takagi with his Danshoku Driver. The first title reign for Dino! Well done. Solid title match. ***1/2
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