{"id":16475,"date":"2015-01-19T12:16:31","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T17:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/?p=16475"},"modified":"2015-01-19T12:16:31","modified_gmt":"2015-01-19T17:16:31","slug":"fighting-spirit-review-ddt-new-years-gift-special-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/reviews\/fighting-spirit-review-ddt-new-years-gift-special-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Spirit Review: DDT New Year’s Gift Special 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Date:\u00a0 January 3rd, 2015
\nLocation:\u00a0 Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
\nAnnounced Attendance:\u00a0 2,200<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Part of me feels bad for reviewing DDT.\u00a0 I am not their target audience, I don\u2019t understand 57% of the jokes, and most of their matches are just pure gimmick.\u00a0 But they do occasionally get a laugh out of me and they do have a few really good wrestlers, so I watch it anyway since you never know.\u00a0 Plus I try not to skip any promotions.\u00a0 This event has the Michael Nakazawa Army vs. the Danshoku Dino Army in a points-based match series.\u00a0\u00a0 Here is the very full card:<\/p>\n

– Kota Umeda vs. Shunma Katsumata
\n– Shuji Ishikawa, Makoto Oishi, and Hoshitango vs. Yasu Urano, Akito, and Gota Ihashi
\n– Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship<\/em>: YOSHIHIKO (c), Antonio Honda, and Takao Soma vs. Masa Takanashi, DJ Nira, and Saki Akai
\n– Sanshiro Takagi and Toru Owashi vs. Super Sasadango Machine and Super Sasadango Machine #2
\n– KO-D Six Man Tag Team Championship<\/em>: Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Gorgeous Matsuno vs. Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki, and Shun Miyatake
\n– Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series<\/em>: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga
\n– Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series<\/em>: Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Kazuki Hirata
\n– Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series<\/em>: KUDO vs. MIKAMI
\n– Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series<\/em>: HARASHIMA vs. Tetsuya Endo
\n– Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series<\/em>: Michael Nakazawa vs. Shigehiro Irie
\n– Bonus Track: Michael Nakazawa Army vs. Danshoku Dino Army<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see how this goes.<\/p>\n

Kota Umeda vs. Shunma Katsumata<\/strong>
\nThey trade shoulderblocks and armdrags to start things off, as Umeda stays in control until Katsumata plants him with a dropkick. Trio of slams by Katsumata but the cover gets two.\u00a0 Katsumata applies a single leg crab hold but Umeda gets to the ropes.\u00a0 Handspring kick to the face by Umeda and he knees Katsumata in the corner.\u00a0 Swandive missile dropkick by Umeda and he covers Katsumata for two.\u00a0 Back up they trade elbows but Katsumata catches a kick and hits a powerbomb.\u00a0 Crab hold by Katsumata and Umeda submits, making Shunma Katsumata your winner.\u00a0 Basic rookie opener, Umeda does have some pretty moves though.\u00a0 Really short too.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 3.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shuji Ishikawa, Makoto Oishi, and Hoshitango vs. Yasu Urano, Akito, and Gota Ihashi<\/strong>
\nOishi and Ihashi start off things.\u00a0 Ihashi is really fat.\u00a0 Just saying.\u00a0 Ihashi tags in Akito before anything happens and he trades moves with Oishi.\u00a0 Urano is tagged in as Ishikawa is as well, Ishikawa shoulderblocks Urano and tags in Hoshitango.\u00a0 Hoshitango slams Urano around and tags in Oishi.\u00a0 Oishi hits a fist drop and tags in Ishikawa.\u00a0 Urano fights back but Ishikawa hits a back bodydrop for a two count cover.\u00a0 Hoshitango and Oishi come in the ring and everyone brutalizes Urano.\u00a0 Akito and Ihashi come in to help but they are cleared out, Hoshitango goes for a suplex but Urano blocks it.\u00a0 Ishikawa comes in but Urano fights them off and tags in Akito.\u00a0 Dragon screw by Akito to Hoshitango and he suplexes Ishikawa.\u00a0 He goes off the ropes but Hoshitango throws him to the mat and tags in Oishi.\u00a0 Tornado DDT by Oishi to Akito, roll-up by Oishi but it gets two.\u00a0 German suplex by Akito and he leaves the ring, Oishi tags in Ishikawa and Ishikawa hits a vertical suplex onto Ihashi.\u00a0 Running knee by Ishikawa but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Ishikawa clears the ring, kicks by Ihashi but Ishikawa headbutts him and hits Splash Mountain for the three count.\u00a0 Shuji Ishikawa and company win the match.\u00a0 I\u2019ll give Ishikawa credit for having hit the Splash Mountain on tons of fun, but Ihashi was never tagged in the match that in theory had tag rules.\u00a0 And some of these wrestlers aren\u2019t very good.\u00a0 Nice finish though.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 3.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Antonio Honda, Takao Soma, and YOSHIHIKO (c) vs. Masa Takanashi, DJ Nira, and Saki Akai<\/strong>
\nThis match is for the Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship.\u00a0 That is a singles title so why it is in a six man tag match, I am not sure, but whomever pins YOSHIHIKO wins the championship.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Soma and Takanashi start off, Soma gets the better of it and tags in YOSHIHIKO.\u00a0 I am going to pretend with the play by play that YOSHIHIKO isn\u2019t a doll. \u00a0Takanashi slams YOSHIHIKO and tags in Nira.\u00a0 Nira throws YOSHIHIKO out of the ring and tags in Akai, Takanashi covers YOSHIHIKO but it is broken up.\u00a0 Takanashi sets up YOSHIHIKO in the corner but Soma helps YOSHIHIKO kick Takanashi and YOSHIHIKO hits a crossbody.\u00a0 Takanashi tags in Honda, Akai runs in the ring but Honda won\u2019t hit her.\u00a0 Kicks by Akai, Irish whip, reversed, and Honda hits a Thesz Press.\u00a0 Nira gets in the ring, Honda kicks him and dances around but Nira wraps his wrists in toilet paper and kicks him in the leg.\u00a0 Akai comes in with Soma and Soma tags in YOSHIHIKO.\u00a0 Kick by YOSHIHIKO and a cover, but Takanashi breaks it up.\u00a0 YOSHIHIKO dives off the top turnbuckle but Akai moves.\u00a0 Akai goes up top and hits a diving crossbody on YOSHIHIKO, but it gets two.\u00a0 Akai goes for a powerbomb but YOSHIHIKO reverses it into a hurricanrana, but Akai rolls through and picks up the three count!\u00a0 Your winner and new champion:\u00a0 Saki Akai!\u00a0 BUT WAIT!\u00a0 Aja Kong appears out of nowhere, destroys everyone, and hits a brainbuster on Akai.\u00a0 Cover, and she picks up the three count!\u00a0 Aja Kong is your new champion.\u00a0 As for the match, YOSHIHIKO makes me laugh.\u00a0 There, I said it, I am entertained by a blowup doll that participates in wrestling matches.\u00a0 And seeing Kong was cool.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sanshiro Takagi and Toru Owashi vs. Super Sasadango Machine and Super Sasadango Machine #2<\/strong>
\nOwashi and Machine #2 start things off.\u00a0 Owashi takes off Machine #2\u2019s boxing gloves but Machine #2 kicks Owashi in the chest.\u00a0 Takagi and Sasadango Machine are tagged in and Takagi chops Sasadango Machine in the throat.\u00a0 Sasadango Machine is attacked in the corner but Owashi goes for Sasadango Machine\u2019s mask.\u00a0 Owashi tags in Takagi, and Takagi twists Sasadango Machine\u2019s straps around his neck so that it chokes him.\u00a0 Owashi comes back in and clubs Sasadango Machine, but Sasadango Machine eventually hits a dropkick and tags in Machine #2.\u00a0 Diving doublechops by Machine #2 and he clears the ring.\u00a0 Takagi rams Machine #2 into the turnbuckles and suplexes him back into the ring.\u00a0 Sasadango Machine gets in the ring and rips at Takagi\u2019s nose hair.\u00a0 Takagi low blows Machine #2, Takagi takes off Machine #2\u2019s mask, but Sasadango Machine takes off his mask and puts it onto Machine #2.\u00a0 Sasadango Machine hits a lariat on Owashi and Takagi and hits an elevated DDT on Takagi, but Takagi kicks out.\u00a0 La Magistral by Takagi and he gets a three count.\u00a0 Your winners are Takagi and Owashi.\u00a0 Machine #2 is Bernard Ackah, for those that care.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t a good match by any stretch of the imagination, although the mask swap spot was cute.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 3.0<\/span><\/p>\n

(c) Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Gorgeous Matsuno vs. Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki, and Shun Miyatake<\/strong>
\nThis match is for the KO-D Six Man Tag Team Championship.\u00a0 They all brawl to start the match, the Brahmans try to dump water on their opponents but the buckets are taken from them.\u00a0 They brawl outside the ring again, fighting up into the crowd and down the aisle.\u00a0 Miyatake chops Kei up the aisle, Ibushi grabs his arm and walks down all the chairs to ringside, until Kei trips him and Ibushi crotches the guardrail.\u00a0 Miyatake and Matsuno are trading elbows elsewhere while Shu and Ibushi get into the ring.\u00a0 Kei and Miyatake get onto carts and are rammed into each other, which doesn\u2019t go well for either one of them.\u00a0 Kei hits Miyatake with a stop sign, Kei gets a pig head and hits Miyatake with it.\u00a0 Bowling ball to Miyatake, cover by Kei but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Miyatake eventually tags in Ibushi but Shu attacks him from the apron.\u00a0 Double Pele Kick by Ibushi, cover by Sasaki but it gets two.\u00a0 Sasaki and Ibushi get the luggage and bowling ball, and Ibushi does a moonsault while holding the bowling ball onto Shu.\u00a0 Cover but Kei breaks it up.\u00a0 Matsuno stays in the ring and kicks Ibushi, Ibushi goes for a slow motion powerbomb but Matsuno reverses it with a hurricanrana.\u00a0 Ibushi and Sasaki get some black goo and try to spit it at Shu and Kei initially block it until Miyatake helps out, leading to Shu and Kei getting sprayed.\u00a0 Miyatake starts making\u2026 something with powder and water, black liquid is added and the jar is shaken up.\u00a0 Miyatake drinks some and powers up, Matsuno hits him but Miyatake absorbs the blows.\u00a0 Shoulder tackle by Miyatake, Ibushi and Sasaki try to spit black liquid at Matsuno but Matsuno ducks and they hit Miyatake by accident.\u00a0 Schoolboy by Matsuno to Miyatake and he gets the three count!\u00a0 The Brahmans and Gorgeous Matsuno retain the championships.\u00a0 This was goofy fun like you\u2019d expect, the brawling was just way too slow.\u00a0\u00a0 Some funny spots but it had too much mindless brawling before they got to the point.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga
\n<\/strong>This match is part of the Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series.\u00a0 Standard trading holds to start things off until Takeshita connects with a jumping kick, Takeshita goes for a pescado but Matsunaga moves and slams Takeshita onto the floor. They battle on the apron and Matsunaga hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Double stomp off the apron by Matsunaga to Takeshita\u2019s back, as this match is far more brutal than I was expecting from a silly DDT match series.\u00a0 Back in, Matsunaga applies a crab hold but Takeshita fights back.\u00a0 Single arm suplex by Takeshita but he hurts his own back.\u00a0 Matsunaga slams Takeshita onto his knee, small packages by Matsunaga but he gets two.\u00a0 Roaring lariat by Takeshita and he hits a German suplex hold for the three count.\u00a0 Konosuke Takeshita wins!\u00a0 For a short match they packed a lot into it, some really nice spots here and some looked quite painful.\u00a0 A solid short encounter.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Kazuki Hirata<\/strong>
\nThis match is part of the Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series.\u00a0 Sakaguchi interrupts Hirata\u2019s dancing, he gets mad and hits Sakaguchi.\u00a0 They trade strikes, which Sakaguchi obviously gets the better of as Hirata eventually tumbles out of the ring.\u00a0 Jumping kick by Sakaguchi off the apron, they return to the ring and Sakaguchi kicks Hirata to the mat again.\u00a0 Knee by Sakaguchi but Hirata snaps off a vertical suplex.\u00a0 Face crusher by Hirata but Sakaguchi punches him in the stomach.\u00a0 Running chop by Hirata but Sakaguchi kicks Hirata in the corner before hitting a jumping knee.\u00a0 Sakaguchi straddles Hirata in the corner and knees him in the stomach.\u00a0 Sleeper by Sakaguchi, he releases Hirata and hits a PK to pick up the three count.\u00a0 Yukio Sakaguchi wins the match.\u00a0 This was a lopsided affair, to put it mildly, Sakaguchi was never in any danger here.\u00a0 Liked the apron jumping kick, livened things up a little bit, but still really short and no suspense.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 3.5<\/span><\/p>\n

KUDO vs. MIKAMI<\/strong>
\nThis match is part of the Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series.\u00a0 MIKAMI hits a swandive missile dropkick before the match starts and then hits a pescado.\u00a0 MIKAMI gets a ladder and slides it and KUDO back in the ring.\u00a0 MIKAMI puts the ladder on KUDO and hits a swandive dropkick, sending the ladder into MIKAMI.\u00a0 MIKAMI puts the ladder on KUDO and hits a senton off the top turnbuckle.\u00a0 KUDO kicks MIKAMI back but MIKAMI hits a backflip off the ladder for two.\u00a0 They trade strikes until KUDO throws MIKAMI into the ladder.\u00a0 Lariat by KUDO and he hits a diving knee strike to a standing MIKAMI.\u00a0 MIKAMI kicks KUDO in the face, knee by KUDO and he hits a swandive double kneedrop for a two count.\u00a0 Tiger Feint Kick by MIKAMI and he hits the 450 Splash.\u00a0 MIKAMI sets up a ladder and climbs up it, but KUDO does too.\u00a0 MIKAMI knocks KUDO off the ladder but KUDO avoids the senton from the top of the ladder.\u00a0 KUDO kicks the ladder into MIKAMI\u2019s back, high kick by KUDO and he hits a diving double kneedrop for the three count.\u00a0 KUDO is victorious.\u00a0 For a match less than five minutes long they fit a whole lot into it.\u00a0 Big spots from the ladder and MIKAMI can still go.\u00a0 Fun for what it was, just not long enough.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 6.5<\/span><\/p>\n

HARASHIMA vs. Tetsuya Endo<\/strong>
\nThis match is part of the Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series.\u00a0 Endo immediately dropkicks HARASHIMA to start the match and dropkicks him again.\u00a0 HARASHIMA gains the advantage with a knee to the gut followed by a kick to the back of the head.\u00a0 HARASHIMA doublestomps Endo repeatedly and applies a chinlock and pulls back on Endo\u2019s back until Endo gets in the ropes.\u00a0 Endo fights back with a vertical suplex and kicks HARASHIMA.\u00a0 Endo kicks HARASHIMA off the apron and he hits a corkscrew Asai Moonsault.\u00a0 These guys really are going all out in these short little matches.\u00a0 Swandive lariat by Endo but it gets two.\u00a0 HARASHIMA gets back into it with a swandive doublestomp.\u00a0 Endo wiggles away and hits a standing shooting star press for two.\u00a0 They trade elbows, kicks by HARASHIMA but Endo kicks him back.\u00a0 Torture Rack Bomb by Endo but it gets two.\u00a0 HARASHIMA moves when Endo goes for a diving move, Endo avoids HARASHIMA\u2019s first charge but HARASHIMA kicks Endo in the head and hits the Somato for three.\u00a0 Another really good but short match, all these series matches have been serious and entertaining, just wish they weren\u2019t all around five minutes.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 7.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Nakazawa vs. Shigehiro Irie<\/strong>
\nThis match is part of the Dino Army vs. Michael Army 5 Singles Match Series.\u00a0 Lots of elbows by Irie to start things off, Nakazawa drives Irie back but Irie hits a vertical suplex.\u00a0 Nakazawa avoids the leg drop by rolling out of the ring, Irie goes out after him and Nakazawa tapes up Irie\u2019s face.\u00a0 Nakazawa tapes Irie to the post but Irie breaks free and gets back in, and Nakazawa hits a diving shoulderblock off the top for a two count.\u00a0 Piledriver by Irie, quick body press but it gets two.\u00a0 Body avalanche by Irie but Nakazawa chops Irie in the chest.\u00a0 Nakazawa takes off his underwear and uses it as a claw hold, getting a two.\u00a0 Nakazawa then applies a sleeper with his underwear as an aide but Irie rolls into the ropes.\u00a0 Elbow by Nakazawa but Irie hits a swinging side slam for two.\u00a0 Diving body press by Irie, but Nakazawa kicks out.\u00a0 They trade elbows and then headbutts, lariat by Irie but he only gets two.\u00a0 Hadoken to the chest by Nakazawa, Irie grabs Nakazawa but the bell rings, as time has expired.\u00a0 Match is a Draw!\u00a0 Nakazawa is a bit goofy but Irie is solid.\u00a0 A step down from the last few matches even though it got more time, but still had its entertaining moments.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 5.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Nakazawa Army vs. Danshoku Dino Army<\/strong>
\nEven in my full play by play days, I didn\u2019t try to do it for this match as there were 34 wrestlers in an eight minute match.\u00a0 Suffice to say there was carnage everywhere, wrestlers were fighting both in the ring and out of the ring.\u00a0 Let\u2019s fast forward to the last few minutes, as Nakazawa is being attacked by literally everyone in the corner.\u00a0 Iii punches Nakazawa down and javelins him into the corner.\u00a0 Honda comes in the ring, he covers Nakazawa but Nakazawa quickly kicks out.\u00a0 Honda punches Nakazawa as by now all the wrestlers are just watching at ringside.\u00a0 Nakazawa takes off his underwear but Honda punches it back into his face and hits a lariat.\u00a0 Honda goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nakazawa gets his foot up when he jumps off.\u00a0 Nakazawa wraps his underwear around his hand and he nails the Ultimate Venom Maker for the three count.\u00a0 Your winner of the series is the Michael Nakazawa Army! If you like random action everywhere this may be for you, and it was a fitting end to the series.\u00a0 But as a match, not a lot to it, not enough time for a match of this magnitude.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 3.5<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I wish things were reversed.\u00a0 The silly matches got all the time, and the matches with really solid wrestlers got around five minutes each.\u00a0 The comedy matches did get a chuckle out of me from time to time, but the laughs to match time ratio was not ideal.\u00a0 The match series did redeem things a bit for me as across that 30 minutes of action there was some really good stuff, so it was not a total loss, but still not the type of event I could personally really recommend.<\/p>\n

Grade: C-<\/span><\/strong>
\nKevin Wilson of Puroresu Central<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nakazawa Army vs. Danshoku Dino Army, Nakazawa vs. Irie, HARASHIMA vs. Endo, Brahman Shu, Kei, & Gorgeous Matsuno vs. Ibushi, Sasaki, & Miyatake, more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":16476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[357,233],"class_list":["post-16475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-ddt","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16477,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16475\/revisions\/16477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}