HARASHIMA vs. Kenny Omega (1/29/2012)

DDT - Sweet Dreams! 2012 (1/29/2012)

HARASHIMA vs. Kenny Omega

Big HARASHIMA matches tend to have a slow build into a heated climax, and the third act was very well done, but the build just didn't grab me, and they didn't seem to have a good flow going early on. They've had better matches.

**1/2

Hikaru Sato & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa (DDT, 7/31/2012)

DDT - Beer Garden Fight 2012 ~ KENNY OMEGA PRODUCE DAY (7/31/2012)

Hikaru Sato & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa

Michael Nakazawa is the one DDT guy I have never understood. I know he's well-respected, but he's not a good wrestler, he has a boring look and he's not funny. Anyway, this was a fun match... ? Lots of homoerotic stuff involving oily muscular bodies, and oil being spit-balled, and decent wrestling somewhere in between.

***

HERO! & HERO! vs. Kenny Ohka & Kenny Omega (DDT, 8/4/2008)

DDT - HARASHIMA Produce: Beer Garden Pro Wrestling (8/4/2008)

HERO! & HERO! vs. Kenny Ohka & Kenny Omega

This crowd was very impressed with Kenny's technical wrestling 101 routine, heh. He got in his signature spots, and got over quickly in just his debut match! The HERO team wrestled like sloths. One of them is Minoru Fujita so I shouldn't be surprised. A solid introduction for Omega in DDT.

**

Sayaka Obihiro vs. Antonio Honda (Gatoh Move, 9/2/2016)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・245 (9/2/2016)

Sayaka Obihiro vs. Antonio Honda

I didn't care for Honda cutting a 1-minute promo during the match, but this had great strike exchanges. I would have liked to have seen more of Honda being an imposing asshole, and hammering away at Obihiro's ribs with body blows, but he just has to shoehorn in his comedy bits. Ah well..

**1/2

NEO Biishiki-gun (Saki-sama & Masa) vs. Aasa Maika & Riho (DDT, 8/4/2017)

DDT - Fighting Beer Garden 2017 ~Shuten-doji Day~ (8/4/2017)

NEO Biishiki-gun (Saki-sama & Masa) vs. Aasa Maika & Riho

I was excited when this was announced, but with it taking place at a Beer Garden show I was worried there would be too much comedy, or even drinking, and luckily none of that was here. Just a straight up wrestling match. Aasa takes a good beating and Paradise Lock (!!); she is just a wonderful FIP. Riho was the workhorse, and brought this match to the next level with her high-flying offense and set-ups. Biishiki-gun were compelling characters as always. Great match.

****

Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie (DDT, 1/20/2011)

DDT - Dotonbori Story 8 (1/20/2011)

Golden☆Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie

Back when Irie and Ishii were still young boys, and Irie had a buzzcut! Omega and Irie had a great segment, and Ibushi did magical stuff in the final sequence, and I dug the combos Ishii and Irie were doing. Solid little tag match.

***

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno & Aasa Maika (Gatoh Move, 5/3/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・287 (5/3/2017)

Riho &「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno & Aasa Maika

I loved everything Aasa was doing here, the segment with「Kotori」where she gets a somersault throw into the wall, and her overconfidence when she's taking on both Riho & 「Kotori」. Konno was not having a good match; her transitions and execution was sloppy, but fortunately she didn't get much. An OK match. 

**1/2