Pure brutality was the best way to describe the second week of the DDT TV show. Between beat-downs, hardcore matches, and ref stoppages it was hard to watch. But in that was some optimism: A gauntlet changed hands, Jun Akiyama was announced to wrestle, and Danshoku Dieno retained his title. So with week two in the books, what does week three hold in store?
Kazusada Higuchi vs Keigo Nakamura
Keigo Nakamura was unsuccessful in obtaining the Ironman Heavymetalweight title in a fatal four-way last week. So this week he is getting a shot at a man who ended last week staring down Masato Tanaka. The current sword holder, Kazusada Higuchi. As it follows gauntlet rules, should Keigo pin or make Kazusada tap out, he will acquire the sword and gain a shot at the KO-D Openweight title.
HARASHIMA and Naomi Yoshimura vs DAMNATION (Soma Takao/Mad Paulie)
The other two people who were unable to dethrone the current Ironman Heavymetalweight champion do battle against each other in a tag match. HARASHIMA‘s partner being one half of the KO-D Tag Champions, Naomi Yoshimura, who last week was announced to be part of a four-way match for the Universal title. Meanwhile, Soma Takao has chosen the muscle of DAMNATION in Mad Paulie. Between the losing record of HARASHIMA and upcoming high stakes match for Yoshimura, there’s a lot to lose for one team but not much for the faction of DAMNATION.
Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata vs Yoshihiko
Just one week after his brutal match against Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata challenges Yoshihiko to a hardcore match to end this All Out is All Dead statement. To be fair, Shunma challenged Yoshihiko before his match with Brookes, but that’s neither here nor there. Yoshihiko has been a thorn in ALL OUT’s side ever since the beginning of DDT TV Show, even attacking them on Samurai TV’s Battlemen. Expect this to be brutal.
Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Danshoku Dieno vs Antonio Honda
The first time we saw Antonio Honda on DDT TV Show, he was challenging for the Universal Title. It was a brawl that lead him to take on Danshoku Dieno, who is currently on a mission to defend the title against everyone in the roster at least once. Last week he had some strong competition wrestling-wise, but if there was anyone else on the roster who could out mind game him it would be Honda. The two are usually tag partners, so they know each other well. It will only be a matter of who has the stronger will and the sharpest mind.
Jun Akiyama/Keisuke Ishii vs Mizuki Watase/Hideki Okatani
Last week a huge announcement was made during the show, Jun Akiyama was not only going to be a guest coach, but he would be a regular wrestler. This being his return match to the company, he is teaming with Keisuke Ishii a man who has made his biggest footprint in the Ganbare Pro offshoot of DDT, but has wrestled in Akiyama’s promotion of All Japan Pro Wrestling winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles, and the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Meanwhile Mizuki Watase‘s partner, Hideki Okatani is a rookie so this match will be a training experience for him.
“Okibariyasu” Series Match 6: Saki Akai vs Saori Anou
After match 5 of the Okibariyasu Series, Saki Akai stands at a record of two wins and three losses. Last week there was a tag match to get a feeling out process in which Saori Anou got the victory. Things don’t look entirely good for the female member of Eruption, as one more loss guarantees that she ends the series with a losing record. However, Saori is a tough opponent having wrestled in many different Joshi companies. Even then who knows who stands as opponent seven?
DAMNATION (Daisuke Sasaki and Tetsuya Endo) vs ALL OUT (Konosuke Takeshita and Akito)
Normally this would be looked at as a usual rival vs rival match. A lot of circumstances surrounding this adds so much intrigue to the match. First off, Daisuke Sasaki was just announced to defend his Universal title in a fatal four-way against Chris Brookes, MAO, and Naomi Yoshimura. He’s guaranteed to be looking over his shoulder for those three. Tetsuya Endo confronted Kazusada Higuchi about the result of the first TV show, in which Higuchi took the sword from Endo. For a guaranteed challenge, he needs a Gauntlet. This is exactly what Akito has – thanks to beating Yoshihiko last week, with heavy interference from his tag partner, Konosuke Takeshita; who I am sure is keeping a watchful eye on the being who started the All out is All Dead campaign. It is a web of threads that are sure to keep watchers on the edge of their seats for anything to happen.
