A year removed from These Days, Michinoku Pro returns to Sumo Hall to celebrate their fourth anniversary. On top of that, we get a newer, buffer Super Delfin who comes out bare chested in a new dark mask and long trunks. It seems that our hero has buffed up in his search for revenge since losing his title to MEN’s Teioh in May.
Delfin’s physique isn’t all that’s new either. The addition of Naohirio Hoshikawa brings a new energy to this encounter that contrasts to a lot of the lucharesu stylings of the Michinoku Pro roster. As evidenced by his simple black trunks and boots, Hoshikawa brings a far more direct approach to fighting, all kicks and holds.
That being said, I like that Hoshikawa’s inexperience ends up coming into play in this match. He has more heart than brains sometimes and rushes headlong into a fight that allows Kaientai Deluxe to overwhelm him with their numbers. Hoshikawa also contrasts well with his partner Yakushiji’s much quicker offense.
Much of the match centers around KDX isolating both Yakushiji and Hoshikawa, brutalizing them with some new additions to their arsenal that I hadn’t seen previously. My favorite sequence might be KDX feeding each of the babyfaces into a chain of brutal suplexes that just fold them in half each time. It’s this sequence that leaves Delfin basically alone to fight off the full strength of the KDX trio.
Delfin’s new look also comes with a little more aggression. He’s a lot grimier getting into the ring to brawl with the rudos. We don’t really see much of the smoother offense he brought in the past, instead focusing on his more grounded offense like strikes and punches which he uses to great effect as a hot tag in this match. The finishing stretch that sees him try to work from beneath as the last standing member of the babyface team is great. He’s really grown into this role of being one of the top guys in Michinoku Pro and seeing him stand his ground against the villains is always a thrill.
This never reaches the heights of the 96 KDX tags, for obvious reasons. It’s just a lot smaller in scope and far less ambitious. Those aren’t marks against it though, it’s just a smaller occasion and everyone involved adapts to that well.
