PROGRAMMING UPDATES!
The Weekly Real is going on a break after this edition as I’ll be traveling out of the country for a few weeks. Expect me back in the second half of November. Maybe it’ll be a big catch up edition or maybe we just continue on with the most recent stuff, I make no promises about this kind of stuff! So keep an eye out for that.
Also, for those of you that live in the Philippines reading this, my first book is out now! In the Blood and Other Stories is a collection of my horror fiction published over a decade or so of writing. Many of the stories included in the book are no longer in print or circulation so it really is the easiest and best way to see a lot of my literary work all compiled into one handy edition. It’s available now from UP Press, Shopee, and Lazada.
On to the Real…
Note on dates: Review dates refer to my local timezone in the Philippines, match dates are based on the timezone each match occurred in.
Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ueno vs. HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada (DDT God Bless DDT Tour in Fukuoka 10/13/24)
Reviewed: October 19, 2024
Another great build up tag for the HARASHIMA/Aoki title match. This one features probably their lengthiest interaction yet as the first act provides us a near unbroken stretch of these two just riffing it out on the mat. Once again, HARASHIMA proves to be Aoki’s sharpest opponent yet, being just at adept as getting shoulders to the mat as Aoki might be. Notably too, Aoki’s forced to start breaking out of his signature tool box. Instead of relying on that full nelson and hooking the arms to pin HARASHIMA down, now he has to take newer approaches like just forcibly working HARASHIMA by the limbs, but the latter still being able to hold his own.
Towards the end too, one starts to see a potential path to victory for HARASHIMA. He seems to have a lot more firepower in the tank when things get to their feet. He’s the one really firing off these sick elbows, and forcing Aoki to meet him at his level on the front, plus his signature Somato nearly knocks Aoki out. Even with that, Aoki’s forced to really fight for a pinfall on Masada to get a pin in the end too. The best ongoing rivalry in Japanese wrestling continues to deliver.
Rating: ****
Meiko Satomura & DASH Chisako vs. Bobubobu Momo Banana (Sendai Girls Chateraise Gateau Kingdom 10/14/24)
Reviewed: October 23, 2024
A fun stop on the Meiko retirement tour. It’s perhaps not quite what I’d really want from this combination, especially because so much attention gets placed on Yurika Oka instead of Mio Momono, but that’s just the story of the latter’s career, ain’t it? Even then, they do a enough good here to be worth seeking out with Meiko giving a lot to the young Oka to make her feel like a real credible threat moving forward. Even as Oka makes progress though, there’s room left to grow as both her and Mio still have to work hard together to really move forward against Satomura. And the brief interactions we did get from Satomura and Momono are worth treasuring even if they’re not what they really could be in a better world.
Rating: ***¾
Shelton Benjamin vs. Lio Rush (AEW Dynamite 10/16/24)
Reviewed: October 19, 2024
About as straightforward a TV showcase as you can get. Larger wrestler with an amateur wrestling background against a small dude who bumps real good. All the credit in the world to Lio Rush who takes some truly gnarly bumps throughout this whole thing, arguably putting in a Darby-esque bumping performance. There’s the big one through the ropes in the corner that’s obscured by picture-in-picture, but also a series of really great bumps on those massive throws and suplexes Shelton peppers throughout this. Shelton’s striking too looks a lot stronger than I was actually expecting which means all his control segments here feel really enjoyable. Lio’s own comebacks have some stumbling blocks, like a really flat variation of his rebound stunner, but otherwise this was about as breezy as it gets on TV.
Rating: ***¾
Shinya Aoki vs. HARASHIMA (DDT God Bless DDT 10/20/24)
Reviewed: October 21, 2024
God yes, a potent combination of the best qualities both men have brought to us this year. To start, there’s the richness of the mat work here which feels like some of the most grounded all year. It feels intricate without seeming too flashy, it’s all very sensible and struggle-filled. Again, it’s all work built around the simplest possible strategy: get your opponent’s shoulders on the mat. Aoki continues to find new ways to make that work, locking up and immediately just wearing down his opponent to try and get those shoulders down, and HARASHIMA does a fantastic job holding his own, hooking limbs for leverage, and working those shoulders down on his own as well.
All that said, while HARASHIMA holds his own well enough, it becomes clear here as it did in their build up tags that Aoki’s just too powerful on the mat. Continuing the thread from Aoki/Ueno, it’s ending up on the floor that sort of turns things in HARASHIMA’s favor. It’s also that HARASHIMA has more explosive bombs in his arsenal, relying on things like a poison rana to really move things in his favor. It actually forces Aoki to shift up his own game, leading to this great Aoki tope that really shows the lengths the champion is pushed to as well. There’s such a glee in HARASHIMA’s eyes when he starts to get the advantage, it’s so wonderful to see, and it makes the crushing fall later even more painful.
But then, the finishing stretch tells this great story that feels connected to HARASHIMA’s recent history. As happened in HARASHIMA’s challenge of Yuki Ueno, he gets caught in a debilitating choke that puts him in something of a do or die scenario. Again, he’s just able to endure, but it’s the briefest distraction–posing in the corner as he did against Higuchi in last year’s D-oh–that costs him everything as Aoki grabs on that devastating full nelson for the pin.
An immense feeling match rife with history and some of the best, grounded action you’re bound to see anywhere. The best match in Japan this year, something HARASHIMA’s only in competition with himself for.
Rating: ****½
Shinya Aoki vs. Shunma Katsumata (DDT God Bless DDT 10/20/24)
Reviewed: October 23, 2024
This serves as a fun complement to the HARASHIMA match. HARASHIMA made the most headway by dropping big pro wrestling bombs like the poison rana, and so fittingly, Shunma comes in with just entirely DDT wrestling bullshit. There’s a twinge of the comedic and the dangerous when the idea is that the Lego gets scattered across the ring. It works as a means of putting Aoki in a real vulnerable state: bumping constantly on the Legos, caught off guard by this cash in title match. It’s not a perfect match, but I’m a big fan of Aoki’s selling performance in this. Especially watch him cope with all those Legos, every bump looks pained and he’s skitterish and ginger around them the whole time as well. This is short enough to create some real doubt around the result and the finish also sudden enough that it feels Aoki just squeaked by while still continuing the legend of his full nelson.
Rating: ***¾
Adam Priest vs. Masato Tanaka (DPW Super Battle 10/19/24)
Reviewed: October 23, 2024
I’m not the biggest fan of 2024 Masato Tanaka even if he can still be relied on to deliver a great match here and there when paired with the right talent. God bless him, it turns out that Adam Priest was the right talent.
As with so much of Priest’s work, this is masterfully crafted and structured. With the Relaxed Rules stipulation, Priest tries to keep things grounded first to avoid any plunder. Credit to Tanaka here as well, making the escape attempts and struggles interesting to add some friction to the initial exchanges. Even more delightful are all the sneaky ways Priest attempts to seize control, but eventually fails at. Nothing sums up his ethos (and the ethos of heel wrestling in general) better than him nailing a successful dropdown but then overextending himself with a tope suicida that sends him crashing ribs first into the barricades. Nasty, nasty work.
But so many other great choices as well. Timing Tanaka’s comeback when Priest attempts an Awesome-style off the top chair shot? Brilliant. Priest’s bumping for all of Tanaka’s strikes and offense? Great as well. All building and building until Priest himself is able to take advantage of the weapons to take a submission in the most ill-feeling way possible. Adam Priest makes pro wrestling look easy.
Rating: ****
FTR vs. Violence is Forever (DPW Super Battle 10/19/24)
Reviewed: October 23, 2024
Handcuffed some by circumstance. This is a last minute replacement match after both Workhorsemen were pulled from the show due to injury. To DPW’s credit, they correctly recognized that the only viable replacement for the match that was lost would be this first time ever dream match. That said, there’s booking trickiness to be overcome here. FTR’s coming in and almost certainly won’t be doing a job for the go-to indie supplier of security guy extras on AEW TV when they’re in the Carolinas, meanwhile VIF are on the path to a major title challenge after winning the Tag Festival.
They go the obvious route here with a time limit draw, but it does hamper some of the action. One can definitely feel things start to lose steam as the finishing run does emphasize way more of the back and forth bombs than the heat segments I always want from these two teams especially. And the crowd can sniff it out too so there’s a little less tension than one wants in those big final falls.
But too much of this still succeeds. The opening acts are especially delightful with these two starting off respectful in the dream match mode but things organically breaking down. The tension rises here such that when it gets to the four just duking it out on the floor, it does feel earned. And all those strikes too when they get to it are just crunchy and delightful. The heat segment VIF runs is short, but enjoyable for what it is. And there really does feel like a major happening around this that elevates all the proceedings just a little bit.
Rating: ***¾
