#douki imagine

[orange-catsidy]

[thistledropkick]

For some reason, Wato decided to quote Hiromu's backstage comments to Douki and Fujita, which don't mention or address Wato at all anywhere, with this:

Wato:

Hiromu-san, I'm always prepared and ready! I am the next in line. I will absolutely take your IWGP Jr. Heavyweight belt!

Desperado saw this and had to comment.

Despe:

That is not it.

That's not it at all, but

even if I give you the most possible leeway here,

the next person in line is me.

But somehow I can just imagine him with a smug grin on his face like "I nailed that one" after posting this

I'll probably never team up with him again anyway so whatever

So of course the next day they announced the upcoming tour schedule and Desperado is teaming with Wato. (The mysterious "Masked Horse" is also teaming with a much less mysterious "Masked Boltin")

Despe:

Masked Horse hides his identity but Masked Boltin is just Boltin in a mask right?!

And why am I with Wato again!

Despe:

The final two matches of the year, in Korakuen Hall

Personally, it didn't feel like I was absent for that long (since it was during the heavyweight tag league) but I'm back.

But,

I'll be teaming up for two days in a row with a certain person who I have poor communication with, so I may get angry with my ally due to stress.

[despemania]

Anyways for more positive things i have so many fucking feelings about douki v wato and whats to come 1.4 but i literally cant even begin to articulate that so just imagine me with a grin beaming bright enough to rival the sun

[naritaren]

Guys. Imagine if we got Douki and Taiji as a team for tag league. Just imagine it.

[unlikelywrestlingfan]

Elle’s Unsolicited Thoughts on the BOSJ 30 Presser

Put under a read more for long post convenience <3

But I must say here that I was NOT ready for Douki’s look <3.

A Block Entrances:

Okay first why does Hiromu have a plant taped to his back, second it's weird to see Kushida not cosplaying as Marty McFly, third with Lio Rush I was confused about why he walked out with his jacket not fully on but then the dramatic like taking it off and putting it over his shoulder model pose was great and then he also actually smiled during his dramatic pose and I thought that was cute.

Douki. Douki. Somebody play Sharp Dress Man by ZZ Top immediately because he was wearing not only the pocket square and the suit and the tie and the everything he had a lapel pin. He did that to kill me.

Taiji looking fabulous in his sunglasses and the hair is *mwah.* And then we have a TJP living his skater boy dreams, and then speedball I squeak I actually squee-ed when he came out because he just is so cute.

I also just realized that they put the two emo boys wearing sunglasses inside at the same table iconic

Speech Time!

Hiromu: Speedball was literally bouncing with happiness while Hiromu talked I can't even.

Hiromu wants to win this competition so many times in a row that people no longer want to watch because they just think he's going to win it and there are protests in the street

Taguchi: Speedball's expression the entire time that Taguchi was talking is so accurate.

Lio: Losing my shit over Speedball and Taguchi making fun of Lio behind his back like rude but also entertaining. Lio saying that Yoh told him all about Sho and he can't wait for that one oh I so hope that he kick Sho's ass for Yoh! Lio, you have made an enemy this day by making fun of Douki's name

Douki: Incredibly charmed by Douki straightening his tie as he walked up and it being all poofed out still XD. Not going to lie I felt some distress about him pointing out that this is his first BOSJ without being in Suzuki-gun. Also love that he's being all dramatic calling out Wato at the end.

TJP: Tjp asking where Alex Zayne is fills me with a desire to commit violence

Speedball: I love that he's so happy to be here! You know I'm not sure what I expected from his speech but it definitely was not him asking if anyone has smelt Hiromu because he smells so good XD XD XD

Sho: I'm trying to imagine Sho as a face, like I know he was one at one point, but I can't picture it he's just SO SCUMMY also lol his promise to not to cheat.

B Block Entrances:

Yoh's sassy bow to Despe was everything. My dear son Wato came out looking fabulous and dramatic! Why is Yoh sitting SO CLOSE to Despe XD. It's good to see that Robbie still commits to his Green Day alumni aesthetic but I really think that he would have sold it more if he committed to guy liner. I can't take evil Clark seriously yet.

Yoh: Never once have I ever been ready for Yoh’s voice to be that deep and it always is and I always forget and then he talks and I die

Despe: Despe really said that this year’s B Block is the participation trophy block aldkajdlkaj XD. As funny as that was, nothing will ever top him calling Douki a bitch in his speech and them almost throwing hands last year. The fact that they aren’t in the same block this year saddens me. Ope, looks like it’s Yoh’s turn to have a home erotic story line with Despe, based on Despe’s comments.

Wato: Okay so Douki called out Wato and Wato did the same - “If you’re not in the final, I won’t forgive you” SPICE

Robbie: “The b stands for Bob” 😂😂😂😂

Akira: I know very little about Aikra and I'm biased against him because he teams with TJP but I love that he brought a little snack

Bushi: Poor Bushi getting rained on!!!

Sidenote, Wato looked so scandalized by Clark Connors punching Kevin Knight XD

[cortexreaver]

njpw could put on the craziest shit imaginable in the heavyweight division and id still only find the motivation to start watching regularly again once bosj starts. i dont care what happened to tanahashi naito mox etc it shouldve happened to douki instead

[ohnojustimagine]

At First Sight

Douki/Reader; smut with some fluff, 2120 words

-

You only ever meet him in hotels, mostly in the afternoons, summoned by texts that are nothing but the name of the place and the room number. Occasionally there'll be a brief follow-up message that says something like, Need to see you, and sometimes you think you should probably make yourself less available to him, tell him more often that you're not able to make it but you'd only be playing games, and you've found yourself growing tired of men who like that kind of thing.

Because Douki is, at least, straightforward; always there, waiting, when you arrive, sometimes naked but for the mask, hand on his already-hard cock, sometimes still dressed, busy with his phone, and those times, you have to work a little harder to get his full and undivided attention.

But you don't mind that so much, because you're good at getting his attention, and today, after several hours of the very best kind of attention, you're lying back on the bed, every single inch of your body from head to toe feeling as if it's practically singing with blissful satisfaction. You watch as Douki pulls on his underwear and then his jeans, not yet zipping them before sitting down on the end of the bed to put on his shoes.

You sit up, observing him for a moment, then crawl closer. His hair hangs down his back, tied into the knot that fastens his mask, and you stroke your hand down through the long, silky length, the weight of it sliding across your palm, soft as water between your fingers.

You shift it aside slightly, then wrap your arms around him from behind, pressing your breasts up against his back, moving just enough that you can feel your nipples rub on his skin, tightening with the sensation. You mouth at his neck, running one fingertip along the edge of the mask, down to the pointed angle at the bottom, up over the seam that runs up the middle, teasing, as if you half-expect he can feel it.

"Are you ever going to take this off?" you ask, curious.

"No," he replies, immediately, unthinkingly, as if he doesn't have to take even a moment to consider the answer.

"I know what it means," you say. "What it is to you, I get that." You kiss his shoulder, your lips lingering there for a moment before you go on. "And I don't need to see your face, I don't give a shit about that. I just can't stop thinking about how much I want your mouth on me."

You reach down between your legs, feeling yourself still wet and hot and open after how hard he's fucked you, hissing lightly as you stroke your clit, so sensitive it almost hurts to touch. You stop, and bring your hand up to slip your slick fingers in under the mask, finding Douki's lips, and for a second he doesn't do anything, but then you feel his tongue snake out, licking at the taste.

"Don't you want to kiss me?" you say, softly, temptingly. "Suck on my tits, eat my pussy, bite me all over..." You hear him breathe in, and you know you're getting to him. "I could keep my eyes closed," you tell him, daring to be hopeful, "or we could turn all the lights out?"

He doesn't say anything, but he's thinking about it, you can tell.

"Or a blindfold?" you suggest.

"A blindfold," he repeats, slowly.

"Would that work?"

"Maybe." He nods, just once.

"I'll bring one," you say. "Next time."

"No," he replies. "I will."

He stands up, turning to face you, and you smile at him. "Don't you trust me?"

He shrugs, and says, "I don't trust anyone." And you can tell by his eyes that behind the mask, he's smiling too.

-

Sometimes it will be a week or two before you hear from him again, but this time it's only a few days, and you might wonder about that, what it means, but you're too excited to care.

He's there, waiting, as always, this time barefoot, shirtless but still in his jeans, holding up a length of black cloth. "Take off your clothes," he tells you, and you don't say anything, simply unzipping your dress, stepping out of it, shedding your bra and panties as quickly as you can.

You hold your breath as he walks around behind you, arms raised as he lowers the doubled-over cloth across your eyes. You close them, as if instinctively, and the blindfold is pulled firm as Douki ties it in place. He knots it slightly to the side, which puzzles you for a second, but then you realize it's so you'll be able to lie back comfortably, and you smile, knowing that he’s thought about this, what he’s going to do to you.

You open your eyes, just to check, your eyelashes brushing against the fabric, and damn, you think, because this isn't some half-assed plaything he's using. It's a proper, literal blindfold, not you allowing to see anything at all, even the light in the room totally blocked out, enveloping you in darkness, every other sense immediately heightened, your skin prickling with awareness.

You hear the soft movement of his feet on the carpet as he returns to stand in front of you, the small rustling sounds of what you assume is him untying the mask.

"Can you..." You hesitate, strangely nervous. "Can you leave your hair loose,, too?"

"I can do that," he replies, and the clear sound of his voice is almost startling, used as you are to it being slightly muffled, his mouth always covered.

You're not sure what to do, so you hold out one hand, take a tentative step towards him, and he grabs hold of your wrist, guiding it to his face. 

You run your fingers over his skin, and it's mostly smooth, only a hint of beard around his chin as you explore, finding his mouth, his lips full under your touch. He parts them, just enough to nip gently at your fingertips, and you swallow, because this suddenly feels bigger than you expected, more important somehow.

You can feel him move closer to you, his hands on your upper arms, tracing slowly towards your shoulders, up your neck, cradling your jaw, pulling you in and kissing you. His mouth is soft on yours, barely moving at first, tongue slowly licking its way past your lips and into your mouth. And though you've been with him countless times, this feels more intimate than anything you've ever done together, tasting each other for the first time, truly mutual in a way that's completely unexpected.

Your lack of sight only seems to make every sound louder; his breath, your own heartbeat, the small, slick noises of your kiss as it deepens, becomes more urgent and needful. And you suddenly understand that however stoic and impassive he seems, he's been wanting this every bit as much as you have, waiting for it.

He turns you both around, his mouth still on yours, and you let yourself be guided, walked backwards until your legs bump up against the bed, and you lower yourself down, lying back, taking him with you.

He's on top of you, and you open your legs, feeling his weight settle between them, his cock hard through his jeans as he still kisses you, the strands of his hair drifting down over your skin like a caress.

You feel as if you're losing yourself in it, all of it, surrounded by the darkness with only him to ground you, keep you steady, his hands on your body and his tongue in your mouth, his lips on yours, finally taking what he needs from you.

And when he stops, it's only to move lower, licking a hot path down your throat, your breasts in his hands, lifting your nipples to his mouth as he sucks on them, back and forth between. Your breath catches as he bites you, careful, just hard enough to hurt, his tongue soothing the sharp pain, bringing it into relief and you moan.

Please, you want to say, but neither of you speak, as if by some silent agreement, an understanding that this is something more than what could ever be defined by mere words. 

He trails wet kisses down over your stomach and you arch up your hips, impatient, ready for him, for his mouth. But he makes you wait, licking the insides of your thighs, his breath warm against you, your hands in his hair as you try to pull him closer.

What with his reluctance to take off the mask, you'd assume he doesn't do this too often, and you can understand why at first all he seems to want to do is taste you, tongue greedily licking up your wetness until you're so open you're ready to beg, but then he seems to settle to it, focusing his attentions on your clit. And however long it's been, he seemingly hasn't lost any skill, because he knows just what you need, tongue and mouth taking you right to the edge, over and over and over again.

You're whining, pulling on his hair, fingers tangling in it, your thighs close around his head, and just when you think you can't take anymore, he stops, abruptly, and you hear him sit up.

And there's nothing but the sound of your own breath, the darkness now inside your head, because you're immersed in it, maybe drowning, never coming up for air ever again. But then he moves, and you hear him taking off his jeans, the rustle of a box being opened, teeth on a condom packet. His weight is back over you, his cock entering you, and he's barely started to thrust before you're coming, holding on to him, but he doesn't let up, fucking you through it and then beyond, already taking you to new heights, and you're with him, your body demanding more. 

You run your nails down his back, opening your legs even wider, higher, angling your hips to take him deeper, needing harder, and you feel it, all of it, everything.

He's louder than you've ever heard him before, and not just because his mouth is uncovered; these are full-throated moans, the contrast to his usual gritted-out grunts making this feel like you're with someone you've never known before. And maybe that's true, because maybe this is what you've always needed from each other; to be set free like this, at last letting go. You get your hands on his ass, feeling the muscles flex with every thrust, pulling him into you as another orgasm shudders through you, and he's coming too, with harsh, panted-out breaths, his body stiffening under your touch, peaking and releasing.   

He doesn't move, staying on top of you, and you hear his breathing begin to slow, his hands on your face, thumbs stroking over your cheekbones. You can feel him looking at you, the intent of it, and then, without warning, he pushes the blindfold up over your forehead, away from your eyes.

You panic, squeezing your eyes shut tight, certain he must be testing you, wanting to know if he can trust you to keep your word. But it would seem you're wrong. "No," he says, voice gentle, and he kisses your eyelids, tender, one and then the other. "Open them." 

You pause, asking, "Is that what you want?" Because you're not so very sure it's what you want, afraid that if you see him, truly see him, it won't be the same, that things between you will change in ways you don't know you're ready for.

But he says it again, this time louder, with a certainty you can't deny. "Open your eyes."

And so you do, squinting a little after so long in the darkness of the blindfold, his face only slowly revealing itself to you, but then he's there, staring down at you.

He's hot, of course he is, yet somehow he doesn't look at all like you would have thought, but then, you realize, you've never actually tried to picture him without the mask. It's part of him, the man you've been with up until now, and this might be someone different, but it's someone you want to know, really know. 

It feels... strange, but in a good way, and you smile, biting your lip, like you're suddenly shy. "Hi," you say.

"Hi," he says back, smiling at you, for what feels like the very first time.

"You sure about this?" you ask.

He nods, slowly. "Yeah," he replies. "I think I am."

And this time, when you kiss him, there's nothing between you.

[anime--irl]

follow me on instagram too

[anicastes]

😯

[ss-trashboat]

14. get stuck in an elevator for 10 hours with, get trapped in a cave for 10 hours with, get stranded on a boat for 10 hours with (no way to call for help or fix the engine, no paddles)

Douki, Kyle Fletcher, ZSJ

i would be lying if i said i hadn't been thinking about this all day, but i think i finally have them answered

get stuck in an elevator for ten hours with douki. i feel like, out of the three, he would be the calmest in any of these scenarios. and honestly out of these being stuck in an elevator would be the one to make me panic the most. so having someone calm is incredibly key here. we would pass the time by sharing cute animal pictures or letting him sing and just vibing. bonus points if i can fall asleep in his arms i am weak

then get stranded on a boat for ten hours with kyle. so. beanie babie boi surfs and is nearly always at the beach, so he's well-equipped for water-related activities and has definitely been on a boat. guess who is definitely not well-equipped for water-related activities LOL. this is also a panic-inducing one, thanks childhood trauma, so having someone who knows what their doing would put my mind at ease. his lighthearted demeanor and sense of humor will definitely help keep the anxiety at bay, and he'd try to make the best out of the situation. and honestly the only way i'd willingly get on a boat is if kyle is on it LOL

sooo that leaves zacky with getting trapped in a cave for ten hours. which, honestly, imagine him yelling with those acoustics LOL. just fucking raging in the cave with that echo would be a sight to behold

gimme three names and a number ~

[gdwessel]

World Tag League 2021 & Best Of The Super Juniors 28 Night 1 - 11/13/2021; Danielson v. Romero on Dynamite 11/10/2021, Best Friends (Re-)Join CHAOS; Ishii, Uemura, Others in West Coast Pro 11/12/2021; United Empire, Romero at House Of Glory 11/12/2021

The latest tour, the combined World Tag League 2021 and Best Of The Super Juniors 28, started today with BOSJ28 first round matches. You can see it now on NJPWWorld. 

World Tag League 2021 & Best of the Super Juniors 28 (All events on NJPWWorld) - 11/13/2021, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Yuto Nakashima TLD Ryohei Oiwa (10:00)

Best Of The Super Juniors 28: DOUKI [SZKG] d. BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] (Suplex de la Luna, 10:53)

Best Of The Super Juniors 28: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] d. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] (Countout, 5:37)

Best Of The Super Juniors 28: Ryusuke Taguchi d. Robbie Eagles [CHAOS] (Dodon, 16:17)

Best Of The Super Juniors 28: Master Wato d. El Phantasmo [Bullet Club] (La Caletera, 13:52)

Best Of The Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables] d. YOH [CHAOS] (”Unnamed Hiromu Roll,” 3:55)

Best Of The Super Juniors 28: SHO [Bullet Club] d. El Desperado [SZKG] (Shock Arrow, 25:11)

SHO did of course win via House Of Torture fuckery, which did not go over well with the crowd. Afterwards SHO declared he would change the balance of power in the juniors division. His former partner, YOH, did not get off to a great start, losing in less than 4 minutes by a weird roll from Hiromu, the presumptive ace of the division. Hiromu brought his scrapbook back too, bless him.

Many of the results went the opposite way I would have figured today. Maybe that’s a good thing for the first day of a tournament, before we settle into the expected results?

Current BOSJ28 standings:

DOUKI - 2pts (1W 0D 0L) Hiromu - 2pts (1W 0D 0L) Kanemaru - 2pts (1W 0D 0L) SHO - 2pts (1W 0D 0L) Taguchi - 2pts (1W 0D 0L) Wato - 2pts (1W 0D 0L) BUSHI - 0pts (0W 0D 1L) Despy - 0pts (0W 0D 1L) Eagles - 0pts (0W 0D 1L) ELP - 0pts (0W 0D 1L) Ishimori - 0pts (0W 0D 1L) YOH - 0pts (0W 0D 1L)

Happy 45th birthday to Hiroshi Tanahashi!

On Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite (and in a video posted to Twitter before the show) it was revealed that Rocky Romero, invoking Kazuchika Okada’s name, recruited Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander and Wheeler Yuta) into CHAOS. Which Dustin and Greg pointed out they already were members, but y’know, technicalities. The practical upshot of this was Orange Cassidy seconded Rocky as he took on, and lost via Tequila Sunrise, to Bryan Danielson, but really, it opened the door to continue the feud between Orange Cassidy and Matt Hardy. With Okada apparently going to be in the USA until December, I can’t imagine Okada won’t appear on AEW programming before his own USA trip is over. Stay tuned.

Last night in San Francisco, several NJPW and NJoA stars took part in West Coast vs. The World for West Coast Pro. The featured match from all this was Tomohiro Ishii defeating Vinnie Massaro. Yuya Uemura beat Levi Shapiro, whilst the Empire’s Jeff Cobb beat Chris Dickinson of VLNCE UNLTD. Team Filthy’s West Coast Wrecking Crew fell in a 6-man match, teaming with Titus Alexander against the victors, Reno Scum & Juice Finau. Karl Fredericks defeated ROH’s Rey Horus.

What’s interesting here is two AAA wrestlers were on this show too: Black Taurus fell to West Coast Pro Heavyweight champion AJ Gray in the main event, whilst Mr. Iguana beat Steven Tresario. Even last year, this would have been scandalous for NJPW’s relationship with CMLL. Now, it seems there is nothing anyone is going to do; Cobb is going to Arena Mexico this next Friday 11/19/2021 teaming with TJP, and this doesn’t seem to be changing in light of the interaction with CMLL’s hated adversaries.

You can watch this show on IWTV.

Meanwhile on FITE TV, House Of Glory ran its Born Again show, which featured Will Ospreay defeating HOG founder Amazing Red in the main event. I guess rumors of his retirement were premature. The Empire’s TJP lost the House Of Glory Crown Jewel title to Low Ki in a match that also featured Charles Mason. Rocky Romero opened the show, losing to Ken Broadway.

It’s a busy weekend of wrestling all around. GCW ran a show last night I still need to watch, and has the Nick Gage Invitational deathmatch tournament from my neck of the woods later this afternoon on FITE. AEW runs its Full Gear PPV tonight, which I will be watching. NJoA has an episode of NJPW Strong from Philly last month, featuring Minoru Suzuki v. Chris Dickinson, as well as Jay White v. Fred Yehi. Then, live from San Jose, CA, is Battle In The Valley, with Jay White v. Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight title as its main event; Kazuchika Okada will be here as well. 

The tour continues tomorrow, with the first round of World Tag League 2021 matches.

Battle In The Valley - 11/13/2021, San Jose Civic, San Jose, CA (NJPWWorld, FITE TV)

Yuya Uemura v. Josh Alexander [Impact]

Brody King & Chris Dickinson [VLNCE UNLTD] v. Bateman & Misterioso [Stray Dog Army]

Fred Rosser, David Finlay Jr., Rocky Romero [CHAOS], Alex Coughlin & Alex Zayne v. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs [Team Filthy]

Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors v. Jeff Cobb & TJP [United Empire]

Ren Narita v. Will Ospreay [United Empire]

Juice Robinson v. Moose [Impact]

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] v. Buddy Matthews

NEVER Openweight Championship: Jay White [Bullet Club] © v. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] - If Ishii loses he can never challenge for NEVER Openweight belt again

World Tag League 2021 & Best of the Super Juniors 28 - 11/14/2021, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Yuto Nakashima v. Kosei Fujita

World Tag League 2021: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG] v. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] & TAKA Michinoku [JTO]

World Tag League 2021: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima v. Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask IV

World Tag League 2021: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa [Bullet Club]

World Tag League 2021: Great O-Khan & Aaron Henare [United Empire] v. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

World Tag League 2021: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano [CHAOS] v. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club]

World Tag League 2021: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA [Los Ingobernables]

[leaveharmony]

Pyonsuke wishlist:

KENTA (whom I will be purchasing immediately)

Taichi

Ishii (just imagining the grumpy little face delights me)

DOUKI

Tacos

Yano

I really want to see a Zack pyonsuke tbh, same reason as Ishii just without the part where I buy it...the lil pissy face would be legendary

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW DOMINION in Osaka-Jo Hall Review (July 12th 2020)

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Gabriel Kidd vs. Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi  **3/4

Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji vs. SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI  ***1/4

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato & Yuya Uemura vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI  **3/4

Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori  **

NEVER Openweight Championship Match - Shingo Takagi (c) vs. SHO  ****1/2

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match - Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.  ***3/4+

IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship Match - Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. EVIL  **1/2

Photos.

So in front of a 1/3 capacity Osaka-Jo Hall, New Japan produced their annual Dominion show, and it was an... interesting show to say the least. The undercard was your standard NJPW show; Yuji Nagata submitted Gabriel Kidd with Nagata Lock II at 9:25 of a fun six man opener. Hiromu lead the charge in the next match, looking better than anyone else bar Ishii. His exchanges with Tsuji were really good too, before he submitted the Young Lion with a Boston Crab to end an entertaining 10 minuter. El Desperado pinned Yuya Uemura with Pinche Loco to end another decent six man next. The post match saw Kanemaru put the boots to Master Wato, so that seems to be The Grandmaster’s next feud. They certain don’t have many aspirations for him at this point. Saying that, I suppose every promotion needs their dependable mid-carders. Speaking of which, the inexplicable Yujiro push continued in the next match, as he pinned Goto to end a painfully average match. Okada came out with his neck taped, and I don’t know if he’s selling or what, but he looked really off here. As Goto hit Ushigoroshi on Takahashi, Gedo came out and attacked Okada’s ribs with a wrench outside, taking him out of the match. Goto went for GTR on Yujiro, but Ishimori broke it up with a Lungblower, followed by Bloody Cross, allowing Yujiro to score the pin at 9:42 with Pimp Juice. He then laid Okada out with it in the post match. I understand pickings are slim in this time of pandemic, and they always have decent outings together, but I really do not need to see a Yujiro/Okada programme in 2020. This year has been rough enough.

Things really picked up after intermission as Shingo defended the NEVER Title against long-time rival SHO. This, as expected, was an excellent 20 minute war, with both guys looking great. There were no surprises here; both guys slammed into each other like bulls with hard Lariats, forearms, chops and suplexes. SHO worked over Shingo’s Lariat arm with hard kicks and Jujigatame attempts, but the champion would power out. After a back and forth exchange of Lariats, SHO hits a headkick on Takagi for the double down. A sliding Lariat and Noshigami scores a near fall for Shingo. SHO hits the powerbomb on the knees, and a huge Lariat, but Takagi kicks at one, then SHO scores another great near fall with the deadlift German. A flurry of elbows from the Rampage Dragon leaves SHO open to Made In Japan, which gets a near fall, then the challenger kicks at one from a Pumping Bomber. SHO scores another near fall with a cross arm piledriver, then Takagi turns another Jujigatame into a Death Valley Bomb, hits the draping GTR, then successfully defends the title after hitting Last Of The Dragon at 20:07. This was by far the best thing on the show, and whilst great stuff indeed, the finish was never really in any doubt, as SHO got the win in the NJC, so had to return the favour here because New Japan loves the 50/50 booking. As Shingo celebrated his win, El Desperado attacked and posed with the title. That interesting, at first glance that match doesn’t seem too awe inspiring, but I’m sure they’ll actually have a great match.

The Tag Title match that followed was a really good match, but at 28:43, it was much too long (little did I know). It must also be said, it feels like these teams have been feuding for years, as it started in February, which might as well have been half a decade ago at this point. The champions came out aggressive, attacking the challengers before the bell and hitting duelling pescados, but after the hot start, this tapered off a bit for my liking, as Taichi heeled it up in slo-mo fashion, and began choking Tana with a tag rope or something, as my eyelids grew heavy. This picked up again as Ibushi got a hot tag, flying in with a springboard dropkick, but he was ground to a halt as ZSJ caught him in a knee bar. Ibushi and Taichi exchange hard kicks, culminating in Taichi hitting the Kawada Dangerous High Kick. Ibushi avoids an Axe Bomber, but gets caught in a Stretch Plumb, which Tanahashi breaks up with a Dragon Sleeper. The champions hit their new Golden Blade move to both challengers. As they battled on, Tana tried a Sling Blade on Taichi, but he counters into the Dangerous Backdrop, but Tanahashi reverses it into a Sling Blade. The Ace takes Zack out with Sling Blade, then goes up for the HFF, but Sabre gets the knees up. Taichi takes Ibushi out with the dreaded Iron Fingers From Hell(!!!), but Tana ducks, only to run straight into a Daaaaangerous Backdrop. From there, the challengers destroy Tanahashi’s already destroyed knees, as Taichi holds him and Zack hits numerous Dragon Screws. Tana’s selling here was sublime and the move itself looks tremendous. ZSJ hoists Tanahashi up into the Zack Driver, with Taichi giving a superkick assist, resulting in Zack getting the three count, and new champions are crowned.

Then the main event. There’s an old saying: “Go big or go home”, and Gedo certainly did that here. Look, as much as I don’t really have a problem with the outcome; they need new stars in this time and they aren’t especially spoilt for choice, but this match had some pretty major problems. Not the least that it went on FOREVER and relied entirely on absolute fuckery. At 38 minutes, this was insanely long, and it really didn’t need to be. When Naito won the titles at Wrestle Kingdom, part of me had dreaded his reign, as he just physically isn’t really up to it at this point, and to mask this, I figured his matches would have all kinds of smoke and mirrors. However, both this and the KENTA defence from February had a preposterous amount of interference, to the point it really just takes you out of these matches. Now, EVIL getting the super-push makes sense; he’s a home grown star, and heavyweight to boot, and the LIJ guys are so beloved they really need a believable aggressor for them, but I’m not too sure about how they went about all of this. 

EVIL came out with new music and new gear. He’s dropped the guyliner, but is decked out in a leather grass skirt gimmick that I believe should be cast into a dumpster. EVIL lived up to his name by destroying Milano Collection AT’s old EVIL scythe toy gimmick, which caused the commentary megastar to jump the rail, only to be immediately thrown into it. EVIL attacked Naito’s surgically repaired knee (he’s using Naito’s biggest weakness against him, as he knows all about it having been his friend for years), then brought a table into play, which he ultimately gave Naito a knee breaker through off the apron, which looked absolutely no fun whatsoever to take. Then the nonsense started; Jado strolled out with all the urgency of an underwater deep sea diver, as too did Ishimori, who takes Naito out with a springboard. Hiromu sprints out, getting rid of Jado, then hitting the overhead suplex into the corner on Ishimori, then drags both guys to the back. EVIL smashes a chair over the double champs head, then tries the STO, but Naito escapes and hits a swinging reverse Destino for a near fall. Naito then hits Valentia (which really should be his finish, if you ask me), then tries Destino, but EVIL grabs Red Shoes and hits a mule kick lowblow on Naito. At this point, “BUSHI” comes out, cheering Naito on, but then once his back is turned, starts garrotting him with a gimmick, choking him out. EVIL hits the stomp to the balls, then lifts Naito up and hits Everything Is Evil to win both Championships, unceremoniously ending Naito’s double reign, in a major upset to say the least. The Osaka-Jo Hall crowd were stunned at this outcome and I could almost hear wrestling Twitter break. 

Hey say what you want about Gedo’s booking, but when he straps the rocket to someone, he doesn’t mess around. In the post match, “BUSHI” unmasked to reveal himself to be veteran Dick Togo(!!!). Hiromu ran them off and cut a fiery promo on EVIL, setting himself up as his first challenger, presumably on the 27th in Nagoya, but who knows? I mean, a lot happened here, and not all of it good. The shenanigans in these matches is starting to get old school TNA level, and although New Japan are in a difficult position, they’re setting up quite a few programmes, though I can’t say all of them are looking especially good to me. There remains a lot to be seen with regards to EVIL on top too. Usually, a young champions first reign isn’t especially long, so I don’t imagine this to be either, and he’ll likely just drop both belts back to Naito at some point. Time will tell on all of this.

NDT

[takagishingo]

I’m working very diligently on my hangy bday week gifsets and. one of them has pac in it just wanted to let you know :)

oohh!! good luck on your gifset goals! i’m sure they’ll be great 💖 also yeeessss pac content. i’m just one small person with no emotional support bastard* in sight, so you can imagine how much i’m struggling

((*this is a blatant lie. there’s been douki and desperado recently for me to appreciate, i just want more weird scrappy bastards. also neither of them are The Bastard))

[wrestlingisfake]

New Japan Cup finals preview

Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL - This is the final match in the 2020 New Japan Cup tournament.  There is no time limit; there must be a winner.  Whoever wins this match qualifies to challenge Tetsuya Naito at Dominion on July 12, for both the IWGP heavyweight title and the IWGP intercontinental title.

Okada defeated Gedo, Yuji Nagata, Taiji Ishimori, and Hiromu Takahashi to make it to the finals.  It’s somewhat rare for him to even be in this tournament, since he’s often been the defending champion awaiting whoever wins in the end.  Evil tore through Satoshi Kojima, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and his own teammate SANADA to get here.  Not that Evil was a pussycat before, but it feels like he’s developed a real vicious streak during the tour.  We’ll see if that plays into the story of the match.

Historically, Okada is 3-1 against Evil in singles competition, and Evil’s one win was in 2017.  On paper I’d pick Okada to win ten out of ten times.  But the context changes everything.  We just saw Okada vs. Natio in the Tokyo Dome six months ago, and it doesn’t really make sense to give that match away on a show that will be at one-third capacity due to social distancing. 

On the other hand, as head booker Gedo has a track record for working around unforeseen obstacles to get his long-term storylines back to where they were meant to be.  Dominion would normally be New Japan’s #2 show of the year and a major storytelling tentpole, and I can imagine a Naito-Okada rematch was originally penciled in.  Then again, before the shutdown, we were getting a lot of teases about Naito wanting his teammates (including Evil) to get hungry and challenge him for his titles, so Naito-Evil could have been the plan all along too.

My instinct in these kinds of matches is to root for the upset, which generally means rooting against Okada.  Fortunately, Okada plays to that and treats every match like he’s Ric Flair defending the world title against Tom Stone.  He’s really great at making you feel like he’s your favorite wrestler of all time while also making you hate his guts.  So I’m probably going to wind up pulling for Evil, but he and Sanada have been the Kazuchika Okada Job Squad for years, so I wouldn’t put any money on him.  Okada wins.

Tetsuya Natio & Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi vs. SHO & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii - This match should mainly set up the Takagi vs. Sho match on July 12.  The Shingo-Sho rivalry is an extension of their junior tag title program in 2019, which seemed to peak when they met in last year’s Best of the Super Jr. tournament.  Sho finally managed to pin the big guy in the opening round of the New Japan Cup, so Shingo is in a real bad mood about it.

Hiromu eliminated both Yano and Ishii from the New Japan Cup, and I’d say the Ishii win was a bigger upset, but I suspect Yano’s the one who isn’t finished with him.  See, when Hiromu was a rookie Yano shaved his head, which became a psychological advantage when they met in the second round of the New Japan Cup and Yano brought some clippers.  Hiromu got the upper hand (with the help of some athletic tape, Yota Tsuji, and an elevator).  But I think this issue, as they say, is far from over.

Four guys in this match hold six different championships, so there a lot of possibilities for the guy who scores the fall earning a future title shot.  It’s actually kind of a problem right now--New Japan arguably had too many champions before half the roster got locked out of the country.  For example, I’d be up for Sho chasing Hiromu for the junior heavyweight singles belt, but we can’t even get into that until he challenges Shingo for the openweight belt, and who knows when the openweight trios belts and the junior tag belts will ever get defended.  I’m kinda thinking Naito just clobbers Yano to avoid any complicated booking.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre, Jr. & Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado - This is a preview for Tanahashi and Ibushi defending the heavyweight tag team title against Taichi and Sabre on July 12.  Suzuki and Nagata also have bad blood stemming from Nagata eliminating Suzuki from the New Japan Cup in a first-round stunner.  Taguchi and Despy are just here to support their buddies, I suppose.

I’ll save my thoughts on Golden Ace vs. Dangerous Tekkers for tomorrow.  Suffice it to say that the babyfaces would be strongly favored on paper, so the story is compensating by having the heels demolish them with ultra-mega-heel stuff.  If the booking holds true to form, I figure the heel team has to win here.  More to the point I think Tana or Ibushi will get pinned by Taichi, and the whole group will be left crying in agony after a brutal Suzuki-gun beatdown.

SANADA & BUSHI vs. Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi - Sanada and Bushi are the two guys in Los Ingobernables de Japon who aren’t getting pushed right now.  Ishimori and Takahashi are the two guys in Bullet Club who, uh...well, they’re the two guys, kinda.  Bullet Club has always been mostly a foreigner group, so the pandemic has reduced them to this pair, and old-timers Jado and Gedo.  I don’t like Bullet Club’s chances.

Master Wato vs. DOUKI - Hirai Kawato was a trainee working prelim matches until he was sent on excursion to CMLL in 2018.  Now he’s back as “Master Wato,” but as soon as he reintroduced himself on July 3 Douki ran in and beat him up with a pipe.  Considering Douki spent much of his career in the Mexican indie scene because he never made it into the New Japan dojo system, I assume there’s some resentment involved here.

I haven’t seen a whole lot of Young Lions make their big return as full-fledged stars, so my standard for that sort of thing has been Jay White, Hiromu Takahashi, and Roppongi 3K.  Those guys all got fairly big pushes upon arrival.  Getting punked by Suzuki-gun’s jobber and making your in-ring debut in the third match of the night is not exactly what I’d call a big push.  So we’ll have to wait and see whether Wato can make it big.  But he should make short work of Douki, at any rate.

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto & Gabriel Kidd - Kojima and Tenzan are both former world champions and both pushing fifty, but since they aren’t booked to beat everybody like Goldberg and the Undertaker they’re more tolerable in the role of aging legends who never go away.  Goto is the star of this match, simply because he’s young enough to push but not a rookie jobber like Kidd.  But at 41 years old, Goto may not have much to look forward to beyond the kind of stuff Kojima and Tenzan do these days.

Kidd happens to be one of two non-Japanese guys on the roster (the other is Zack Sabre) who managed to be in Japan when the travel bans went down.  It’s probably a great opportunity for him to learn and gain experience, but it also likely means he’ll be doing jobs meant for a whole crew of LA Dojo trainees.  This match is mainly a question of whether Kidd loses the fall or Goto wins it.

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura - At one point Makabe was a top guy in New Japan, and his stable GBH was a force to be reckoned with.  By the time I got into NJPW, GBH was just Makabe and Honma as a midcard tag team, with Makabe’s star power carrying the load.  Now Makabe is 47 and Honma is just lucky to be here after a 2017 neck injury.  They’ve been doing more and more “old guys work with the rookies in the prelims” matches, but I think at this point I think we can stop pretending they’re biding their time before a big tag title run.  Keep an eye on Tsuji and Uemura, since in a couple of years they’ll be making big returns like Master Wato.  As for today, they’re gonna lose hard.

[unlikelywrestlingfan]

Got my first Douki scene and:

1. Forever imagining Douki going "hehehe" XD

2. I like to think he does this whole conversation very dramatically while never facing you