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[2018-01-05-DDT-D-King Grand Prix 2018] Mike Bailey vs Shuji Ishikawa


ShittyLittleBoots

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Had to get the DDT Universe 1 month free trial just for this match, and it was exactly what I had hoped it would be - an amazing David vs. Goliath battle. Loved the opening w/ Speedball going for those lightning quick kicks right away, he stuns Shuji briefly with those, getting the early advantage. That doesn't last long as Shuji gets the control while Speedball was looking to do a dive on him to the outside. Then BIG SHUJI starts to just throw Speedball around like a baby. It's amazing. Speedball bumps & sells that amazingly. From then on it follows that formula of Shuji having the advantage due to his size, throwing him around, striking him down - but Speedball makes some TERRIFIC comebacks. One slight complaint is that I think by the end they went slightly overboard w/ the nearfalls - had they shaved off a few of those, this could've been an even better match. But yeah, it's just a minor complaint in an otherwise fantastic match. ****1/4

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Bailey's not willing to just go straight up evasive speedy guy here because he thinks trading strikes gives him a shot to win, even though Ishikawa's elbows almost kill him every time. And in the end it doesn't work, but I totally buy that he believed it. Ishikawa remains typically unbothered in those striking exchanges, but knows when he has to step up the effort. He does an awesome looking knee lift as a counter to the shooting star knee here too. This was quite fun. ****

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Bailey usually excels against a bigger, meaner opponent and Shuji was that opponent, ragdolling him with suplexes and clobbering him with elbows. I liked early on when he was trying to keep his distance with kicks and when he was able to connect to Shujis head or something, they looked and sounded solid. His bumping around for Shuji far exceeded any actual selling, which he isnt great at, but the crowd was into it and it was fun. Shujis knee counter to the SSP was cool.

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This had two of things I fucking love in wrestling: a great David vs Goliath battle, and wrestlers having to EARN their shit to get what they want. It's established from the get go, and from just looking at these two, that Speedball has his work cut out for him with Shuji being a massive wall of hurt he has to try to bring down. Even though he tries to use his speed and flurries of offense, Ishikawa is just too damn big and powerful so it makes sense that with just 1 strike/cutoff, Bailey is back to square one. Speedball is so damn resilient and persistent - and does as great job as the sympathetic babyface -that eventually he earns his shot at actually winning this. I thought Shuji also did a good job at showing vulnerability when it was needed too. Only thing I'd say this lacked was a better atmosphere, though considering this was Shinjuku it was good enough. It got a little too bloated near the end, they could've had a tighter finishing run but that's just nitpicking, this is definitely worth a watch and a great start for 2018.

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I figured this would be great and it was. Bailey starts off really hot and then Shuji just puts an end to that with a gigantic giant swing into the chairs. From there, Shuji is completely dominant and a bully just pulverizing Bailey. Bailey is great from underneath and has some excellent flurries. Finish was definitive but certainly helped Bailey overall. Splendid big vs little match. ****

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  • GSR changed the title to [2018-01-05-DDT-D-King Grand Prix 2018] Mike Bailey vs Shuji Ishikawa

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