Among the Wrestlemania week shows that kick off tomorrow, three really stand out to me – DDT’s Coming to America show, Stardom’s American Dream 2019, and NJPW/ROH’s G1 Supercard. All three shows are part of a recent expansion by Japanese wrestling companies into the Western market, and in their own ways represent the individual companies’ strategies. By all accounts business is going well for the shows: DDT sold out their venue, Stardom have sold over 600 tickets, and NJPW sold out Madison Square Garden almost as soon as the tickets went on sale.
DDT – Coming to America, April 4th 8pm La Boom, Queens
This card feels like a smaller version of a lot of DDT’s best shows, and showcases a lot of their top talent, including Konosuke Takeshita, Daisuke Sasaki, HARASHIMA, MAO, and Sanshiro Takagi. It should provide the perfect blend of comedy and serious wrestling, and I imagine that it will draw in a lot of newer fans who are more familiar with Kenny Omega’s time in DDT. With their partnership with AEW going forward, I wouldn’t be surprised to see DDT do very well in appealing to the Western market, particularly if they are able to showcase some of their talent on big AEW shows. The DDT roster is also big enough to support this show, and a show in Japan in the same week, so they don’t have to worry about spreading themselves too thinly in regards to their home base.
The Card
Miyu Yamashita vs. Maki Itoh – This should be an excellent match, featuring two of the top talent from Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Yamashita and Itoh had a match at the TJPW January 4th show that was very good, and I expect them to deliver here. Maki Itoh’s charisma will probably translate very easily to an American audience. I expect Yamashita, as the TJPW champ, to pick up the win here.
Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda vs. Joey Ryan & Royce Isaacs – Firmly in the comedy camp for this match, which will surely involve a lot of penis spots and questions over Dieno’s “gay offense.” It might not be one for the purists, but it will probably be a lot of fun. Ryan and Isaacs will probably win as the “hometown” team.
Iron Man Heavyweight Battle Royale – Saki Akai (c) vs. Makoto Oishi vs. Kazuki Hirata vs. Yoshihiko vs. Kikutaro vs. Colt Cabana vs. Mizuki Watase vs. X – The Iron Man battle royales are always one of the best parts of DDT shows, and I would expect this to be no different. The Iron Man title can be won by anyone at any time (in the vein of the old WWF Hardcore title) and Saki Akai is currently the 1,350th champion. This match also features the blow up doll Yoshihiko, who went viral in the past. There will almost certainly be a title change here, but it’s too hard to predict who will leave New York as champion.
Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi – DAMNATION vs. Shuten-doji in this match, which promises to be good, particularly from Tetsuya Endo who is one of my favourite DDT wrestlers. Takao and Endo will probably win here, since Shuten-doji is disbanding soon, but the match will be good.
HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi vs. Akito & Ethan Page vs. Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid – An interesting match between some slightly thrown-together teams, including Irie who left DDT last year to travel and wrestle abroad. HARASHIMA and Akito are really good, so this match shouldn’t lack for quality, and I’ll go with HARASHIMA and Higuchi to win since they’re both full time roster members, and HARASHIMA is the Extreme title holder.
MAO vs. Sanshiro Takagi – This match is billed as a “Weapon Rumble in USA,” which comes in the wake of their weapon rumble match at last year’s Peter Pan in Ryogoku, which was amazing. Weapons in last year’s match included MAO’s own phone number being given out, and Andreza Giant Panda. This match will surely be excellent, and a prime example of why DDT get comedy wrestling so right. I expect MAO to get the win here.
KO-D Openweight Title – Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Daisuke Sasaki – This is a rematch of the recent DDT Judgement main event, in which Takeshita took the title off Sasaki. This promises to be the best match of the night from a wrestling standpoint, as both men are excellent in-ring performers (even if Takeshita lacks the charisma of Sasaki.) I doubt that they’ll flip the title right back to Sasaki here, so I expect Takeshita to win and move on to a new title feud.
Stardom – American Dream 2019, April 5th 4pm, NYC Arena, Queens
Stardom held off announcing the majority of their card until today, which worried a lot of people, but then they just went and announced arguably their most protected matchup for this show. All the major Stardom talent is coming over, barring the wrestlers still in school (so no AZM or Starlight Kid.) The card has the feel of an authentic show, with a lot of unit tag matches supporting two big title matches. Stardom have run shows abroad in the past (including in the US,) and with their new partnership with Pro Wrestling EVE it seems like they’re trying to make a renewed push to attract Western fans. Since Stardom has a streaming service and English subtitles, they are well placed to attract new fans, and this show should help draw people in. Stardom seem happy to rely on their streaming service, and partnerships with ROH and EVE, which should help their growth in overseas markets.
The Card
Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora vs. Sonya Strong & Violette – I’m not familiar with Sonya Strong or Violette, but Kyona and Natsuko are two of the best wrestlers in Stardom, so this should be a good opener. I expect JAN to pick up the win here, and I imagine they will be popular with the live crowd.
Brittany Blake & Britt Baker vs. Bea Priestley & Konami vs. Hana Kimura & Bobbi Tyler – I’m looking forward to seeing Konami, Hana, and Tyler in this match, less keen on the other participants. This is getting through the requisite quota of foreign wrestlers for a Stardom show, and putting them in a tag team match is probably the least offensive way to do it. I think Hana and Bobbi will win this, as representatives of the multinational army stable.
Kagetsu & Andras Miyagi & Session Moth Martina & Jamie Hayter vs. Mayu Iwatani & Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano & Arisa Hoshiki – It’s a bit disappointing to see Kagetsu and Mayu in a multi-woman tag match, but it makes sense given Mayu’s big WOH title match at MSG. This match will be good, if only for the Oedo Tai dance entrance, which I’m sure will go down well with the crowd. I expect that Mayu and her team will pick up the win here, but it should be a fun match (especially with Martina involved.)
High Speed Title – Hazuki (c) vs. Dust – This was the one match announced for the show for a long time, which had people slightly worried about the rest of the card. Hazuki is excellent, and has been putting on consistently good high speed matches, but I’m less high on Dust. Still, I expect this match to be good, and Hazuki to definitely walk away with another win under her belt.
Wonder of Stardom Title – Momo Watanabe (c) vs. Utami Hayashishita – The most anticipated matchup in Stardom right now, which sees the super rookie Utami take on the unstoppable champion Momo. I fully expect this match to be great, and also to have an inconclusive finish so that they can run it again in Japan. Double countout or double KO is my prediction.
NJPW/ROH – G1 Supercard, April 6th 7:30pm, Madison Square Garden
New Japan and Ring of Honor sold out MSG in less than twenty minutes when tickets went on sale in August 2018, before any matches had been announced. While this demonstrated the strength of the brand in 2018, the subsequent departure of Kenny Omega and The Elite to form AEW, and the visa issues surrounding the New Beginning shows in the US led to poor ticket sales for the G1 Climax show announced for Dallas in July. The card for MSG looks strong, especially from the New Japan side, and I expect them to make some big announcements regarding Dallas to try and increase ticket sales. NJPW’s Western expansion plans have definitely been hurt by the departure of The Elite and the competition from AEW, and depending on the success of the Dallas G1 show I wouldn’t be surprised to see them scale back the push in the US in 2020.
The Card
Dark Match – Kagetsu & Hazuki & Jenny Rose vs. Hana Kimura & Sumie Sakai & Stella Grey – I’m excited to see some of the Stardom talent get on the card, and hopefully the MSG crowd will enjoy the Oedo Tai dance. It’s a toss-up who wins here, but let’s say Sumie Sakai since she’s actually signed to Ring of Honor.
Honor Rumble – Jyushin Thunder Liger, Kenny King, PJ Black, Beer City Brusier, Brian Milona, and Cheesburger have been announced for the rumble so far, but it will be a way to get a lot of wrestlers onto the card, and surely some legends who are in town. The idea is fun and it’s a good way to open the show, even if there are going to be some big names here that didn’t make the main card. Why not give Liger the win here before he retires next Wrestle Kingdom?
NEVER Openweight/ROH TV Title – Will Ospreay (c) vs. Jeff Cobb (c) – Ospreay and Cobb have been feuding on and off for a while now, and Ospreay pinned Cobb with a Storm Breaker at Honor Rising. I’m not really into Ospreay’s current run, so I’d like to see Cobb win, and come over to New Japan as a replacement for the departing Michael Elgin. However, I have a feeling that Ospreay will win here, since New Japan are very high on him, and he can do some ROH shows as well.
Dalton Castle vs. Rush – This match feels a bit random, as if ROH threw it together because they need to include two of their biggest stars. I guess that Rush will win here, since he’s the newer guy, and probably on the up since Castle has lost a step since his injury.
WOH Title – Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Kelly Klein – I’m thrilled that the women get the chance to perform on the stage at MSG, and I think Mayu will really impress the crowd. This is the third match between the two in the last few months, and Mayu has won both, so I expect that she will probably drop the title back to Klein here.
NYC Street Fight – Bully Ray vs Juice Robinson – This was billed as an “open challenge,” and on March 31st Juice Robinson answered the challenge. As far as I know this isn’t for the IWGP US Title, but at least Juice is on the card. I expect Juice to win to keep the crowd happy.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title – Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido – This match has the potential to be one of the best on the show. All three wrestlers can go, the only question is their chemistry in a triple threat. I’m confident that it’ll come together though, and I expect Ishimori to win here ahead of Best of the Super Juniors.
IWGP/ROH Tag Title – Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Brody King & PCO (c) EVIL & SANADA vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe – This match is intended to unify the IWGP and ROH Tag Team Titles, which is an interesting concept, and so I think rules out EVIL and SANADA (since they probably won’t be doing both sets of shows.) Four-way tag matches can be quite hit and miss, but hopefully they manage to do something interesting with this combination of teams. I could actually see Brody King and PCO winning here, so that’s what I’ll go with.
British Heavyweight Title – Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – ZSJ challenged Tanahashi for a title match at MSG after he lost to Tanahashi during the New Japan Cup. Tanahashi and ZSJ work together, so I expect this to be a good match, and for ZSJ to win here and keep hold of his British title.
IWGP Intercontinental Title – Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Kota Ibushi – This is the match that I am most looking forward to on the card, and knowing previous meetings between these two, it promises to be a violent affair with no mercy for anyone’s neck. Both wrestlers will be hugely over with the crowd, but I predict Ibushi will pick up the win here, especially given my predicted outcome in the main event.
ROH World Title – Jay Lethal (c) vs. Marty Scurll vs. Matt Taven – I’m not really invested in any of these three, but the fact that this is a ladder match promises to be interesting. Scurll has to be on his way out of ROH when his contract expires, and Lethal has been the champion for what seems like ever, so Taven really makes the most sense to win here. Hopefully there will be lots of crazy spots on the way.
IWGP Heavyweight Title – Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada – White vs. Okada main events MSG, and sees the upstart Switchblade take on the Rainmaker ace. White has had the upper hand on Okada for a long time, and even though most people are predicting an Okada win, I just have a feeling that White will prevail here. NJPW have invested so much in making him their new foreign star, and a title change here would mean three title changes in the first four months of 2019. I predict that by the end of the show MSG will be breathing with the Switchblade.
Three great shows on offer from three of the top Japanese wrestling companies. DDT and Stardom are available to watch live on Fite TV (https://www.fite.tv/), and the NJPW/ROH show will be on NJPW World (https://njpwworld.com/) for subscribers.
