Dick Togo For Life Homie

Dick Togo/TAKA Michinoku (c) VS Minoru Tanaka/Prince Devitt - NJPW IWGP Jr Tag Team Championship 1/27/2008

CJD: I was really feeling some classic MPro this week but this match came out of left field and totally won me over. I was watching tons of puro around this time so no idea how I missed this the first time around. The Junior IWGP tag title matches always seem to deliver, even in eras where NJPW is hit or miss. The titles change hands a lot so they might not be the most prestigious but the crowd is always hot for them none the less. I know we just featured some Fergal Devitt on the blog not too long ago but this is a different flavor of Balor, clearly the lowest man on the totem pole and he plays it effectively. It seems Minoru Tanaka is having a career resurgence this year which makes me happy. He has always had so much talent, even here he's fairly reserved but still shines in the more veteran role. The 1A and 1B of Kaientai make for great heel champs and mesh so well with the challengers. I know you could make Finn the first two time MDTSOWWKD Champion next week but I'm hoping TAKA is coming instead (motherfucker) or maybe you bring the HEAT??

JJZ: Did not know that Dick Togo ever wrestled in NJPW. Really stoked for this match. I love TAKA & Dick's music mashup. In the blue corner we got a baby ass Prince with Minoru. By the way I'm smoking a cigar and drinking a Yards Love Stout while watching this so I'm pretty much in heaven. Nice little feeling out going on in the beginning. I'm curious what level of TAKA I'm getting in this match. He is looking good so far. Dick too. This match has a classic tag build with nice high spots and falsies. I found myself saying "That's match!" several times. The finish totally surprised me and popped me. Devitt really stood out in this match and it doesn't surprise me how far he went in the company over time.

Godspeed You! Blue Tiger Emperor

Kotaro Suzuki/Yoshinari Ogawa VS Dick Togo/Yasu Urano - NOAH Jr Heavyweight Tag League 10/15/2010

JJZ: Dick Togo for life homie. I'm extremely familiar with 3 out of 4 of the guys in this match but have no clue who Urano is. He caught me off guard with that front roll at the sound of the bell. He looks like a Japanese Homicide clone. I thought this would make for a nice match up especially with Ogawa and Togo having some fun interactions. Suzuki has one of my favorites movesets in NOAH during this time. His strike combos and efficient offense come across so smart to me. Also for my money he has one of the best tiger drivers in the game. Loved the finish of this match. Enjoy baybay.

CJD: You asked me last week what other ROH talent was on that 2007 tour my match took place during, and ironically enough most of them were there for the first inaugural Junior Tag League, which this match is a part of three years later. Here we have the underdog invading Team DDT against the NOAH stalwarts. This is the stuff that tournaments are made of. So many fun interactions like you said, with surprisingly smooth or physical sequences. You know me and you know this is the type of match I can watch all day. Not to sell Suzuki short, but is Yoshinari Ogawa PIF's spirit animal? Because I think he just may be.