#harashima

[mackdaddyofthecravate]

[schadentekkers]

[scarskelly]

Inspired by this post.

Template available here.

[gotmeontheropes]

[busaikuknee]

[from Memories of Summer Vacation 2023]

[kopw]

📷: バトル・ニュース

[37kamiina]

What Are You Doing 2023.06.24

[tippiekinno]

Since Hakari is fighting Uruame and let's say Yuuji fights Sukuna after Harashima is done and Yuuta fights Kenjaku. Who is Maki fighting? Or who is she joining? How do you think the end fights are going to play out

[sybilius]

If you like babygirlifying wrestlers boy do I have good news for you about DDT :3

[romiswired]

HARASHIMA vs. Yuki Ueno (c) (DDT Judgement 2024 - 5 Hour Special in Korakuen)

Watch and learn.

Whenever I see someone like HARASHIMA taking someone like Yuki Ueno to a whole other level in a pro wrestling ring I usually smile because there's hope for wrestling as a sport and as a struggle. In fact, wrestling has been falling apart in that aspect at least in the West because many people just reject the idea of in-ring storytelling or are not trained well to see it with their own eyes and without some guy screaming shit on a microphone.

This match is in essence the perfect way to prove pro wrestling is more than just wrestling, and the perfect example of a wrestler who, in an attempt to build his opponent as a credible threat, shines in a performance of his own. Guys, HARASHIMA is like 50 years of age, he shouldn't be wrestling at this level and he shouldn't be a guy who could have one KO-D title reign right now and no one will complain. Ueno on the other hand is the New Ace in DDT, and he has grown as a wrestler in comparison to where he was standing in 2020 and 2021, where his matches (while good) didn't seem to hit me like his recent work does.

I think that's because Ueno has comprehended the absolute truth behind pro wrestling and the secret for it to be good: It needs to be a struggle. You need to suffer because suffering is the only universal thing any person can understand. After all, it hits us the same, and while Ueno suffers like hell in this contest, I can't help but focus on HARASHIMA's subtle but excellent character work. He's now the veteran making sure the young guys have what it takes to carry with the company, he's no longer DDT's Ace like he was before and as he reaches 50 years of age, there's an eternal struggle with the fact the only rival he can't beat is time itself.

That written fate he's doomed to live is the thing that resonates in his body and just makes him continue wrestling at this pace, even if his body is hurt and he can't do the same things he was able to do years ago. HARASHIMA's current work can be compared with the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi's 2018, where he understood the assignment and saw the potential hidden in one last big run as the Ace of the Universe. HARASHIMA is not having a big run, but nonetheless, people support him in this match because he's that damn good and because that's the dynamic that follows. You can't hate a good Old Ace vs New Ace match.

Don't get me wrong, Ueno is a solid contender for Wrestler of the Year in my books, but he's not the protagonist in this match, and I will dare to say he's the antagonist because there's something cocky behind his attitude that I can't seem to get out of my head. I don't know if it's the shitty smile, or the idea Ueno does not take this match seriously for the first 10 minutes, but I can't seem to believe Ueno is essentially the hero in this one, and it's harder to even consider that option when the literal HERO of DDT is standing across him in the ring.

I don't know, maybe I'm a sucker for true and honest babyfaces. Maybe I want someone to make me hope for a better future. Maybe I relate to HARASHIMA's struggle in this match because I'm also attached to my past and parts of me yearn to go back, but time will not allow me to do so, therefore, I have to live in the present and face the wrath of the almighty Father Time, who is always reminding me I'm growing and things are getting hard by the hour.

I'm still an 18-year-old who's learning to live and love again, and I'm not the most fitting person to understand or sympathize with HARASHIMA's struggle as a 50-year-old veteran who's just fighting with his heart and soul for one last big run where people realize he's still their Ace, but god damn if there isn't something so contagious about his resilience that inspires me and makes me want to be like him. A hero for his people. An inspiration for his peers.

Needless to say, this is my Match of the Year, and I don't think any match will hit me as this one because of everything that happens in between. Just last week I saw a match that people considered the best match of the year and I gave my honest opinion on it and how it was not better than this one. I decided to rewatch this one to see if I was just biased with my opinion: But I was right. The reason behind its superiority is the basic premise of selling.

Wrestling matches just work better when you give a fuck about the fundamentals and continuing a narrative in the ring.

HARASHIMA's selling in this match is top-tier, and I think I've been saying that for the past 5 years, but I can't talk about this match without praising Ueno's explosiveness and delivery in some of his moves and offense. There's this joke about him being an Ibushi clone, but that's not right because he's plainly better. He was not that good years ago, but he has improved more than any other young wrestler who's aiming to be an Ace in a Japanese company. I will not say I'm talking about Kaito Kiyomiya.

I don't usually pray for people to watch a match, but please, go out of your way to see this one. I don't know how many times I need to repeat DDT is the best wrestling company in the world today but if I have to do it 100 times for you to watch this one and engage in the same spectacle as I did, I will get on my hands and knees for you to live this experience and see how a true Match of the Year looks like.

Is it better than Bryan Danielson vs Will Ospreay?

Absolutely, and as I said, it's not better because it has more moves and sick spots. It's good because it has selling and two wrestlers who are cooperative with the other and are not trying to get their shit in for the sake of it. Neither Ueno nor HARASHIMA is an Ospreay-type wrestler who just wants to get over and pop the crowd in the emptiest way possible, but two athletes who understand the importance of telling a story in the ring and the obligation wrestlers have to look vulnerable when needed. That makes the match so good. It's honest, and that's something needed.

[jasvvy]

[fagcrisis]

harashima takes time out of his match to model a handmade earring

[schadentekkers]

[scarskelly]

[shotaumino]

Damn, my type really is Old Man, Kicks Good.

[busaikuknee]