DDT Goes Hollywood: The Collective Weekend

DDT is back in America as part of GCW The Collective and this year they are going to Hollywood. This show took place at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Los Angeles on 30th March 2023. The show is around two hours long, so if you have the time and enjoy wrestling in all its forms, try and watch this show.

37KAMIINA [MAO & Shunma Katsumata] Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko

Chris Brookes is one of my favourite wrestlers to come out of the British wrestling scene and to top it off he is tagging with the legendary Yoshihiko tonight. 37KAMIINA is a great tag team that I’m not as familiar with but this match shows off their skills. Soon enough Yoshihiko, who is the current DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, is tagged in. MAO hits Yoshihiko with a horrible powerbomb to the floor inciting the crowd to chant ‘You Sick Fuck’. After 37KAMIINA takes liberties with Yoshihiko, Chris Brookes is tagged in and locks in his octopus hold on both men before tagging Yoshihiko back in.

I know this kind of wrestling isn’t for everyone, but some of the best wrestlers to work in Japan have worked against Yoshihiko. For me being able to do a match with this character, means that you are one of the best in the world. Even if you don’t like

MAO pins Yoshi for the win and also gains the championship, his tag partner tried and fails to win the belt but Chris Brookes avenges their loss and gains the championship. But as with the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship, you have to be careful and Yoshihiko wins back the belt, after a collection of Canadian destroyers.

Takagi Army[Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa] Vs Pheromones [Danshoku Dino & Yuki Ino]

This match is absolutely crazy, also so people are aware Danshoku Dino is an openly gay wrestler and uses stereotypes to create his wrestling persona. This is all meant to be a bit of fun and it is, but don’t be surprised when you see some bums and some very very suggestive moves. That’s what Pheromones is all about.

On the other hand, you have Sanshiro Takagi who is all about serious wrestling and doesn’t enjoy Dino’s brand of, shall we say, controversy and fun. he has dropped in Michal Nakazawa, who is more serious now than he was before, there is no baby oil in this one. Things go too far with Pheromones, leading to a no-contest, you know eventually Takagi is going to snap again.

Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Nick Wayne & Andrew ‘The Giant’ Everett

Now for something completely different and altogether more serious. You might think DDT is all about comedy and gimmick matches but it’s not. DDT is also about the art of pro wrestling. here we have Nick Wayne and Takeshi Masada who are the high flyers of their teams while Kazusada Higuchi and Andrew ‘The Giant’ Everett are the big men of their teams and they face off in a Hoss fight with sumo wrestling influences, Higuchi actually used to train in that style of traditional wrestling.

Nick Wayne really shines in this match, which isn’t surprising, he is a wrestling prodigy at just 17. Masada is also really impressive during this match, if you have the time seek out this match cause it is out of this world. You might find your new favourite wrestler this weekend.

Saki Akai Vs Vert Vixen

This is the only women’s match on the card and it’s pretty good but nothing spectacular. I don’t really know much about Vert Vixen but she seems like she has the bare bones of someone who could be great. She is definitely someone I will look into further. Saki Akai, on the other hand, I am very familiar with her, she is someone who stood out to me in DDT and TJPW and I enjoy her immensely. I wish this match was a little longer or really showed off how fantastic Akai is, but she got to hit her finisher here and it was a moment.

Joey Janela Vs Tetsuya Endo

Tetsuya Endo is the current DDT Universal Champion, this isn’t a championship match, and he is facing The Bad Boy Joey Janela. They have faced once before inside a DDT ring, but that was in japan and Janela won, but will he do the same tonight? This match is fantastic and getting to see Janela back in a DDt ring is wonderful. This match is wild, with big scary moves and inventive high-flying moments.

I want to give Janela his flowers, he was great before AEW but didn’t really get the spotlight I thought he deserved in the company, he’s now back in the indies and is performing at an even higher level than before. He isn’t all violence and comedy and I hope people see that after this match.

Tetsuya Endo is no slouch either, he’s a machine and a technical master. His poison-rana on Janella at one point is beautifully brutal. Soon he hit his opponent with the burning star press, which is one of the best I have ever seen [that’s a shooting star press], for the win. These two need to face off again and I hope it is for the DDT Universal Championship.

Eddie Kingston & Jun Akiyama Vs Damnation T.A [Daisuke Sasaki & Kanon]

If you look at the men in this tag team match you know it’s going to be a hard-hitting brawl. I was not disappointed, Eddie Kingston looks amazing here and tagging with the legendary Jun Akiyama makes the whole match even better. These two just work so well. Daisuke Sasaki has just come back from a year out due to an eye injury and looks like he hasn’t missed a step. Kanon is relatively new to DDT but has improved so much in the last year. this match had it all, strong style, submission holds, big power moves and a turnbuckle wrench, What an absolutely great match.

Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno

That’s right Takeshita is home and back in DDT after signing with AEW and performing for the company regularly. These two have been friends since their teen years and while Takeshita has risen to the lofty heights of being elite Ueno has only just started building his reputation as one of the best wrestlers in the world. If you don’t know who Yuki Ueno is then watch this match and get familiar because I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the wrestling world by storm in the next few years.

This match is fast-paced and absolutely insane, a really fantastic main event that shows off what DDT is about. DDT has produced some of the best wrestlers in the world including Sami Zayn, Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega, obviously, they made their names in bigger companies but it all started here. It all starts here too for Konosuke Takeshita and Yuki Ueno.