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11/4 DAIKAIJU PRO VOLUME 1 - THE KAPPAS WALK AMONG US LIVE REPORT FROM WORCESTER, MA

Daikaiju Pro “Volume 1: The Kappas Walk Among Us”

11/4/23 - Worcester, MA
Now available for streaming at IWTV.live
 

ADAM, WTF IS A DAIKAIJU PRO? I wrote about this very subject! Here you go: 

Entering the White Eagle, a building y’all know I am VERY familiar with, you could immediately tell something different was going on. The lights were dimmed down. We had show lighting. There are spotlights just for flourish. This is a rare occurrence in this venue, save for a few Wrestival shows and Americanrana. Japanese pop music rings out through the building through the door time. We have chairs. Ok, chairs are weird. Since I can’t hide at ringside like I do at Open, I pick up my traditional last row corner seat with back to hard cam so no one on IWTV is watching SOME A**HOLE tapping away on his phone for an entire show. As I expected when it was announced that Emi Sakura would have to drop off the card, the show has had a few shifts to accommodate orphaned talent. Baliyan Akki now takes on Kappa Samurai and Bakabella family member Channing Thomas joins his brother Teddy Goodz in a tag match against the Batiri.

We hit belltime! Rich Palladino enters on a wave of surf rock. Dino Winwood is your commentator on the stream tonight. Refs Scott Robinson and Bill Thompson are there. President of SETUP Wrestling in Thailand, Fumi, is here to conduct the opening ceremony. He gets flowers and hopes we have a good time. Music hits…everyone in the ring is confused…the Kappa World Order is here! Led by UltraMantis Black! They gang up on and beat down Fumi. The Kappas hold Fumi up as UMB guts him with his skull staff. UMB says this is a special day…the sacred covenant between the kappas and UltraMantis black. He has the relic that allows him to control man, monster, Kaiju and kappa. This is some Chikara stuff right here. Even the nod to the relic. Nice touch. UMB tears up the flowers. Ichiban leads the charge with Mane Event, Rex Lawles and a few others to run the KWO out of the ring and save Fumi. This isn’t over! Says UMB.

Shivam has THREE Championship belts! Brad came out looking hyper confident but now he’s got a little gold fever. Bacon grabs the mic and says he runs wrestling in Worcester…and he wants a shot at ALL THESE BELTS. Shivam says he’s feeling generous since this is his US debut…let’s do it! 

Match 1: Shivam(c) vs Big Bacon Brad Hollister (for the SPW Singapore Championship, Gatoh Move One and Only Championship, and SETUP Thailand Openweight Championship)

Bacon is in full bully mode for the debuting triple champion. Shivam snags a headlock but Bacon shoves him off. Brad hits the rope but Shivam shrugs it off. Wow. Shivam tries to hit the ropes but Bacon blasts him. He misses an elbow drop ala Scott Steiner. Shivam with a hard lariat and two count. Bacon with a high angle German that folds Shivam in half. Running corner hip attack and Shivam almost hits the floor from the impact. Bacon is hitting his stride as he taunts the crowd and beats on the champion. Shivam dodges a running senton and hits one of his own! Spinebuster for two! Bacon misses another hip attack…spinning bomb to Bacon…kick out! Pop up bombs back and forth! Neither man will stay down. Huge inside out lariat almost ends Shivam’s debut. Brad unloading hard slaps..he calls for the tornado jackhammer but Shivam gets Bacon in the air for a corkscrew brain buster for the win! Good start!

Winner: Shivam
 

 

Match 2: Rex Lawless vs Kappa Jungle

KJ is definitely going for a full jungle wild man thing. He yells “keee keee” a lot. He charges Rex but Rex holds him back…Lawless thinks he’s kinda cute. Yeah, a bit. Rex with a big boot KO’s the kappa. What follow La is a lot of Rex trying to do moves and KJ just squirming free and yelling keeee. Huge spear destroys KJ. Have you had enough yet? KEEE! Rex misses a Vader bomb! KJ makes it to the first rope and misses a swanton. Rex is just flustered as this Kappa will not die. Huge corner cannonball. Rex hits the chokebomb for the emphatic win after about four minutes. This was a lot of fun. Rex looked like he had a blast. Kee!

Winner: Rex Lawless

Match 3: Channing Thomas & Teddy Goodz w/ Sidney Bakabella vs The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama)

Bakabella starts yelling “I KNOW THEM!” at the Batiri. It’s true. He grabs the mic to welcome his friends back to the ring with them. He feels so happy to reunite with them….and just starts yelling lyrics of My Sacrifice at them. Bakabella hits the floor and just starts saying “Come on Goblins!”. Good doesn’t wanna fight Obariyon and just tags out. Thomas is immediately on the receiving end of some world class armdrags. Kodama with a launch in stomp and Channing is like, no more of that. The Batiri is really owning these opening moments before Bakabella tries to be a distraction and ends up caught in the middle and being comically unable to run away. I think he’s decided these are no longer his friends as he hits the commentary table and screams that they are trying to kill him. Chase and Goodz with the blindside and they finally start to take the beating over. Obariyon eats a Demolition death drop. Great classic finish but it only gets a two. Bakabella yelling Creed lyrics again as Obariyon hits an enziguri…tag to Kodama. Thomas eats clotheslines! Spinebuster! Goodz makes the save! Kodama with a spring back cutter! Goodz clotheslined out….Channing tries and airplane spin. Tag to Obariyon…but Athena’s rams Kodama into his partner…fight to the top…tag to Kodama, running dropkick and cannonball! Bakabella breaks the pin! The Batiri send Goodz flying over the ropes at Sidney. Channing is tripped up and lands right into a stiff Batiri knee that drops him cold for the three! 

Winners: The Batiri

Match 4: Ichiban vs Mortar

Both of these guys are in the best points of their careers so far. Mortar with a hard toss. Ichiban with a great rope bounce somersault arm drag! Number one!!!! Ichiban has chops but Mortar is throwing bombs. Mortar double axe handles Ichiban out of the air! Jumping seated senton! High angle body toss sends the Wrestling Ooen champion to the mat. Mortar MAYBhave been raking the eyes over and over but he won’t admit it. Ichiban dodges a cannonball…mortar tries for a F5 but Ichiban rolls it up! Kick out! High cross body! Handspring back elbow! Top rope dropkick! Mortar back up but a superkick drops him for two. Mortar eats bunches of punches. He claps the ears…springboard rana off the top! Lionsault! Ichiban fights off a bomb into a pin attempt for two. Mortar with a Samoan drop for two! Crowd getting behind Ichiban but Mortar has him locked in an abdominal stretch….flip out. Ichiban launches in but is caught in an electric chair…Ichiban with a front roll and catches the legs for the three count! Really good match here. Ichiban is the Wrestling Open Cham for a reason but Mortar has held his share of gold around New England and they wrestled this like it was a main event. 

Winner: Ichiban

Match 5: O’Shay Edwards vs Krule

Krule is still sporting the IWTV championship he never lost. Some would argue he’s still the real champ. Where IS Alec Price anyways? Ring the bell right into the strong lockup…Edwards with a toss to the monster but Krule is just throwing hard shots to the big bad Kaiju. They battle to the apron…spear to the floor! They trade shots…Ref Bill is going to count them both out but they grab him and indicate that it not going to happen. Krule gets the stun and hits a huge vertical suplex…and they start going back and forth with these. These bodies should not be crashing down from so high! Krule going for a chokeslam off the top…Edwards reverses to a superplex! They’re both down and struggling. They lock eyes and climb to their feet. Edwards with a series of suplexes that crash the monster to the mat over and over but he won’t stay downs Krule hits the chokeslam! He goes for Scorched Earth but Edwards slips free! Edwards tries a top rope moonsault but Krule sits right up and hits Scorched Earth on O’Shay for the win. 

Winner: Krule

Match 6: Baliyan Akki vs Kappa Samurai

KS sneak attacks Akki in the entryway and rakes the back. He gets distracted trying to kill a Bobby JR JR so Akki chops him in the head. Kappa Samurai just walking Akki down around the ring and unloading shots. He pulls out a sword and tries to kill his opponent. Kee! Akki grabs a drink from a fan and splashes it into his eyes to get free and the match actually into the ring. Akki has a brief moment where he’s in trouble but KS misses a block and eats a hard head kick. A top rope splash ends the Kappa World Order’s second match in another L after about a minute of official action. This was a bit of fun after the big kaiju match. 

Winner: Baliyan Akki

We head to an intermission. Ya boy needs hydration. And maybe pizza. 

Match 7: TJ Crawford vs Massimo Pesca

TJ goes right to the floor and makes Massimo wait. Someone in the crowd asks for wrestling so Taj rolls right back out for another few counts. We finally get the lockup and these two go right at it, trading holds and quick pinfall attempts back and forth. Pesca offers a handshake, Taj gut kicks him. We get another sequence of fast back and forth moves, Pesca starting to show his high flying moves and quick transitions. TJ sent back to the floor but he catches a dive into a second rope Stunner. TJ tries another handspring but gets caught in a kind of midair rollup slam. Cool move. A snap rana and a shotgun dropkick…suicide tornado ddt! Massimo renters the ring with a second tornado ddt for only two. Springboard cutter and brain buster from TJ for a near fall. This was a cool clash to come back from intermission with. TJ misses his kill shot…Massimo hits a stratusfaction and crucifix bomb! TJ kicks out again! Enziguri connects! He goes for the stunner but Pesca catches him….gutwrench bomb for two! Pesca applies the octopus hold but TJ gets to the rope! A brief bit of confusion at the rope and TJ pokes the eyes. That’s all he needed to hit a spinning back kick to the head and drops Pesca for the three! This was really really good. I really hope Pesca comes back. TJ continues to be on a tear here in Worcester. 

Winner: TJ Crawford

Match 8: Bobby Orlando vs Nolo Kitano

This is a decidedly less friendly Nolo Kitano than Worcester has seen in the past. He looks like he’s seen some s***. But he ain’t never seen a stuffed goat like that before and says Bobby Jr will be a meal for him. Finger licking good. The crowd doesn’t want to see Jr come to harm so Bobby calls for a SICK TRICK! It’s a somersault escape from a headlock! Nolo debates the merits of sickness on that trick. It’s okay. Bobby has others and proceeds to stun the ghetto samurai over and over. He goes for the sick trick cutter but Nolo sweeps the legs and Bobby crashes back first into the top buckle. Nolo starting to unload. Snap powerslam for two. Nolo trying for that finish but can’t hold mom for three. He tries a knee strike on the apron but gets caught up in the buckles. Nolo manages to block the sick trick cutter again. Hard backbreaker and head kick. Nolo brings in Bobby Jr and grabs his katana. Ref Scott takes the sword away as Bobby screams! Superkick! Sick trick cutter…Bobby’s knees give out and he crashes to the mat face first. EEEEK! That doesn’t stop Mom from coming back with punches and a huge Bobby bomb for the three count. I liked this level of aggression from Nolo.

Winner: Bobby Orlando

Match 9: Landon Hale vs Monomoth (w/ Shivam)

Even Monomoth is excited for Landon Hale’s entrance! The Smiling Angel offers a handshake. This is some good excited vibes right now. Trading the wrist lock in great flashy back and forth spots. Quick roll ups and pin attempts and a dropkick stalemate. They are trading quick dodges and flips and cartwheels. Great jumping flip over a split dodge. Crowd is fired up. Landon gets a sweet Caroline sing along and chops on the oh oh ohs. Moonsault for two. Monomoth is still smiling and tries to roll up Hale before eating a hard back elbow. Tilt a whirl backbreaker! Monomoth kicks out again! Monomoth fights out of a bow and arrow…Jack the jaw…leg trip to a head kick! Hale is stunned and staggering. Monomoth with a tarantula choke! Top rope drop kick! Eat dafeet! Hale blocks a northern lights…Monomoth with a head kick! Comes running into a Spanish fly!!! Welcome to America says Landon as he thuds some chops. Monomoth can barely retaliate. Monomoth throwing kicks back. The crowd is just fired completely up in this. Landon to the top…Monomoth with a running kick and rana’S Landon off. Fisherman’s suplex for two! Hale eats a spike tornado ddt…he looks out but grabs the rope! Hale blocks the superkick. Hard elbow! Slingshot cutter for two! Hale going for the kill but Monomoth gets a back slide and bridges over the top for three! That was absolutely fantastic and it was great to see the Landon Hale that I know from the Southeast scene get a chance to truly shine on a New England stage. 

Winner: Monomoth 

Match 10: The Mane Event (Midas Black & Jay Lyon) vs Kappa World Order (Kappa Kozo & Kappa Jr w/ UltraMantis Black)

Kozo tries to bite Lyon…this Lion has fangs and bites right back. Good whip sequence on the ropes but Lyon scares Kozo into a tag. So far, these Kappas are doing the best. Jr eats the Mane event’s hangmans’s leapfrog splash. Kozo ends up dropping and elbow on his own partner. Lyon dives through the ring into the front row! Kappas everywhere! It’s hard not to make a Chikara comparison here because UltraMantis Black is right here but I really am feeling some Los Ice Creams vibe off this Kappa team. Lyon finally dropped to take some rakes and tears from the kappas. JR gets the hoop and batters Lyon with it while the ref isn’t looking. Nono Ref Scott this kappa is just doing hula hoop. Kee kee kee! Lyon getting double raked up. They go for the Lion hoop spot but kappa la don’t know how hoops work. Midas gets the tag! Corner clotheslines for kappas! Kozo getting Germaned to death. Jr makes the save but eats Germans too. Twisting brain buster for two. UMB is on the apron swinging the relic. Kappa off the top with the mantis staff and wipes out Mane Event. They try a pedigree splash combo for the double pin but Mane Event kicks out! Kappas walk right into a throwing knife spear! Butterfly piledriver to jr! Elbow drop from Midas! This should be it but UMB breaks up the pin! Midas dives out to UMB. Jr turns into a Grand Finale and the Kappas go home without a win to their name! If the first two Kappa matches were more comedy focused, this was more of a proper tag match. Definitely some wonderfully goofy spots but there was a world where these kappas COULD have walked out with a believable win. 

Winners: Mane Event

 Main Event: Shoko Nakajima vs VENY

I forgot just how tiny Shoko Nakajima is and Veny is absolutely using her size to an advantage. Shoko rolls to the outside after being overpowered and grabs some Kaiju toys from her squirrel sack. Veny wants a test of strength so Shoko stomps the foot to bring Veny down to her height. Veny sent to the floor and Shoko with a suicide somersault into the front row! Veny gets rolled in but she rolls out and plays possum. Shoko gets swept down and smashed into the apron. Spinning hair pull toss across the ring. Veny with a basement dropkick and Shoko barely makes the kickout. Huge delay slam. Shoko trying to throwing punches but they are just bouncing off.  Veny kicked into the corner. She tries a belly to back suplex but Shoko flips to her feet! Dropkick! 619! A second one over the top rope! Shoko to the top…veny slaps her hard and hits a crucifix slam! Shoko rolls out…Veny hits a moonsault to the floor! Another dropkick! Shoko kicks out. Vent whiffs on a moonsault…Shoko has the space to start her comeback….they start trading forearms but it’s clear that Veny hits way harder. Veny landing  some ungodly kicks! Shoko with the rollups. Ref Bill takes a  hard shot to the head from Veny…Shoko with a northern lights and Veny is definitely out for the theee but Bill is ded so nothing comes of it. Shoko is going back for her bag of toys! It’s a huge pile of Kaiju toys…and they are all laid out in the center of the ring! Veny takes a rana into the toys! Bill is alive…barely! Veny kicks out! Shoko goes for a kill shot but Veny slams her into the toys! Another Michanoku driver! Shoko kicks out! Veny heads to the top and hits a picture perfect moonsault to finally put Shoko Nakajima away! Crowd was blown away by this one. Fantastic main event and I’m really having a hard time picking this or Landon/Monomoth as MOTN. 

Winner: Veny

 And that’s it for the first showing of Daikaiju Pro. I gotta be honest. This was one of these best overall shows I’ve experienced post-pandemic. The show was a slow burn to an excellent main event and you could feel the crowd just firing up over the course of the three 1/2 hour runtime. I’ve name dropped Chikara a few times in this article and that’s for good reason. For about three hours, I felt like I was living in a parallel universe where Chikara didn’t experience a slow death. This felt like so much like that promotion’s heyday: Some goofy stuff, monsters, some excellent technical contests, international talent….this show had a damn vibe. One that’s been missing from my wrestling diet for a while. I’ve missed this and it was great to feel it again.

I had a brief word with an impressed Denver Colorado, who helped facilitate this show’s debut at the White Eagle (and took tickets at the door): “My big takeaway from the show, which bodes very well for the scene we've built in Worcester and Wrestival... I’d say 40% of the people came because of the promotional efforts of DKP, 30% because of promotional efforts at our events at White Eagle and on Beyond socials, and an astounding 30% who don't know what Daikaiju or Wrestling Open is but somehow found out through word of mouth that there was wrestling in Worcester on a Saturday night!”

This was definitely apparent to anyone in the venue who is a regular at Open. There were familiar people I knew from Thursdays but there was a whole cross section of folks completely unfamiliar to me being in that building….and everyone was into it and going along with the show, especially as the night went on. DC also expressed interest in seeing talents like Monomoth, Shivam, Veny & Shoko Nakajimi back in Worcester sooner rather than later -> but also, acknowledging the huge transportation lift that would take….so hey, all y’all promotions in the northeast, maybe you should split some trans? Also, a little bird mentioned that Massamino Pesca was going to be in the area for a while….so this may not be the last we’ve seen of him this month.

Oliver Butterscotch had the following statement: The Department of Kaiju Affairs is happy to announce the kappa invasion was successfully repelled and there are zero reported casualties within the battle zone. The Heroes of Humanity were successful in all of their matches with the kappa forces, and we thank each and every one of them for defending not only North America, but Earth itself.

When will be Volume 2? My expectations say not until well into 2024 so let’s hang on to the memories we made tonight and get REAL F***ING HYPE for the next installment when it happens. Until Then.
 

 

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