Tournament Mode Daisuke Sasaki Doesn't Need Your Stinking Workrate

It's not his fault your faves aren't smart enough to make him try harder.

Source: DDTPro.com

We all knew this was coming, right?

The only surprise should be that it took me three whole newsletters to mention my beloved Daisuke Sasaki. Not only is he my second favourite wrestler of all time and the object of my fangirl affections, he also happens to my undisputed king of detail. Show me a Sasaki match—anything from the biggest main event singles match to the most inconsequential multi-man tag on a Road To show,—and I will point out some random little thing he did that made my heart sing. 

For Charisma’s first appearance in Enhancement Talent, the matches are the first two rounds of the ongoing 20th anniversary King of DDT tournament. And the little thing he’s doing is snatching victory from the jaws of almost certain (and arguably deserved) defeat the second his opponents give him the smallest opening. 

This isn’t brand new territory for Sasaki. He’s assumed the position of DDT’s resident slacker genius in the promotion’s tournaments for a few years now, rarely putting in enough effort to execute a five star workrate classic or demonstrate sufficient fighting spirit, but always doing just enough to remind audiences that he’s still got it. He’s not washed, he’s a highly skilled and intelligent wrestler who can put on a clinic whenever he feels like it. Which just happens to be on a far less regular basis than some wrestling fans demand. He’s not lazy or unmotivated, either, he is very deliberately picking his spots. It’s a role that confounds his detractors almost as much as it delights the Sasaki faithful: the smartest kid in class who fucks around and never applies himself, but still aces the end of term exams. 

His victories have been especially pointed this time around, though. 

Before we get the tournament proper, though, I want to show you a couple of moments from one of his tuneup matches before the first round. 

One the first day of the Dramatic Dream Tour 2024 in Sapporo, Sasaki and his DAMNATION T.A running buddy, KANON, faced off against BURNING’s Tetsuya Endo and Yuya Koroku.

In a stunning display of self control, Sasaki manages to keep his unresolved Endo feelings at bay long enough to try to rip the head off of his former stablemate’s new protege and score a relatively clean victory. There’s plenty of fuckery leading up to that moment. Sasaki and KANON cheat. Sasaki cuts corners. At certain points, it starts to look like maybe young Koroku actually has his number as he mounts a targeted attack on his arm. 

Sasaki is able to snuff that onslaught, but Koroku has another opportunity later in the match.

But the young boy gets too eager and winds up giving Sasaki the perfect setup for the ballsplex. All he needs is one trapped arm and a minimal amount of movement (and a dash of renewed unrequited love and crying in the hotel over the woman who introduced him to the move) and he’s back in the game. 

Koroku recovers enough to attempt a pin with O’Connor roll, but oh no! Guess who leaves that arm open for another opportunistic counter and is forced to tap.

This is almost as exactly as he’s conducted himself in the first two rounds of the King of DDT tournament. Fuck around for a while. Cheat a little. Indulge a couple of ill-advised whims. Hang on just long enough to find the easiest possible opening. Execute a few seconds of intelligent fighting and high level skill. Win a little.

And so far, it’s working. 

In the first round, Sasaki plays a high damage game of rope-a-dope while subtly wearing down Yuki Iino’s notoriously limited patience. 

He eats a hilarious amount of shit. This one’s my faovurite:

Once Iino is successfully riled up and a touch too confident, though, all Sasaki needs to do is use his own power and momentum against him at the right moment. 

And when Iino tries to power out of the cross face, Sasaki shifts his position and lets gravity take care of the rest for an easy peasy win. 

In the second round, Sasaki faces off against Sanshiro Takagi and engages in some classic DDT mischief before eating another comical amount of shit.

But he has Takagi’s signature stunner scouted, and all it takes is the right moment and the right angle to apply that crucifix pin. It only takes a tiny bit more time and effort to turn that desperate kickout into a cross face for another almost effortless win. 

It’s beautiful. He’s wrestling like a seemingly lazy old tomcat whose path you can’t cross without a bloodletting swat or two.

I don’t expect Sasaki’s reign of minimalist terror to continue. He’ll likely lose to Chris Brookes in the semi-finals on May 26. (Ideally, this loss will be a flameout fuelled by those lingering Endo issues and a never acknowledged desire to avenge Chris’s dastardly victory over his old DAMNATION bestie. Even if it’s not, though, I’ll probably go ahead and pretend that’s the cause.) But it’s nice to have yet another reminder that Sasaki absolutely can hold his own against the best in DDT or any other promotion. He simply choses not to most of the time. 

I realize that my opinion on this matter isn’t universal and that many DDT fans, especially newer ones, are genuinely infuriated by the chasm between Sasaki’s efforts and results. But it’s not his fault that none of their faves are smart enough to make him try, is it?