HARASHIMA vs. KUDO (DDT, 5/13/18)

These two had one of my favorite DDT matches of 2017 and once again, these two proved that their in-ring chemistry is a key to success. I've always had a soft spot for HARASHIMA's matwork, which usually doesn't go anywhere but when it's happening, I dig it. His leg trip to KUDO from the ground was especially neat. HARASHIMA is also one of the more frustrating sellers but when he's on, he's on, and here, he was on. He eats a spinning back kick to the face and I loved him immediately bailing to the outside after making it to his feet before the ten count...only for KUDO to take him out with a big dive! KUDO kicks hard and he kicked a lot in this match. His head kick toward the end of the match looked real nasty. In fact, there were quite a few strike exchanges throughout, from elbows to kicks to slaps, but everything was snug. KUDO is able to hit the hanging double knees, HARASHIMA hits the reverse frankensteiner. I really liked pulling a page from Yuko Miyamoto's playbook and spiking KUDO with the Fire Thunder Driver before finishing him off with the Somato. One of my favorite DDT matches of 2018.