Dueling limbwork, anyone? You know I'm all about it when it's pulled off in a smart way. This match manages to do just that, with Sato priming the arm for the jujigatame and HARASHIMA trying to alleviate Sato's kicks by working the leg. This follows the traditional DDT "Main Event" template, with scrambled matwork to start, bouts of snug slap and kick exchanges, and the sudden escalation into bigger offense. The slaps are especially stiff, as Sato's lip gets busted, and HARASHIMA's legwork gets nasty at times with some of those targeted kicks. When HARASHIMA's got him on the ground in a leglock, Sato grabs the hair and HARASHIMA returns the favor just because he can. Sato's able to go back to the armbar, transitioning into a triangle and as HARASHIMA begins to power out, Sato uses the ropes for a rope-hung armbar, choking HARASHIMA to the point of foaming. Sato's outside running PK takes a lot out of him, which allows HARASHIMA to dropkick the leg out from underneath him on the apron to regain control. They start exchanging signatures and counters, go back-and-forth with the strikes, with Sato at one point straight punching HARASHIMA, and in the end, when HARASHIMA springboards in, Sato catches him in the armbar. The final struggle is terrific, with HARASHIMA trying to boot his way out, then grabbing onto the referee, before finally giving up. Niiiice.
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