Ryuji Ito: The New King of Hardcore
review by Suicidal Youth

Ryuji Ito vs. Kintaro Kanemura-Cage Match
A good cage match. The action starts out fast and furious, with Kanemura taking a Back Body Drop into the cage!! Kanemura is bleeding soon, and the tide turns in Kanemura's favors. He beats on Ito, and then gives him a Bodyslam onto an upside down table!!! Kanemura climbs the cage, and Ito follows him up, and nails some stiff kicks. He goes for a Rana, but he dodges Ito, and brings him off the top with a Powerbomb onto the table!!!! Another table comes into play, and Ito gets battered with it, even having his ballsack rearranged. Samoan Driver gets a nearfall for Kanemura. Eventually Kanemura misses a Senton, and Ito goes to work, nailing a Crossbody off the cage!!!! Holy crap!!!!! Ito nails a stiff kick to Kanemura's face, and the ref is taken down, just as Ito nails the 450 Splash. A table bridge is constructed near the corner, and Ito ends up being Powerbombed onto it, although they don't break, and he ends up landing on his neck!!!!! ****!!!!!!!! Kanemura goes to the top again, but Ito cuts him off, and SUPERPLEXES HIM ONTO THE APRON!!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! Another table, and this time, it's Ito nailing the Dragon Splash off the cage through the table!!!!!!! HOLY ****!!!!!!!!!!!! Somehow, Kanemura kicks out, and Ito wins it with a Shining Apprentice. ***1/4

Ryuji Ito vs. Abdullah Kobayashi-100 Lightubes, Barbed Wire Board, Barbed Wire Ropes, Cactus, Plate Glass Deathmatch
Holy ****ed up shit. This is arguably the best deathmatch I've seen since the turn of the century. The two duel with lightubes before Abdullah is sent to the outside, falling through the lightubes hanging on the ropes. Ito follows him with a Springboard Plancha, and a lightube shot to get the blood flowing. Ito gets things back in the ring, and nails Kobayashi with some lightubes, but Ito himself ends up tasting the barbed wire board!! Abby then headbutts a lightube in between his own and Ito's skulls!!!! The barbed wire ropes come into play, as Ito is tossed into them several times. In what may be one of the most insane things I've seen in my life, Kobayashi bites a lightube in half!!!! WHAT THE ****!?!?!?!?!?!? He takes one of the halves, and grinds it into Ito's forehead(watch closely as some powder flows into Ito's mouth!! Time for some more tubes, and Abby kicks them into Ito's groin(this guy isn't having kids, is he?). The cactus is then tossed into Ito's nether regions!!! Samoan Drop on some tubes gets a two count. Ito has some fire left in him, and locks on a Tarantula in the barbed wire ropes, and then in the lightube ropes!!! INNOVATIVE!!! Northern Lights Suplex onto some tubes gets two, and it's time for a plate of glass. Ito tries to Suplex Abby through it, but it's reversed, and it's Ito going through it!!!! In another innovative spot, Kobayashi gives Ito the Beach Break through some tubes laid out across some chairs!!!! Abby drops an Elbow from the top with some tubes, and the ring is absolutely littered with glass. Abby charges Ito in the corner with Ito's own Lightube Vest, but Ito kicks the vest into Abby's chest!!! Dragon Splash with Abby under some tubes connects, but Ito is rolled up and almost covered. Ito heads outside, and grabs a ****in' Lightsaber of lightubes!!!! He smashes the thing on Abby's head!!! HOLY ****!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ito slams him onto the barbed wire board, lays the cactus and some lightubes on top of him, and sets the second plate of glass over two chairs. He climbs to the top, and nails the Dragon Splash onto Abby for the win!!!!!!!!!! HOLY MOTHER ****ING SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

Ryuji Ito vs. Mad Man Pondo-Circus Deathmatch
This was pretty much a carbon copy of the match that Pondo had with JC Bailey in IWA Mid-South. However, the bumps were done a bit better than the previously mentioned match. Pondo nails some stop sign shots early, but Ito isn't impressed, and nails an insane Splash off the wall from about twenty five feet up!!! HOLY SHIT!!!! They head to the ring, and Pondo is thrown off the scaffold first, and Ito follows with a Senton Atomico. Back up, Pondo
gets his retribution with a Russian Legsweep, and both men took a bad fall on that one. Once again, they head back up, and Ito takes a DDT on the top of the scaffold. They battle for position before Pondo Suplexes Ito off the top into the barbed wire net!!!!! HOLY FUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pondo wins. **3/4

Ryuji Ito vs. Mad Man Pondo-Fans Bring the Weapons Lightube Deathmatch
This was much better than the previous match, although I will say that they had more freedom in this match. Pondo and Ito brawl around ringside early on. Back in the ring, Ito locks on the Tarantula, and Pondo brings out a rather large knife. Ito feels the sting of the blade, and the blood is flowing early. He dodges the stop sign, and sends Pondo the outside, following with a Plancha. Pondo isn't deterred, though, and he Suplexes a table into Ito. Back in the ring, Pondo lays a Log Cabin of Lightubes over Ito, and does a Somersault Senton onto it!!! Ito the the outside once again, and this time, Pondo piles chairs onto the prone Ito before running the length of the entrance ramp, and again nailing the Somersault Senton. Pondo is opened up after meeting the ringpost face to face, and Ito sets Pondo up on a table, climbs a balcony(damn near fifteen feet high), and nails the Dragon Splash through Pondo and the table!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!! Back in the ring they go, and a Northern Lights Suplex onto some tubes gets a two count. Ito grabs about thirty tubes, lays them on Pondo, and then nails the Dragon Splash, and glass is everywhere!!!!! HOLY SHIT ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!! Ito grabs the Lightsaber of Lightubes, then places some other tubes down Pondo shirt, so they're next to his head. He kicks each stack of them into Pondo's head before Axe Kicking the Lightsaber down across Pondo's skull for the win!!!!! ****ING SICK!!!!!!!!!!! ***1/4

Ryuji Ito vs. Badboy Hido-Lightubes Casket Deathmatch
I didn't see a casket used at all, although it might have been due to the fact that I wasn't paying attention very much. These two always seem to have a good match with each other, and this was no exception. Ito brings some stiff kicks early, and the action quickly spills to the outside. Ito is whipped into the rows of chairs in the audience a few times. Back toward the ring, a table is set up on the outside, but Ito is unable to put Hido through it, and they battle on the top rope. Ito comes off the top with a Missile Dropkick, and lands some forearms. Hido puts Ryuji down with a Clothesline, and once again, the Badboy is in control. It's time for the barbed wire bat, and Ito is pummeled with it. Ito lands the Northern Light Suplex and a Shining Apprentice for two. He grabs a Lightube Bazooka, and sets it up between two chairs. However, it's his own demise, as Hido Superplexes him through the tubes!!!! Facebuster onto the bat gets a two. However, Ito fires up, and nails a Dragon Splash with a Lightube Bazooka on Hido!! He grabs another, and nails it again. One more bazooka left, and Ito lands a MONSTROUS Dragon Splash to finally bring the match to an end!!!! ***

Ryuji Ito and Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Kintaro Kanemura and Badboy Hido
This was sort of a mess, really. Ito and Kanemura brawl into the crowd early, and Kanemura Powerslams Ito off the balcony through a table!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!! Back in the ring, though, it's a royal mess. Sekimoto doesn't really impress me at all. Ito comes back, and manages to nail a 450 Splash, and a Splash to the outside through a table!!! Kanemura and Hido isolate Ito, and pin Sekimoto for the win. *3/4

Overall: This is great for fans of deathmatches. This was my first exposure to Ito's work, and I will say that he is indeed the new King of Hardcore. If you want blood, if you want violence, this is for you.


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