a quick look back at january 2024
This year, I've decided to start keeping record of what matches I watch/what my reactions to them are, something that I'd done previously but had dropped for 2023. I'm trying out using a spreadsheet instead of a purely-text document for this one. Beyond just being much more pleasant for me to scroll through, this has the added benefit of letting me crunch numbers. While I don't think a lot of the nitty-gritty statistics will be of interest to anyone but myself, I thought it might be fun to do some kind of end-of-the-month write-up. Maybe I'll do one for each month, who's to say.
Anyway!
BROAD NUMBERS
I ended up watching 64 matches this month, 50 of which took place this month. A sizeable portion of those were from ittenyon week. I was kind of worn out after that and had other things I wanted to focus on, so I haven't been keeping up with anything consistently other than DDT, which made up a third of what I viewed this month. This will probably continue into the future; I have some backwatching plans. Tied for second place are NOAH and Dragongate, which also tracks. I really need to catch up on NOAH, I've barely seen anything from it since The New Year. I've also been pretty hit-or-miss with Dragongate, but I've really been enjoying getting more into it. It's fun! There are plots going on that I'm kind of invested in! Shun Skywalker is there, being the most normal man who's ever lived! Good times all around.
MOST APPEARANCES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH
In terms of "matches that I watched this month," Danshoku Dieno and HARASHIMA tied for first place with five appearances each; for "matches that took place this month," Dieno and Hideki Okatani tied with four. As he made it to first place in both categories, that makes Danshoku Dieno the inaugural Spreadsheet Champ!
I think this is going to be one of the more interesting things to keep track of throughout the year- based on the metrics for this month, I'm going to guess that it's going to bias heavily towards people who appear often in undercard multi-mans.
MATCHES THIS MONTH
I don't consider myself much of a writer nor someone with taste, so this isn't a "best of the month" list or a collection of thought-out analysis. This is just me looking back through the month, picking out a few matches I particularly enjoyed, and maybe writing something about them if I feel so inclined.
ULKA SASAKI VS TAKASHI SUGIURA (NOAH, JAN 1st)
Spent the entire match being wildly jealous of Ulka Sasaki's hair. I have actual thoughts about the match itself—I thought it was a pretty solid showing considering it was Sasaki's first singles match and I'm definitely interested in seeing how he grows from here—but my most substantial takeaway was "Maybe I should dip-dye my hair." That's enough to get it onto the list.
KENOH VS MANABU SOYA (NOAH, JAN 1st)
I've tried typing something up about this multiple times, but I feel I can't articulate my feelings properly. I'm just going to leave it at "go watch Kenoh vs Soya." Amazing performance from them both.
KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS BRYAN DANIELSON (NJPW, JAN 4th)
Worked for me in all of the ways their first singles encounter didn't.
SHINGO TAKAGI VS MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI (DRAGONGATE, JAN 10th)
LUIS MANTE VS JACKY"FUNKY"KAMEI (DRAGONGATE, JAN 11th)
Mante apologizing to the audience for the violence he's inflicting on Kamei and not to Kamei himself…fascinating.
HARASHIMA VS TORU OWASHI VS KAZUKI HIRATA (DDT, JAN 14th)
MAO VS BRYAN KEITH (DDT, JAN 21st)
I'm sure that Okatani vs Sakaguchi will also make this list, but I missed seeing it live and have been saving it for when I can really sit down with it. Maybe I'll watch it tonight.
Additionally, while I've limited the formal list to matches that took place this January, I'd also like to recommend Tanahashi's two appearances in DDT. Very fun, very interesting to see how strongly the audience reacts to asshole heel Tanahashi.
That's it from me for now. If there are any matches you particularly enjoyed this January, let me know! I love hearing about what stuck with people. See you next month!
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Tokyo-born painter Toru Kamei is known for painting what he calls “beautiful nightmares,” arresting oil scenes that balance nature and morbidity. See more on HiFructose.com.
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