Like a Dragon Gaiden’s pro wrestling debut was an unexpectedly entertaining homage to Yakuza’s quirky violence

AEW Like a Dragon Gaiden street fight
(Image debt: AEW)

Last evening’s episode of professional fumbling program AEW Dynamite included a suit called the “Like a Dragon Gaiden road battle offered by Sega,” and people, it was also wilder than that name recommends.

Pro fumbling has a lengthy background of suspicious crossovers with various other brand names and amusement residential properties, from that time RoboCop showed up in WCW to the extra current Mountain Dew Pitch Black match in WWE. AEW has its very own background of unusual funded suits, consisting of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre death match, which ran in promo of the recently released video game. Leatherface existed. It was greatly foolish.

So when AEW introduced that it was being funded by Sega for a road battle influenced by Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, criterion had actually conditioned me to have reduced assumptions. Doubly so because it appeared to be connecting right into among AEW’s the majority of remarkable animosities without much rhyme or factor, and because it really felt as if numerous of the suit’s 8 individuals were sort of simply tossed right into the entire point randomly.

I virtually reversed overall point the split second I saw increasing celebrity professional wrestler Konosuke Takeshita attacked numerous males with a bike in timeless Yakuza design. He did the titan Kiryu bike swing and whatever. It was excellent. The suit had plenty of superb homages to Yakuza and Like a Dragon, with the ringside location embellished by numerous Kamurocho-design road indicators and dining establishment food selections – a lot of which normally wound up being utilized as tools. My preferred touch was the means the entryway ramp was changed right into a Kamurocho road edge, full with NPCs roaming backward and forward, a lot of them unconcerned to the continuous physical violence.

A few of the individuals clothed for the event, as well. Takeshita can be found in with complete Majima cosplay, and noted gaming nerd Kenny Omega put on Sega-themed leggings. Chris Jericho and Paul Wight basically both cosplayed as Kiryu. While it’s a little bit looser in regards to link to the Like a Dragon collection, Brian Cage additionally appeared in leggings with a, uh, ‘Streets of Cage’ logo design. Hey, it’s still practically a Sega franchise business.

It completely satisfied me as a Yakuza follower, and it was quite darn amusing as a fumbling suit, as well. Seeing Wight – a 7 foot high, 400 extra pound male – obtaining body slammed on the hood of car in the backlot location was a specifically remarkable minute, as was enjoying kept in mind risk-taker Kota Ibushi take a piledriver through an absurd stack of chairs and street signs. These are the type of areas that pro wrestlers generally conserve for pay-per-view occasions, not totally free episodes of tv – and absolutely not funded suits advertising video clip games. 

The reaction from the professional fumbling fandom has actually been quite global in its positivity – an unlike the reaction to the Texas Chain Saw Massacre match a couple of months back. “Kenny and Ibushi willing to kill themselves for this Sega tie-in match is incredibly fitting,” as Reddit user Caldris places it. “Seriously, that was insanity. Everyone going to those lengths for a TV match is pure AEW.”

“If nothing else, they truly understood the assignment when they got the Like a Dragon sponsorship, holy shit,” sammywii states. “The slow walk from the Golden Dragons earlier in the night, Takeshita dressed as Majima, using shit like izakaya menus, bicycles and bottles as weapons, 10/10 street fight.” 

My preferred remark, however, originates from theplasmasnake: “Thanks Sega. I look forward to the ‘Persona 3 Reload Ladder Match.'”

Yes, please, induce even more professional wrestlers doing ridiculous video clip game homages. This suit was fantastic – a best homage to the unusual, terrible, and wonderfully wacky globes of both pro fumbling and Like a Dragon – and I’d enjoy to see even more. Just, uh… someone make certain Wight’s back is alright afterwards automobile place, please. That looked gnarly.

Get terrible in the best fighting games around.


 

Source: gamesradar.com

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