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00:00:48,396 --> 00:00:52,356
Yoshihiko! Yoshihiko!
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00:02:22,707 --> 00:02:25,007
Those within the wrestling
community would say that
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00:02:25,057 --> 00:02:28,017
while Mexico is the
spiritual center of wrestling,
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00:02:28,060 --> 00:02:30,540
Japan is the
burning heart of it.
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00:02:30,585 --> 00:02:32,365
This is said because in
the last few decades,
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Japan has consistently
produced wrestling that has
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00:02:34,763 --> 00:02:37,423
not only pushed the physical
bounds and creativity,
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00:02:37,461 --> 00:02:40,511
but the actual definition
of what pro wrestling is and
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00:02:40,551 --> 00:02:42,681
where it should happen.
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00:02:42,727 --> 00:02:44,377
So we're going to the
outer fringe of this
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00:02:44,425 --> 00:02:46,245
ever-expanding
universe to see
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00:02:46,296 --> 00:02:50,036
Dramatic Dream Team
Wrestling, or DDT.
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00:02:50,082 --> 00:02:52,042
For years they've been
creating events that have
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enthralled Japanese
audiences and perplexed
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00:02:54,348 --> 00:02:56,918
foreign ones peering
in from the internet.
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So prepare yourselves for a
journey into the mind of DDT.
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00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:03,919
First stop, DDT Beer Garden,
a weeklong event
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where the wrestlers act as
servers, wrestlers,
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and consumers to the
delight of their loyal fans.
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Kanpai!
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Kanpai!
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Oh!
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So the man in the far corner
in the black trunks is Takagi.
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He's the owner of DDT
and the founder of it.
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Whoa!
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00:03:53,972 --> 00:03:57,112
Some 20 years ago,
he saw that there was
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a hole in Japanese pro wrestling
for a, for a real
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creatively free canvas on
which these guys could paint,
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so he started Dramatic
Dream Team Wrestling, and...
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Oh!
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As you can see...
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it's a very unique
place to this day.
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You should drink beer.
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00:04:33,621 --> 00:04:35,931
We gotta drink some beers,
apparently.
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00:08:32,816 --> 00:08:36,036
♪
Tokyo... ♪
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00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:37,470
I want to see you go.
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♪ I want to see you go.
I got to make you go. ♪
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♪ I want to see you go.
I want to make you go. ♪
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♪ I want to see you go.
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Go, here we... go!
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♪
Go! Go! Go!
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A lot of the branding of DDT
is geared towards women,
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often utilizing a genre
of media specific to Japan
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called Yaoi,
or boys' love,
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as it's known in English.
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00:11:40,264 --> 00:11:42,754
Yaoi is essentially
male homoerotic imagery or
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00:11:42,789 --> 00:11:46,139
stories created predominantly
for female consumption.
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00:11:46,183 --> 00:11:49,063
It's existed in Japan
since the 1970s and
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00:11:49,099 --> 00:11:50,879
is normally Anime or Manga.
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00:11:50,927 --> 00:11:53,757
Looking at DDT, and
especially Dieno,
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00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:55,930
from a foreign perspective,
it seems like they've been
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00:11:55,976 --> 00:11:58,106
heavily influenced by Yaoi.
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The purest expression of
this being DDT
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calendars and magazines.
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We're going with Dieno right
now to record a livestream
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00:12:09,903 --> 00:12:12,603
where he's gonna
play some video games.
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- No.
- Oh.
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00:12:28,965 --> 00:12:30,835
- Oh!
- Agh!
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00:12:34,884 --> 00:12:36,764
How often do you go
online and play games
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with people watching like this?
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Can I ask the audience,
why is Dieno so awesome?
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Why do you like
watching Dieno?
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00:13:09,876 --> 00:13:12,396
Bottom, bottom,
bottom. Cute. Gay.
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Ah... like, lots of butt stuff.
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Lot of butt stuff.
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00:13:22,802 --> 00:13:24,282
Lips and butt.
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00:13:26,631 --> 00:13:28,631
For at least the
last 15 years,
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00:13:28,677 --> 00:13:31,377
Dieno has purported to be a
quote/unquote,
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00:13:31,419 --> 00:13:33,639
"aggressively
gay wrester," who,
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to be honest, uses some
pretty offensive stereotypes
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00:13:35,902 --> 00:13:37,772
to get over
with the crowd.
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00:13:37,817 --> 00:13:39,247
But the crowd eats it up...
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00:13:39,296 --> 00:13:41,466
and no one seems to really
have a handle on who
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Dieno is as a real person,
making him at once a
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very enigmatic and
provocative character.
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Ah!
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00:13:50,133 --> 00:13:53,093
Japan is known for such a
strong style of wrestling.
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00:13:53,136 --> 00:13:55,566
What drew you to the style
of wrestling that you do?
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A lot of the tactics you
employ in the ring
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00:15:14,391 --> 00:15:16,391
could be considered
pretty offensive.
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00:15:16,437 --> 00:15:18,867
How do you feel you
represent the gay community
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00:15:18,918 --> 00:15:21,048
with your wrestling?
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00:15:39,895 --> 00:15:41,155
Agh!
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00:15:58,566 --> 00:16:01,086
Agh!
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00:16:01,134 --> 00:16:04,664
How much of Dieno the person
is being represented
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by Dieno the character?
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He's real gay.
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Agh!
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Mr. Takagi-san is the
controller of the company
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00:17:02,151 --> 00:17:03,461
in a lot of ways.
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00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:04,760
What kind of relationship
do you have with him,
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creatively, and
just kind of workwise?
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Mr. Takagi, given that
international awareness of
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DDT is growing by the day,
is it dangerous for you to
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be putting up the company
at such a key time for it?
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00:20:04,115 --> 00:20:05,855
Ah, Danshoku Dieno
marriage.
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00:20:05,900 --> 00:20:08,080
- Ah, peace in the world.
-
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00:20:12,211 --> 00:20:13,691
Danshoku Dieno marriage.
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00:20:16,606 --> 00:20:22,346
- Peace! In the world.
-
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00:20:31,012 --> 00:20:33,452
- Konnichiwa.
- Konnichiwa.
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00:20:33,493 --> 00:20:35,503
- Morning. Damian.
- Ah, hi.
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00:20:35,538 --> 00:20:37,018
Nice to meet you.
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00:20:37,061 --> 00:20:38,721
It's surreal right now to
be riding the train with you
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00:20:38,759 --> 00:20:40,759
'cause the last time
I saw you on a train,
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you were wrestling people.
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Ah!
107
00:21:03,653 --> 00:21:05,313
Oh!
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00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,130
We're about to
watch a street match, so...
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We're waiting
for wrestling...
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Outside.
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Oh!
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The toilet plunge,
versus toilet plunger
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death match at this point.
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Oh!
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00:22:33,830 --> 00:22:35,400
And now it goes in the ring.
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Now a boxing
match has broken out.
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Oh my!
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I don't know what the
fuck I just watched.
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It was a match that
started outside and
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ended in a sumo's bathtub.
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00:23:17,613 --> 00:23:21,403
- Hello, yeah.
- Alright.
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00:23:21,443 --> 00:23:22,843
Let's go to heaven.
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00:23:22,879 --> 00:23:27,539
This is Toudoukan
pro wrestling shop.
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- And who's that?
- Tiger Mask
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00:23:29,233 --> 00:23:30,673
Boom.
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00:23:36,893 --> 00:23:38,163
When you were a kid,
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00:23:38,199 --> 00:23:39,459
did you buy a lot of
wrestling tapes or DVDs?
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00:23:39,505 --> 00:23:41,895
Yeah, yeah.
Rental. Rent.
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00:23:41,942 --> 00:23:43,422
- Rent them?
- Yes.
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00:23:43,465 --> 00:23:49,465
And, my first watching pro
wrestling for the rent video.
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It is this video.
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00:23:51,691 --> 00:23:52,911
- That's the one?
- Yes.
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00:23:52,953 --> 00:23:55,433
- This is what led you...
- First video.
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00:23:55,477 --> 00:23:57,307
- Anoki right there.
- Anoki, entire match.
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00:25:50,113 --> 00:25:52,073
So, did you buy these
magazines when you were little?
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00:25:52,115 --> 00:25:53,195
Yes.
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00:25:53,247 --> 00:25:56,027
And now, you're in
these magazines.
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00:25:56,076 --> 00:25:57,076
Yes.
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00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:59,250
And you're so young.
It's awesome.
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00:25:59,296 --> 00:26:02,336
So, first time magazine.
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00:26:02,386 --> 00:26:05,826
- Front cover.
- Look at this.
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00:26:05,868 --> 00:26:08,478
- Me.
-
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00:26:30,850 --> 00:26:32,110
Few wrestlers on the
planet are more
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00:26:32,155 --> 00:26:34,375
critically acclaimed
than Kota Ibushi.
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00:26:34,418 --> 00:26:37,988
While publically his star has
shone most brightly in Japan,
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00:26:38,031 --> 00:26:40,161
his global influence
on the current generation of
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00:26:40,207 --> 00:26:43,207
up and coming wrestlers
can't be overstated.
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00:26:43,253 --> 00:26:46,743
His matches with Kenny Omega
at DDT are the stuff of legend,
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00:26:46,779 --> 00:26:49,609
helping to propel both
wrestlers and the company
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00:26:49,651 --> 00:26:51,171
to the vanguard of wrestling.
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00:26:52,741 --> 00:26:55,271
Recently Kota has
distanced himself from DDT,
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00:26:55,309 --> 00:26:57,569
preferring to be a free
agent with no contractual
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00:26:57,616 --> 00:27:00,656
obligation to any
one single company.
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00:27:00,706 --> 00:27:02,656
To say that I'm excited to
meet Kota Ibushi
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00:27:02,708 --> 00:27:04,668
would be a gross understatement.
156
00:27:04,710 --> 00:27:06,840
He's one of my all-time
favourite wrestlers and a
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00:27:06,886 --> 00:27:09,626
big reason why I've
followed Japanese wrestling.
158
00:27:14,545 --> 00:27:18,505
Yeah! Yeah!
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00:27:18,549 --> 00:27:19,549
Again.
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00:27:19,594 --> 00:27:21,864
Agh! Agh!
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00:27:27,210 --> 00:27:29,170
What is the type of wrestler
that you think you are?
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How do you define
yourself as a wrestler?
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00:29:41,301 --> 00:29:44,261
I think the thing that
always strikes me
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00:29:44,304 --> 00:29:45,914
about wrestling is
there's almost a,
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a deep-rooted conservativism
to it that there's
166
00:29:49,396 --> 00:29:52,136
very similar end
167
00:29:52,181 --> 00:29:54,181
they want to get to the biggest
company in America,
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00:29:54,227 --> 00:29:56,397
or they want to get to the
biggest company in Japan,
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00:29:56,446 --> 00:29:58,266
or the biggest
company in Mexico.
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I guess...
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00:29:59,972 --> 00:30:01,972
having been at these
biggest companies,
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00:30:02,017 --> 00:30:03,577
what motivates you, still?
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00:30:42,362 --> 00:30:45,672
I've always felt for something
to become a true art form,
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00:30:45,713 --> 00:30:47,633
the means of
production have to be
175
00:30:47,671 --> 00:30:49,331
in the hands of the artist.
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00:30:49,369 --> 00:30:51,239
Do you think we're at
that point now in wrestling?
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00:32:04,879 --> 00:32:06,449
Ryogoku Sumo Hall is one of
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00:32:06,489 --> 00:32:08,839
the most famous
arenas in the world.
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00:32:08,883 --> 00:32:11,763
Traditionally the epicenter
of Japanese sumo wrestling,
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00:32:11,799 --> 00:32:15,669
this 11,098-capacity venue
is now often used
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00:32:15,716 --> 00:32:17,886
for professional
wrestling as well.
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00:32:17,936 --> 00:32:19,976
This mainstage is
steeped in tradition,
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00:32:20,025 --> 00:32:23,025
protocol, and order, but
for one night a year...
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00:32:23,071 --> 00:32:24,591
Peter Pan.
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00:32:24,638 --> 00:32:26,208
It is on this night that
Takagi's brain child
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00:32:26,248 --> 00:32:29,988
comes to life and terrorizes
these hallowed halls.
187
00:32:30,035 --> 00:32:31,645
It must be pretty exciting
getting to watch
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00:32:31,688 --> 00:32:33,558
dad wrestle tonight.
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00:32:33,603 --> 00:32:35,823
There's a lot of stakes
tonight riding on this match.
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00:32:35,866 --> 00:32:37,906
Are you nervous
at all about this?
191
00:32:48,444 --> 00:32:51,754
Part of what makes DDT so
popular with its fan base
192
00:32:51,795 --> 00:32:54,795
is its long lasting and
complex story lines.
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00:32:54,842 --> 00:32:56,932
I'm meeting up with Hanae
at Peter Pan to get a
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00:32:56,975 --> 00:33:00,535
super fan's perspective on
the in-ring action.
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00:33:00,587 --> 00:33:01,757
Plus, I need someone to
help me understand
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00:33:01,805 --> 00:33:03,845
what the hell is going on.
197
00:33:09,813 --> 00:33:12,473
Today's match between Takagi
and Dieno is billed as
198
00:33:12,512 --> 00:33:14,602
a timed weapons death match.
199
00:33:14,644 --> 00:33:16,914
Each wrestler has
pre-selected a series of
200
00:33:16,951 --> 00:33:18,781
weapons specifically
designed to inflict
201
00:33:18,822 --> 00:33:21,782
maximum damage to
their opponent.
202
00:33:21,825 --> 00:33:24,045
If Dieno loses, he'll be
forced to marry a
203
00:33:24,089 --> 00:33:26,269
life partner of
Takagi's choosing.
204
00:33:26,308 --> 00:33:28,828
But if Takagi loses,
Dieno gains
205
00:33:28,876 --> 00:33:31,616
creative control
of the company.
206
00:33:47,112 --> 00:33:49,942
Yay!
207
00:34:01,909 --> 00:34:06,089
Dieno! Dieno!
208
00:34:16,663 --> 00:34:18,493
- Ah!
- Oh!
209
00:34:42,732 --> 00:34:45,132
Agh!
210
00:35:11,587 --> 00:35:13,457
Ah! Ah! Ah!
211
00:35:32,086 --> 00:35:34,516
- Oh, no.
- Wow! Oh my God.
212
00:35:34,567 --> 00:35:36,397
He's gonna smash it.
213
00:35:48,537 --> 00:35:51,887
They are gay.
They are real gay.
214
00:35:55,631 --> 00:35:57,761
Now they're
assaulting Takagi.
215
00:35:57,807 --> 00:35:59,367
One of the guy's
doing a blow job,
216
00:35:59,418 --> 00:36:01,158
it looks like, to Takagi.
217
00:36:19,742 --> 00:36:22,142
- Now they're raping a man.
- Yes.
218
00:36:36,324 --> 00:36:38,244
Oh my God,
look at Takagi-san.
219
00:36:38,283 --> 00:36:41,813
- Wow!
- He's stripping.
220
00:36:58,999 --> 00:37:01,349
- Who's that woman?
- Dieno's mother.
221
00:37:01,393 --> 00:37:03,703
- Dieno's mom.
- Mother. Dieno's mother.
222
00:37:35,818 --> 00:37:37,518
Oh!
223
00:37:54,750 --> 00:37:58,970
Takagi's wife.
224
00:37:59,015 --> 00:38:01,795
Whoa.
225
00:38:01,844 --> 00:38:04,414
I met her before this.
I had no idea.
226
00:38:15,031 --> 00:38:17,991
Agh!
227
00:38:42,972 --> 00:38:45,372
- Oh... what's she gonna...?
- Wow!
228
00:38:45,410 --> 00:38:46,370
Is she gonna do a moonsault?
229
00:38:46,411 --> 00:38:49,151
What's she doing?
230
00:38:51,067 --> 00:38:53,587
Oh! Shit!
231
00:39:02,209 --> 00:39:04,429
Takagi's wife did a
fucking moonsault.
232
00:39:07,388 --> 00:39:10,438
And now Dieno runs DDT.
233
00:40:18,067 --> 00:40:21,237
I'm gonna miss Japan.
I'm gonna miss it here.
234
00:40:25,335 --> 00:40:26,855
Huge weekend for ya.
235
00:40:33,126 --> 00:40:34,476
But this was not
like every other year,
236
00:40:34,519 --> 00:40:37,389
because you walked away
in control of the company.
237
00:40:47,009 --> 00:40:48,789
I think you're
probably aware of this,
238
00:40:48,837 --> 00:40:51,667
that you're one of the most
controversial characters
239
00:40:51,710 --> 00:40:54,230
in DDT for
international audiences.
240
00:41:13,558 --> 00:41:15,778
There's this moment for
DDT right now of
241
00:41:15,821 --> 00:41:18,171
international expansion,
DDT Universe,
242
00:41:18,214 --> 00:41:19,834
of course,
going worldwide.
243
00:41:19,868 --> 00:41:23,258
Is there any need to address
this international audience
244
00:41:23,306 --> 00:41:25,346
or is more just kind of
keeping what you're doing?
245
00:43:13,112 --> 00:43:15,202
It's a huge honour
to get to do this.
246
00:43:15,244 --> 00:43:17,904
I was hoping I'd get to
meet you before I left.
247
00:43:22,208 --> 00:43:23,558
Well, I don't know if
you're aware of this,
248
00:43:23,601 --> 00:43:26,871
but you're a lot of people's
first exposure to DDT
249
00:43:26,908 --> 00:43:30,168
internationally because
you've become subject to
250
00:43:30,216 --> 00:43:32,826
more than one viral
video at this point.
251
00:43:32,871 --> 00:43:35,531
Are you kind of
aware of this, you know,
252
00:43:35,569 --> 00:43:38,269
ambassador for DDT role
that you kind of play?
253
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And I guess the last thing
I really wanted to know is,
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what's your workout regime?