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I need to talk about Oedo Tai cheating. I see people get upset about the Oedo Tai DQs whenever it happens and I think that's another symptom of the thing where bc there's no way to watch Stardom live, everyone just gets upset about ~The Booking~ without knowing what's happening.
But there is a point and reason to when and how Oedo Tai cheats, even if they get DQ'ed. Their matches aren't just standing around waiting for the next cheating spot and they're not cheating for the hell of it and throwing away matches they were winning with DQs.
They start by trying and then cheat once they feel like they're going to lose. It just seems so clear to me that it's a lack of confidence. It's not that they think they'll win, they're cheating bc they don't believe in themselves and figure they'll probably lose either way.
They're convinced they're already going to fail so it's like, either the ref will be distracted and they'll be able to win after all or, at least they're losing under their own power instead of just getting pinned.
And it works! Natsuko had a bad result in the 5 Star but everyone who beat her said they felt like they didn't really get a win, which is like, the whole point. Natsuko knows what her previous years were like and doesn't think she can do better than that.
She also has to live up to Kagetsu and keep Oedo Tai alive and she thinks this is the only way she can do that. Kagetsu literally said Natsuko wasn't her first choice for leader but no one else could really do it, how do you think that affects a person?
Plus, like, none of the members of Oedo Tai can really mentally afford to be failures. They're all failed babyfaces who betrayed people who loved them to be there and it's easier for them to say "I don't care" than "I was wrong".
