This go-around will only feature two matches because my first monthly report was due today and the WWE Network debuted yesterday. I finally got to watch the Andersons/RnRs from Starrcade 1986 in full and it was just as glorious as I expected. I got Titans of Wrestling (cheap plug!) in my ear and I am ready to talk about some Shinya Hashimoto.
Like most people when they first get into puroresu, I was all about the All Japan heavyweight and New Japan Juniors scene. However, I have come to enjoy the New Japan heavyweight work especially from Shinya Hashimoto. His three match series with Genichiro Tenryu as the focal point of New Japan versus WAR feud was incredible. So I wanted to look at some of the nominated Hashimoto matches for this project. I will say the matches I have seen from Zero-One portrays Hashimoto as this Indomitable, Invincible God are very disappointing. The inaugural tag match against Misawa & Akiyama was very disappointing. It belittled Akiyama (who was on a hot streak at the time) and the big Ace of New Japan versus Ace of All Japan battle never really climaxed. The following year he worked against Masato Tanaka as the NWA World Champion and it just felt like an extended squash. Hashimoto is the kind of the worker who will have fun extended squashes because he hits really hard and a badass dude, but these extended squashes have ceiling on how entertaining they can be. However, it was all worth it because the '00 Dome tag match against his late 90s rival, Naoya Ogawa was totally worth it.
The tag match between Hashimoto & Iizuka against Ogawa & Murkami is the epitome of having that big match feel. Hashimoto just has the charisma that exudes badass and you just know he is going to beat the living piss out of Ogawa and his flunkie. Dome crowds, which can come off as dead, was red fucking hot for this match and was just buzzing throughout the match. It was different from popping as there was just their constant excitement filled the Dome. The violence and hatred was perfect: Murkami getting on the mic talking trash, the mid-match melee, Antonio Inoki and his crazy big ass wooden stake restoring order, and then gritty mat and stand up work. This match represents the best of Shinya Hashimoto and is a must watch for puroresu fans.
 |
| She could rock my dome anytime #TooEasy |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rankings for the Best of Puroresu from 2000-2009 thus far:
1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00
2. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00
3. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01
4. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00
5. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00
6. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW 6/25/00
7. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title
8. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01
9. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01
10. Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00
11. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01
12. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00
13. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01
14. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02
15. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02
16. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00
17. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00
18. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00
19. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00
20. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02
21. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01
22. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Kanemoto & Minoru vs Liger & Makabe - NJPW 9/12/00
23. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02
24. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02
25. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final
26. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02
27. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00
28. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02
29. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Liger & Minoru vs. Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02
30. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02
31. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals
32. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin
33. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask
34. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka - Zero-One 3/02/02
35. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01
36. NJPW(Liger, Minoru , Makabe) vs Osaka Pro(Delfin, Murhama, Tsubasa)-NJPW 12/14/00
37. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01
38. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01
39. Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - Battlarts 01/30/2000
40. Dick Togo vs Tiger Mask IV - M-Pro 08/25/02
41. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami -
Tokyo Dome 01/04/00
The Dome sure was rocking for this one, baby! From Inoki's entrance through post-match pull apart, this may have the most extended heat ever from a Dome crowd I have seen. The crowd still loves them some Inoki, who came out and said some stuff in Japanese and then broke a big stick in half so he created two wicked sharp stakes. Inoki: Vampire Slayer, Book It, Sci Fi! Everybody is wearing MMA gloves and Hashimoto/Ogawa just has that big match feel that belongs in front of a Dome. It is no wonder Hash thought he could run pretty much an entire promotion with him on top and Ogawa as his number two given the sustained heat. The match delivered a wild, chaotic classic where you had no idea what the heel was going to happen next and any shot could be a KO or a submission. The crowd was really vibing off this chaos and was popping for pretty much every spot. There was pretty much no downtime in the match. Murkami bullrushed Iizuka with lefts and kicks at the outset to establish the feel of the match. He full mounts Iizuka, but he gets to the ref so Murkami shoves the ref off. As he breaks, he kicks Iizuka's head off so Hashimoto comes into check on IIzuka and Murkami grabs the mic to lay some badmouth as one would expect. This is fuckin crazy. Hash fucks up Murkami triggering the big Hashimoto/Ogawa confrontation and the Dome is just losing it. NJPW wrestler pour into the ring and here comes Inoki with his giant fuckin Stake to reestablish order and Iizuka is ok so LETS GET IT ON! Team Ogawa is in love with O Soto Gari/STO and that is their constant go to move to takedown the other team. Once on the mat they trade cross-armbreaker, triangles and a leg bar. There is a real sense of struggle in every movement and the Dome heat is just unreal.
Murkami full mounts Iizuka and was so focused on kicking his ass that he did not see Hashimoto got tagged in, who promptly lights him up with kicks. Hashimoto tells Ogawa not to sing it, but just bring it. Dome is molten. Hashimoto ends their stand up exchange with a wicked headbutt against the ropes and starts beating the piss out of Ogawa and the gloves come off. Ogawa goes to his STO bread and butter, but Hash just throws him back. Ogawa gets on his bike and tries to turn this into a track meet. Hashimoto gets trapped in his guard and survives a triangle choke. Everyone gets hit with STOs as Ogawa begins to turn the tide. Iizuka dropkicks Ogawa to the floor off of Hashimoto. Hashimoto is on Ogawa on the floor and attempts to break his arm with a keylock. Iizuka grabs a rear naked choke on Murkami for the win. Ogawa is a sore sport and throws Iizuka and the NJPW wrestlers pull apart before anything else can happen. The entertainment from this is derived from the chaos and hatred between the two teams. The Dome is just so into match that makes everything electric. The finish was a little too abrupt and I wanted to see more Hashimoto and Ogawa. Still this was a super fun match that just flew right by. ****1/4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| Hasimoto vs Ogawa |
Heat, struggle, urgency, chaos put that altogether and you got a badass match. Murakami is the best heel that never made it. He is only 41 today! There is still hope someone push this man. Murakami & The Two Ogawas would be the greatest puroresu stable ever. There is an out of control feel that is hard to replicate or ever capture and this match has it in spades. The only complaint is that the climax is a little lackluster, but it is still befitting of the match as Murakami gets his comeuppance. It feels like a consolation prize because Ogawa still stands tall against Hashimoto. I really want to watch the rest of the Hashimoto/Ogawa matches.****1/2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka - Zero-One 3/02/02
I did not understand the appeal of this match as a MOTYC. It was a really great extended squash that saw Hashimoto pretty much fuck up Tanaka's day, but outside of that this match really did not offer much. It was just a follow-up to the Zero-One inaugural tag that established Hashimoto as an unstoppable, invulnerable force of nature. I will say Masato Tanaka's screeching in Japanese was really disconcerting and I would almost say disturbing. I felt really bad for him as he was just getting wrecked by the emotionless Hashimoto. At the beginning of the match Tanaka kicks the NWA belt away and Hashimoto will not stand for such disrespect and sends Tanaka running for the hill after beating him up in the corner. Tanaka's new strategy is to try to get toe to toe with Hash, but that works about as well as you think it would. The story of the match is that Tanaka would occasionally find an opening (lariat, forearms, attacking the knee), but could never string together any offense because well he is facing Hashimoto. The most entertaining moment of the match for me was when Hashimoto wiped out from a double stomp from the apron to the floor. Thankfully, he was able to catch the railing so he did not take a header into it. It is only funny because he did not get hurt. Boy, did he take out his embarrassment on poor Masato Tanaka with those kicks. It finally looks like Tanaka make actually make a run at Hashimoto by getting to his knee, but he just cant resist slapping Hashimoto, who responds with a punch that floors Tanaka. Tanaka tries to take down Hashimoto, but eats knee lifts before taking a DDT for 2. One last gasp for Tanaka who hits a roaring elbow and applies a choke, but as soon as Hashimoto stands up he just melts into a pool of defeated humanity. Brainbuster is the mercy killing for Masato Tanaka. The transitions for all the offense shifts were pretty bad. It felt like Hashimoto would let Tanaka do things and then he would just swat him from the sky. There was no heat. When you have a guy like Hashimoto it is always semi-entertaining to watch him just squash someone, but not a MOTYC in any way. ***
------------------------------------------------------------------
I do want to do something related to the WWE Network launch, but have not decided what. I will have a Triple H blog covering his early 1999 run and should be wrapping up Puroresu in 2000-2002 up soon.
I do want to do something related to the WWE Network launch, but have not decided what. I will have a Triple H blog covering his early 1999 run and should be wrapping up Puroresu in 2000-2002 up soon.
Nice blog
ReplyDeleteAmazang
Good work
نقل اثاث الشارقة