Section 1- Results
All Japan: Tenzan & Kojima won the tag league, beating Kawada/Mutoh and Suwama/Rosey on Saturday.
New Japan: Nakamura has won the two biggest tag lead-ins to the title match, as he and Bernard beat Tanahashi & Nakanishi (Bernard pinned Tanahashi), then he and Tomko beat Tanahashi & Nagata (Nakamura pinned Nagata). Also, Tiger Mask got a decisive pin on Milano, only to have the feud continue because Milano switched to a new masked character.
NOAH: Morishima & Yone beat Takayama & Sano to become the new tag champs. Also, KENTA pinned Bryan Danielson and Shiga retained the openweight title.
Section 2- News
Dragon Gate: Added to round 1 of the King of Gate tournament is CIMA vs Gamma (again). Genki Horiguchi has replaced Dragon Kid in the tournament, and things seem to point to him facing Ryo Saito in the second round because of their recent squabbles in tag bouts. Lastly, PoS Hearts has reunited and they will face Doi/Yoshino/Gamma on 12/26 to determine new trios champions.
New Japan: The 1/4 card is taking shape. Taiyo Kea will challenge for the IWGP title against the Tanahashi vs Nakamura winner, Kawada will probably face that match’s loser, Suzuki vs Nagata for the Triple Crown is signed, and Tenzan & Kojima will battle Chono & Mutoh. Backing up a bit, Nakanishi & Omori will defend the tag titles on Sunday against Koshinaka & Makabe. Jado & Gedo will defend the junior tag belts against lucha stars Negro Casas & El Texano as well.
NOAH: Two big matches have been set for the 12/23 SEM show. First is Zero-One’s Takaiwa making his third challenge of the junior title (he won in 2001 but lost early last year) against Sugiura. Second, a bout whose outcome hinges on the time limit, Morishima vs KENTA.
Section 3- How could I possibly not link this?
The best wrestler in the world? NOAH? Phil Clark? What’s not to like.
Section 4- Hashimoto vs Yamazaki
Shinya Hashimoto versus Kazuo Yamazaki took place in two high-profile singles matches. One, on the 1/4/96 Tokyo Dome megashow, was solid but not particularly stand-out in either man’s career. The same could be said for when they met in G-1 Climax ’98 final. Sadly their best match by far took place in-between and it gets only a fraction of the attention because it was one of Hashimoto’s many overlooked IWGP title defenses.
I won’t pretend like Hashimoto’s time as IWGP champ was as good match-for-match as Misawa’s Triple Crown reigns. That doesn’t mean that Hashimoto’s efforts deserve to gather dust. Yamazaki didn’t have a flashy enough moveset to gain lots of attention outside Japan, but he was smart and hard-working enough to be entertaining.
A little background on this feud: Hashimoto was the ace of New Japan during the mid-90s, drawing tons of money as the designated bearer of Strong Style and Inoki-ism. A key feature of this role was defending New Japan against outsiders, especially those who passed themselves off as more ‘legitimate’. In the world of pro wrestling it was hard to get more legit than UWFi, a promotion that remains the all-time standard for shoot-style. Although its core was wrestlers trained in the New Japan dojo (including Yamazaki), it was a distinct adversary to Shin Nihon Prowres. Months before the NJ vs UWFi feud Yamazaki jumped to New Japan, but he still wrestled the way he did in UWFi and thus was still somewhat of an outsider in the Strong Style world. It was Hashimoto’s responsibility not to lose to the likes of him.
On 6/12/96, Hashimoto and his partner “Strong Machine” Hirata were set to defend the tag team titles against Yamazaki and his partner Takashi Iizuka. Before that came the lead-ins, which set the stage and offer a nice introduction if you’ve never seen Yamazaki in action. My thanks to Chris Coey for the capping and hosting of these three tags.
Hashimoto & Ohtani vs Yamazaki & Nagata does a lot of things right. In-ring storylines are established that would play out through the entire series, younger wrestlers get their chance to go at it with the veterans, and the end result is one that is entertaining by itself while at the same time making you want to see more.
Hashimoto, Hirata & Nishimura vs Yamazaki, Iizuka & Nagata is an even bigger prelude because both of the tag teams at issue are involved. Hostilities between Hashimoto and Yamazaki continue apace, and everyone in the tag has their own part to contribute. Again, a fine match that leaves a lot on the table.
Hashimoto & Hirata vs Yamazaki & Iizuka is the payoff, and what a payoff it is. Good technical wrestling, good intensity, great pay-off to the Hashimoto/Yamazaki interactions, and plenty of crowd heat to top it all off.
Eight months later comes Hashimoto vs Yamazaki for the IWGP title. There’s a lot to love about this one. In addition to both men really laying it in with their strikes, Yamazaki uses enough strategery to look like a credible threat despite the size difference. The two-pronged attack gives Yamazaki lots of openings for counters and reversals as the match wears on, keeping things interesting in-between the stiff shots. Finish is as brutal as you can ever ask for.
These four matches encapsulate a lot of the best parts of Japanese wrestling, with the use of continuity and meaningful mat wrestling and defined but down-to-earth personalities all supporting a competitive rivalry in the ring.
Man do I ever love pro wrestling.
