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superkix

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  1. superkix
    Echoing the same thoughts here but smug shiteating Okada is my favorite Okada. The claps, the grins, messing with Tenzan, the shitty stomps to the back while looking at the crowd. Great performance from Okada and of course, Kojima is such a lovable babyface. I loved his counters to the Rainmaker toward the end of the match and while I didn't see the upset coming, it still had the drama and crowd interaction to make this a memorable match.
  2. superkix
    I was exhausted after watching this match...and not in a good way. This is the definition of adult ADHD wrestling.
  3. superkix
    Ishii with some incredibly focused and aggressive neckwork, and excellent counterwork, seemingly having an answer to a lot of Takeshita's attempts. For an ace, Takeshita's bumping and selling is some of the best around and while I could nitpick the non-selling on the German suplex bridge, he still did a lot to show the effects of Ishii's neckwork. Like most Takeshita defenses, he displays his dominance early on but Ishii's able to come back and hit his neckbreaker on the guardrail to set up his go-to limb-based strategy. Takeshita's neck takes quite the beating, like a German suplex on the apron, a nasty Ishii Driller, and a tiger suplex hold. Ishii tries to murder him with a top rope tiger suplex but Takeshita is able to lariat him off in a nod to Hansen/Kobashi. Takeshita can't get anything off without a reversal from Ishii but when Ishii goes for the Final Cut, taught to him by Kaz Hayashi to finish off Takeshita, the champ's finally able to counter, taking the wind out of Ishii's sailes, before shutting him down to retain. Takeshita's final comeback felt a little rushed but overall, this was really good with Takeshita continuing to show his versatility.
  4. superkix
    This was definitely the bright spot on an otherwise 'meh' show, with the Osaka fans heating up for the local vets bullying DDT's youngsters. Ace Takeshita sold big time for the Osaka Pro bruisers, coming back from a triple team beatdown to pin Black Buffalo with his pretty trap German suplex hold. Buffalo's such a good heel brawler, swinging chairs and smashing plastic tubs, and Big Boss MA-G-MA is still the same stubby-armed shitkicker, flying around the ring, splashing Takeshita through a table, throwing lariats, suplexes and powerbombs. Early on in the match, Irie gores himself with a headbutt to Buffalo and he's leaking blood throughout the match but manages to make some big saves for his partner to set up the win for his team. A blast of a tag match with a fun nostalgic element and a terrific babyface performance from the champ. Takeshita really knows how to take a beating.
  5. superkix
    These two have such great chemistry together. You had Tanahashi heeling it up with his limbwork, tossing the proverbial ace guitar out of the ring to focus on attacking the veteran's leg to plenty of boos. Nagata was as spirited as ever, with the crowd firmly behind him. Nagata's facials and the his selling were great here, especially toward the end of the match. I liked that Tanahashi kept going back to the knee to try and derail Nagata's momentum and that final slap exchange was awesome, with Nagata getting busted open and his exhausted swings and misses before collapsing face first on the mat. This may have been my favorite match of the tournament so far.
  6. superkix
    I never really connected with this match and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe part of it was Zack's selling, maybe I wanted a little more fire from Ibushi. It may have been the case of Zack being a little too dominant. I enjoyed his neck work and counters -- really liked how he hit the neck twist and kept the scissors applied. I really wanted Ibushi to cream him, which says a lot about Zack's smugness in the ring. Ibushi was able to sneak in some offense where he could, like him ducking the uppercut to deliver the German, and his kicks are always on point. I haven't seen these two before (assuming they've wrestled in the past) so I've got nothing to compare it to but I guess I was expecting something a little different. Still a good match. Probably the match I enjoyed the most on Night 3.
  7. superkix
    A smutty little match-up with plenty of handsy exchanges and agitated strikes. This has that drunken bar fight element to it, ugly at times but also effective. Nakano wrestles a very smothering style by rubbing his forearms in Suzuki's face and really cranking on the headlocks and necklocks. Suzuki at one point has had it and pummels Nakano with headbutts. The first down is terrific, as Suzuki's trying to block Nakano's headbutts on the ground but Nakano catches him and sends him reeling. Suzuki's leg crabs looked really brutal here and when Suzuki starts dropping knees, Nakano freaks and unloads a pissy flurry of strikes to knock Suzuki back down. For this style of match, While Suzuki sometimes appears a little lost, his selling is really pretty good, in that bewildered sense. He spikes Nakano with the piledriver and immediately starts stomping his head in and dropping more knees. Wasn't a fan of the double KO finish, at least the execution of it, but this was really good and uncomfortable at the same time.
  8. superkix
    This is neat little Nishimura formula match with Tanahashi holding his own against the veteran early on.The narrative here is the legwork, which is smartly introduced when Tanahashi gets tangled in the ropes and Osamu shoves the ref out of the way so he can attack the vulnerable leg. Tanahashi's selling is pretty great, especially when he's trying to charge Nishimura in the corner, which allows Nishimura to take him out at the knee with a dropkick. When Nishimura has him back in the figure-four, the desperate Tanahashi is grabbing onto the ref as Nishimura arches back to exert more pressure. The finish is...well, typical of Nishimura matches, seemingly coming out of thin air as Nishimura misses the diving kneedrop and Tanahashi capitalizes with a Shining Wizard and dragon suplex hold to win it.
  9. superkix
    Nominating: BJW World Strong Title: Hideki Suzuki © vs. Ryuichi Kawakami (BJW, 7/17)
  10. superkix
    Here's what I wrote about this match:
  11. superkix
    Can't get into YOSHI-HASHI at all. His offense looks really weak and this went too long for a YH match but it was fun to see Nagata kick some ass. Too bad he couldn't pick up the win but whatever, he's been chilling at the beach.
  12. superkix
    This was one of my most anticipated match-ups of the tournament and for the most part, it delivered. I will say that Naito's selling blew Ibushi's out of the water, especially considering how focused and belligerent Naito's neckwork was, but then again, Ibushi bumped like hell for Naito's offense and both sold the exhaustion well enough down the home stretch. This was more about the spectacle of these two coming together and in that sense, this was a blast. I mean, Naito put in a fantastic performance (as usual), really putting the hurt on Ibushi's elastic neck with all variations of neckbreakers and some dang nasty German suplexes. Ibushi was classic Ibushi here, getting in some of his classic Ibushi spots while, for the most part, being grounded by Naito's work on top. I loved him kicking the shit out of Naito on the ropes and Naito's face afterwards. Ibushi countering the first Destino attempt with that corner torpedo was awesome and of course, that insane top rope piledriver, which Naito sold like death. I can't remember seeing that spot before. The nearfalls toward the end were really believable and not overdone, and the fact that this was kept under 25:00 was perfect. Pretty much exactly what I was expecting from these two.
  13. superkix
    Zack Sabre Jr. is a guy I've ridden the fence on for a while now since coming to New Japan but I thought this was his best singles performance. His destruction of Tanahashi's arm was consistent and aggressive, and the dueling limbwork was really well done, with some clever counters and reversals from both guys. Sabre came off as such a little prick in this match, with his shitty kicks and just leaning on Tanahashi while he's on the ropes. Once Tanahashi starts in on the leg, I thought Zack's selling was good. I liked him trying to pry Tanahashi's fingers apart on the cloverleaf hold and him smartly moving the leg out of the way when Tanahashi tries dropkicking it, stomping the arm and then immediately selling the leg afterwards. Tanahashi manages a neat counter to one of Zack's kicks, delivering an inverted dragon screw. I bit onto the European clutch nearfall and I thought the finish did an excellent job of establishing Sabre as a legitimate threat, with him removing the protective sleeve/tape and really cranking in the hold, manipulating the joints at various sections of the arm and forcing Tanahashi to give up. Really good stuff from both guys.
  14. superkix
    The clunky brutecake pissing contest you've come to expect between these two, with tons of headbutts, elbows, and lariats throughout. I thought Goto looked good underneath when he was getting bullied by Ishii and while I'm sure a some of this stuff was retread territory, it felt fresh. The lariat stalemate was especially well-executed, the way they would lean into the lariats, trying to get the other to fall to no avail. When they finally hit that colliding lariat spot later in the match, it looked/sounded brutal. The elbow exchange was...well, long to say the least, but they sold the exhaustion well coming off of it. Really solid.
  15. superkix
    A short and sweet little contest with Suzuki hyper vigilant with his armwork, snatching it at any given opportunity. Loved his armbar counter to Nishimura's patented headstand escape attempt and again when Osamu tries for the figure-four leglock. He delivers the Gotch-style piledriver but opts for the submission attempt instead with a reverse armbar. Nishimura tries for a backslide but Suzuki again counters with the cross armbreaker, scouting pretty much all of Nishimura's spots. But the second time's the charm and Nishimura's able to pin him down with the backslide. Suzuki at his sub-10 minute best.
  16. superkix
    Yeah, agreed. The Strong Division is at the top of my list when it comes to modern Japanese wrestling I enjoy.
  17. superkix
    Akiyama was really great here. His neckwork looked brutal, between the stunner on the ringpost, the stalling piledriver, and the way he viciously cranks on a facelock. Nishimura's legwork was pretty aggressive too and Akiyama's sold the leg terrifically, especially when Osamu dropkicks his knee out from him and re-applies the figure-four. The counterwork is also top notch here from beginning to end. There's an awesome moment where Jun counters the Japanese rolling clutch with a choke sleeper, eventually transitioning into his front necklock. Good stuff.
  18. superkix
    This match is a terrific game of cat-and-mouse with Nishimura having an answer for just about everything Takayama's posing -- to the point where a frustrated Takayama sits up after another Nishimura counter like "how I keep him down?". Razor-sharp awareness from Nishimura with his reversals and bridging escapes. I loved the set-up to the figure-four sequence and Osamu really digging after the rope break, going back to the leg with a couple of spinning toeholds before re-applying the figure-four and bridging to exert more pressure. Takayama's short term selling is great but it's just that. In the end, Osamu runs out of tricks and Takayama's finally able to snag him with the German.
  19. superkix
    Going into this match, I wasn't thrilled about Suzuki/Kawakami at Sumo Hall but afterwards, I'm really looking forward to it. A hot little build with the exchanges between Suzuki and Kawakami the obvious highlights but Kikuta continues to impress with his ability to take beatings. I really like how Suzuki makes applying the octopus hold look like work, the way he manipulates different parts of Kawakami's body. The elbow exchange was heated and Suzuki cutting off Kikuta's hot tag was awesome. I'm also loving these suplex hold submissions, this time with the dragon suplex hold on Kikuta. Another banger of a K-Hall tag match.
  20. superkix
    Yeah, this was a blast. Okabayashi and Yoshino have such great chemistry together. I loved the whole arm control segment with Yoshino rolling around the mat and of course, his counter to the torture rack. An easy watch.
  21. superkix
    It's always a blast watching Backlund in this kind of environment. Here, he stooges around for most of the first half until they start slapping each other and Ikeda headbutts him out of the ring. Backlund's selling of the headbutt is the best kind of comedy, as he collapses into some of the fans in the first row while Ikeda mocks him in the ring. Backlund's able to reverse an abdominal stretch into a big ole double arm suplex and then fires off some of his signature spots before scoring the pinfall. A fun easy, breezy watch.
  22. superkix
    Holy shit, this match rules. The crowd's nuts for these two just beating the shit out of each other. Funaki keeps trying to land knees and Nakano is going after the leg and whenever he gets him on the ground, Funaki smacks him repeatedly until he lets go. When Nakano catches a foot and tries for the dragon screw legwhip, Funaki blocks it and busts him open with a hard smack. Funaki's downright nasty in this match with his little punt kicks and headbutts. Nakano gets some revenge on Funaki with his own slaps and kicks -- Funaki's selling off one of the kicks is amazing. Nakano's comebacks are fiery and he's gushing blood but still wanting to fight. Funaki with the badass crab hold finish really sealed this match as another all-time favorite for me.
  23. superkix
    Aggressively action-packed junior work from Liger with Togo taking quite the beating. That powerbomb counter on the outside is brutal. Liger's such a dick here, between his pissy armwork, the swagger, and just chopping the hell out of Togo. Togo's in the moment selling is really great as always.This is how you do a spotfest.
  24. superkix
    A swanky little contest that really made the rope break/downs system engaging. The sense of struggle between this two was terrific as they vied for submission openings and fought for takedowns, often in desperation. Once again, Fujiwara's bony old man head is a major factor in this match and Takada keeps chopping out Fujiwara's legs to keep him down. Loved Fujiwara's kneebar takedown but Takada is able to slip out into a single leg crab hold to force him to the ropes. Fujiwara's selling post-single leg crab is awesome. Lots of big strikes in the end as the downs rack up and the final leg sweep finish was the perfect exclamation point to this match.
  25. superkix
    Nishimura steals the show with his well-sold defensive performance, intuition, and sense of struggle. I loved the way the figure-four played such a central role in this match, with Nishimura scouting it early on and turning the attempt into a small package to pick-up a fall. His selling during the final fall is fantastic and he's able to block the figure-four attempts, finally reversing the third attempt to submit Fujinami in a...well, odd finish, but you could tell Fujinami's knees weren't in great shape to begin with.
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