[1993-03-07-WAR] Shinya Hashimoto & Michiyoshi Ohara vs Ashura Hara & Ricky Fuyuki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I haven't seen much Ohara, but I would guess he gives the performance of his life here. His face is a bloody mess, but even before that, he looks explosive and fits into the match really well. It's a '93 Hashimoto match, of course it's awesome, but it's interesting how each of these main events has its own distinct charm that makes it memorable. For this one, it's the way they isolated and destroyed Ohara, but not before putting him over really strong. I also admire how Hashimoto hasn't been in the ring for several minutes while Ohara is being pummeled, but he's still selling the after-effects of the onslaught from Hara and Fuyuki (another guy who looks really good in this match). I love all the rollup finishes on this set, as Hash and Ohara take the win after Hashimoto kicks Hara right in the face, then rolls him with an inside cradle. I keep expecting the match quality to drop off in this series, but it has yet to happen. Yet another awesome match.

[Phil Schneider]

Tremendous match, another real hidden gem of this WAR project. The whole show had been building to a New Japan v. WAR explosion and we get it here. Fuyuki comes in and cheap shots Hash at the bell, and we get some wild exchanges early. Then Hara and Fuyuki isolate and brutalize Ohara, they rip his bandage off and just spill his blood all over the ring. Hara is such a fucker in this landing nasty clotheslines, vicious headbuts and swaggering taunting. There is a moment where Ohara gets some separation, he is crawling on his hands and knees to the corner, and Hara just casually walks up and kicks him right in the forehead. Hashimoto is one of the great hot tags in wrestling history, and the whole match builds to the moment where he finally gets in and he explodes, finishing off Hara with a enzgiri which looked like it squirted Hara's brains out of his nose. Pretty much a master class on how to work this kind of tag match. I would have liked to see maybe two more minutes of Hashimoto at the end, but it is minor quibble. WAR v. NJ has to be one of the greatest in ring feuds in wrestling history.

[FLIK]

Great match

 

I would have liked to see maybe two more minutes of Hashimoto at the end, but it is minor quibble.

This is my only complaint, after the massive beat down Ohara takes I was pumped to see Hash tag in and go on a murderous rampage but instead he just kinda casually takes down Hara with a few moves & a small package and i'm left feeling like "awww that's it?". Post match pull apart kinda redeems things a bit as those are always fun in these types of environments

[Kevin Ridge]

Hara and Fuyuki with a quick early battle advantage and it’s enough for them to celebrate in the ring. Ohara’s face looks a mess. Poor guy is getting his ass beat but no sympathy from the fans when Hash tries to break up things. Ohara took that beating and made the tag to Hash but we get a finish that left me wanting me more. The roll up didn’t feel right and needed more Hash kicking guys.

[PeteF3]

Yeah, I wonder who the star of this is--even the staunch pro-WAR crowd knows judging by the name they keep chanting. Easy match of the night honors here. Hara is great at knowing when to Hulk Up and when to sell. I've never much cared for him but this may be a career performance. I love the way Team WAR punches Hash in the mouth right to start, both literally and figuratively. This segues into a more structured tag bout with Team WAR logically trying to isolate Ohara, and succeeding in beating him into a bloody pulp. Squint and Ohara looks like Kenta Kobashi--blood notwithstanding he wrestles a lot like him, too. Eventually he gets the hot tag to Hash and this gets put away. Count me as somebody who actually liked the small package finish. I thought it was a neat way to put the WAR guys over in defeat--even Hashimoto, far and away the #1 guy in the match, is at the point where he decides, "Let's get this the fuck over with."

[WingedEagle]

Super heated. Even the WAR crowd seems to be behind Hashimoto. Hash's kicks on Hara while he has Ohara in a crab are awesome. Hash is the ultimate tough guy. Is there any sense of how instrumental this feud was to his rise as a star? Hara is an ultra all time tough guy. Why does it seem like you don't hear much from him after NJPW vs. WAR. Ohara's face bloodied. Hash breaks up a Fuyuki near fall off of a lariat. Hara with another, awesomely impactful lariat that Hash breaks up. Crowd seems to really be behind Ohara but was still hot for WAR's near falls. Hash breaks up another near fall for Fuyuki off of a backdrop suplex. Ohara finally hot tags Hash after he's been out for a while, and he brings the ruckus to Hara before finishing him with a high kick. I also love that Hash can finish a match in so many ways. Mr. Hashimoto graces us the WAR crew with some choice words on the mic afterwards before heading out. I could watch this feud forever.

 

***3/4

[soup23]

I have been watching a lot of the 2015 NOAH vs. Suzuki-gun feud and that has been a lot of fun but damn if this WAR vs. New Japan stuff a clear step above and even guys I havent cared about or heard about like Ohara and Hara are bringing the goods. This show was awesome overall and it is capped with a heated brawl match that settles into a great storyline match of Hara and Fuyuki mauling Ohara. Fuyuki becomes one of my favorite grumpy old guys at the close of the decade in FMW and Hara gives an inspired performance here after he has been fairly middling since his peak All Japan days. I want to see every interaction of this feud. ****

[...TG]

This was a hell of a show. Insane heat for all three matches on this disc. And the Japanese handhelds I've seen in the yearbooks are miles better than your usual American! Come on American handheld tapers, invest in a damn tripod.

[garretta]

I wasn't invested in this match until I realized that Ohara was a bloody mess. After that, I got into the nearfalls more, and of course Hash coming in, cleaning house, and getting the pinfall was fun to see.

 

New Japan finally gets a win to keep things interesting, even though this is basically the AA version of the rosters except for Hash. Even Hara's a step below guys like Choshu and Tenryu at this point in his career. He could still throw a mean headbutt, though.

 

The crowds for this feud don't divide along promotional lines. I don't know Japanese, but from what I can tell contextually guys like Hash and Choshu get as many cheers as they do boos, even though it's a WAR event.

 

The action here was good, but since I only knew Hash and Hara right off the top of my head, the emotional involvement is missing. I didn't know that the Fuyuki in this match was Ricky from Footloose until I read this thread. Still, I'll save my emotional powder for the titanic confrontations that I know are still to come.