[1993-08-06-NJPW-G1 Climax] Masa Chono vs Hiroshi Hase

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Yet another great match. I'm guessing this tournament is considered quite the bright spot in Hase's career. On par with Hase/Hashimoto for me in terms of quality, maybe slightly better, but both are great. This match has a lot more drama and big moves than Hase/Hashimoto without losing the qualities I really liked in that match. Tremendous nearfalls in the closing minutes. Hase's figure four on the floor was awesome. That move seems to be serving him well in the tournament.

[Zenjo]

The 91 & 92 G1's had the best match as the final. If this had been the 93 final then it would get the praise that it deserves.

 

You'd be hard pressed to find more cerebral bouts than this. For most of the opening 10m Hase worked on the neck area. Unlike other body parts there isn't a list of frequently used moves and holds to select from. If the resultant work is of high quality then the wrestler deserves praise for ingenuity. HH was more than equal to the task, using stunners before they were cool. As it progressed there were clear shifts in momentum and Chono focused on the pre-injured leg. Hase inflicted some leg damage of his own in retaliation. Both men held on to figure-fours outside the ring to try and gain a countout victory. Pursuing such a dishonourable objective showed that victory would be attained by any means necessary.

 

The closing stages were very dramatic with near falls and superb selling. The finishing move was perfection itself. It brought together the neck work and the leg work. It referenced the finisher against Hash where Hase got an upset by using a new move that his opponent couldn't have scouted. And finally by using a variation of Chono's own move it also put across what a big deal it was ending his 11 match unbeaten run in the G1. A highlight in the careers of both men.

[Kevin Ridge]

I really did like the figure fours by both men on the outside. As Zenjo said it might not be the most sporting way to win in from of the Japanese crowd. But I think it showed just as much how each guy wanted this and was willing to get the count out victory. Good teases with each guy just making the count. I'd say I liked this a bit more than the Hash match.

[PeteF3]

Holy shit, the Hash match was a sleeper MOTYC and I thought this was better. Better back-and-forth action, better momentum swings, payback spots, more near-falls, and just incredible psychology from start to finish with Hase targeting Chono's bad neck and Chono going after Hase's taped-up ankle. The neck sort of gets forgotten about but the ankle comes into play several times throughout the match, with Hase switching tactics trying to pay Chono back by going after his own leg. I really loved the dueling figure-fours-on-the-floor spots, not to mention the whole closing stretch. Hase uses the same counter he used to pin Hash but can't put Chono away, hits his Northern Lights suplex but can't bridge, hits the NLS again and DOES bridge but still can't put Chono away...just when you think Hase has fired every bullet in his chamber, he busts out an STF variation and gets ANOTHER shock victory! This has to be his career high point from both an artistic and level-of-push standpoint. I liked this as much as any match to take place in Japan all year, and I'm aware of the implications of that statement.

[JAC]

I'm glad to see this match is getting some love. I bought the commercial tape off of eBay over a decade ago. I never heard this match talked up much, and kind of assumed that most people probably had never seen it in full. I think the most notable thing about the match is that, whereas so many matches seem to have throw away work-the-limb sections that lead to nothing, the time Hase spends working over both Chono's neck AND his leg proves to be fruitful and ties in with the finish. The victory comes across to me as triumph of Hase's ability to effectively take advantage of multiple weaknesses in the opponent that, taken individually, might not have been enough to allow Hase to put him away, but targeted concurrently with the STF variation, were too much for Chono to overcome.

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm not really a fan of either of these guys, though I do like the Hase/Hashimoto matches. I thought this was fairly good when they worked submission holds and not so great at other times. A lot of the early transitions were poor, and I couldn't stand the dueling figure four leg lock spots on the outside. I also couldn't stand their breathing sounds. A lot of people can't stand the screaming in Joshi, but I'd rather listen to that than the noises Hase and Chono make. That was easily solved though as I just put on a record. While I may not have liked some of the details, I thought they did an excellent job of turning their semi into an epic. Hase's victory at the end was really convincing in terms of the emotion. So, overall I'm not sure I'd call it a classic but it was a strong match.

[Loss]

I totally agree on the Chono noises, which are terribly distracting. I don't remember Hase being a noisy wrestler though.

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm fairly certain they took turns making noises while on top. Hmm, that sounded dodgy.

[JAC]

They were pretty noisy, I'll grant you that. I really don't understand how those kind of noises can come naturally out of a person--maybe Chono has a breathing problem and needs to borrow some of Kojima's breath-right strips.

[Ditch]

I can only imagine how many times two NJ dojo graduates who spent years working with guys like Hashimoto would have had their noses broken.

[soup23]

Another great match just slightly below the Hashimoto one for me. Hase targets the neck this time and continues to bust out an impressive array of tactics to focus in on that. Chono is right there and hits a great comeback. The dueling STF were well executed and Hase is able to gain another victory and is gaining quite the momentum in this tournament. ****

[DR Ackermann]

Hiroshi Hase is playing himself right off my GWE list with these G1 matches. They're just not THAT good. Overly long, repetitive and awkward. Why am I watching Hase do neckbreakers for an extended period of time? Where is this going? Not a bad match, but with what these guys were given as far as booking and time, this is what we get? Hase is losing a lot of steam with me and I can't really point to what makes him great at this point. Sure he has charisma, sure he can sell and work the mat. He very good. But very good ain't great.

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm not really a fan of either of these guys, though I do like the Hase/Hashimoto matches. I thought this was fairly good when they worked submission holds and not so great at other times. A lot of the early transitions were poor, and I couldn't stand the dueling figure four leg lock spots on the outside. I also couldn't stand their breathing sounds. A lot of people can't stand the screaming in Joshi, but I'd rather listen to that than the noises Hase and Chono make. That was easily solved though as I just put on a record. While I may not have liked some of the details, I thought they did an excellent job of turning their semi into an epic. Hase's victory at the end was really convincing in terms of the emotion. So, overall I'm not sure I'd call it a classic but it was a strong match.

 

I have dementia and don't remember having watched this. FWIW, I watched it this time while listening to Fat Larry's Band.

 

This was exactly what I'd expect from Hase vs. Chono, and I mean that in a positive sense. It went from being solid to being one of the best Hase matches I've seen in the span of half an hour. The other day I praised the Koshinaka match for the effort they displayed, but the difference here was that I thought this was legitimately great, and I can see why people were frustrated from one G1 to the next. Has the worm turned on how I feel about Hase? Stay tuned true believers and find out! The turning point for me here was when Hase took off his boot and pad and threw them away. That could have been a good visual but a stupid long-term spot. Instead, it seemed to kick start a killer stretch run that felt like it had a horn section accompanying it. I mean I was rooting for Hase and I never thought that would happen. I liked the Hase vs. Chono sections in that '93 tag league semi and this was part vindication that their match-up holds up and part "fuck it, these are two workers I don't really knocking my socks off." The detail work seemed particularly good here and there didn't seem to be any generic pro-wrestling topes. Maybe I'm overly surprised that I liked this, but it delivered in spades.

[garretta]

I really liked this one. It was a clinic on how to wear an opponent down and then start taking out his body parts. The work on the legs done by both men was not only well-executed, but sold brilliantly, and we shouldn't forget Hase's destruction of Chono's neck at the start of the bout, which included heel tactics like grinding Chono's throat over the ropes and stun-gunning him on the guardrail. I didn;t get the sense that Hase was being a heel, though; I think he just wanted to get rid of Chono as quickly as he could in order to save his energy (and his bad leg) for the finals.

 

Those figure-four spots on the outside had to be murder for both guys, since concrete has no give whatsoever. The referee seemed extra anxious to get them back in the ring, and I really couldn't blame him under the circumstances, as an accident of some sort could have changed the direction of the whole promotion going forward. He was really noticeable throughout the match as a whole, probably because so much of it involved submission attempts and other instances where refs have to enforce rules and make counts.

 

Hase beating Chono with a version of his own finisher would normally seem like a "screw you", but again, Hase sold his bad leg so well throughout the match that I can understand him just wanting to use the first thing that had a good chance to work simply to get the match over with.

 

I'll be interested to see the final against Fujinami just to see how much Hase has left after having his knee shredded in at least two matches (and probably more). Can he pull off one more miracle upset to take the tournament? I can't wait to find out!

[Superstar Sleeze]

Masahiro Chono vs Hiroshi Hase - NJPW 8/6/93

This hidden gem comes from the Parv pile during Parv's Hase Period. Masa Chono comes in as the two-time defending G-1 Climax Champion. The winner of this match faces Tatsumi Fujinami in the finals. 

First 15 minutes: Chono had his neck broken in September of 1992 by Steve Austin. Austin loves bringing up his tours of gems but always conveniently forgets this detail, but sure loves telling the story of his own broken neck. Whats crazy it is the same exact move a sitout tombstone. They play it up here to a big effect. The early match is Hase dominating in the amateur wrestling: takedowns and bridges. On a criss-cross, he catches Chono and hotshots him. He works that neck over like nobody's business. Not one, but two Stone Cold Stunners, a dragon sleeper, a backdrop driver and even a piledriver. Man, if I was Chono I would not be happy about that, but it went fine. This is a great example of dry psychology. Every move is focused on the neck and Hase is moving along at a good pace, but it is very dry. Hase can be charismatic, but it is not really on display here. Chono actually does in turn a great selling performance. I think the issue is that it is long and there is not much development. It is just move after move after move on the neck. Eventually Chono hits a backdrop driver and then an enziguiri to take Hase off his feet and Chono has a moment to recuperate. There is a great moment where Chono goes up top and Hase collapses. Chono just hops down woozy. It really puts over the damage both men have taken. Chono does a great job selling having his bell rung. Hase had his left knee wrapped. Chono targets that with ferocity with toeholds and deathlocks. Unfortunately then I noticed something I couldnt unhear. A sound that didnt sound human. I thought it was just something near the camera that was being picked up but apparently it is just how Chono breathes. That does not sound healthy. I think it is going to bother me for the rest of the match. As I left them they were climbing to the top. They established a great foundation even if it was a little dry, a rousing home stretch and this could be a real classic. 

Last Part: Hase hits the first two big bombs of this lo-fi match. A super Northern Lights Suplex then a German Suplex. From there the match becomes about dueling leg psychology. Chono is able to get back on top and work the leg. I dont think that was Chono breathing, I think that was someone else because it just didnt seem in rhythm of the match. Chono applies his world famous STF on the good leg then on the bad leg. Hase makes the ropes. Hase wrangles his own STF and then gets pissed about his own knee. He rips off his knee pad and throws it at Chono. Someone is frustrated. He applies a figure-4. They do this cool spot where they both fall off the apron while in the figure-4. When you are wrapped up like that, thats actually a pretty rough bump to brace for. Hase keeps it applied for the full twenty count. Chono hits a couple Yakuza Kicks to the knee and then applies his own figure-4 and they roll off the apron again. Thats a crazy bump to do twice. I really like the symmetry. The ending is a big bomb run. Hase throws a couple of his patented twisting Urnages and then two Northern Lights Suplexes. First time his knee gives way, second time, Chono kicks out. Chono struggles and manages a DDT, but thats it. He tries to hit repeated Yakuza Kicks, but Hase evades and hits an Axe Bomber. He then applies a reverse STF, it is an STF where Hase is on his back and Chono's back is on Hase's stomach. Hase's shoulders were down and he should have got counted down, but whatever. 

I liked this a lot. Strong psychology throughout. It was a little on the dry side, but they escalated well to the finish. I appreciate a match that is dramatic without a lot of bombs. The dueling STFs and Figure-4s were cool and am glad they finished with a submission. Hase throwing a bunch of bombs at the end felt disjointed. Another New Japan heavies hidden gem. ****

 

[Makai Club #1]

These two had an awesome little gem at the backend of 1992 that ended with Hase beating Chono with a constant assault on the recently injured neck. Hase continues with that strategy in this match too. His cerebral-like targeting of the neck was brilliant. He throws some hard elbows shots to the neck and wicked variations of the stunner with extra torque. Just wearing Chono down with laser focused offence. Hase even indulged in some heelish tactics as well by slamming Chono throat-first onto the ropes. Chono’s selling is fantastic in the process. If anyone is able to sell neck pain, it’s Chono. But I love what he brings offensively to the match as well. I loved the work he did on the ankle and shins of Hase. Just grind, grind, grind in order to regain the advantage. The match is rich with high level drama and submission work. The best matches are when critical submissions are the high spots of the match. And Chono’s STF brings that in spades. Hase’s figure four is just as important for the match too as it transitions into the final third of the match. The back and forth flow between these two was so compelling. The struggle in the momentum, the figure four rolling spots to the outside, the immense selling from both wrestlers. Just incredible. Hase’s barrage of uranages and northern light suplexes matched against Chono’s Yakuza kicks was the perfect note to end the match on. But instead they keep going and perhaps get the even better finish of Hase getting the submission win with Chono’s own STF. Brilliant. Just brilliant. I don’t know. Everything about this match thrilled me. It’s made me all giddy. Incredible selling throughout the match. Great pacing that was able to get the best out of both wrestlers' styles and add all the little details to go with that overarching story. Outstanding match. ****3/4

[fxnj]

I have to admit to being a bit skeptical of this being that it's post-neck injury Chono, but after watching it I'm officially on the hype train for this match. It blows away the overrated Hash/Hase matches in pretty much every facet whether it's focused psychology, crowd heat, pacing, or selling. I really love the clear throughline here of them spending the whole match working over each others' injuries. It might have just been the camera angle, but the hotshot that started Hase's neck attack looked a lot rougher than how I'm used to seeing that spot. He goes full-on dick mode from there attacking Chono's neck in all kinds of ways, and Chono deserves a lot of credit here not only for his selling but also in being willing to eat such an attack in the first place less than a year removed from the injury.

Chono's comeback leg work was also made pretty compelling by Hase's selling, and the Yakuza kick that got Chono back in the match looked snug. There's also some nice details in the matwork like Chono moving his leg away when Hase tries to grab it to counter an Indian deathlock, or Chono using his hand to stop Hase from raising up Chono's head during Hase's first STF attempt. Unlike a lot of post-80's NJPW matwork where it just feels like they're killing time, they put a lot of let of effort into selling the cumulative impact of the holds while still keeping things moving. Watching Hash matwork made me think that 90's crowds just didn't buy into submissions anymore, but this match has me rethinking that as the crowd got huge into the submissions here, especially down the stretch. Hase's rolling outside figure four and Chono's receipt were both fantastic and really got me into the match.

Last few minutes were perfectly laid out and had the crowd biting on everything they did. Much of the second half saw Hase try to retaliate against Chono's leg attack with some leg work of his own, so him shutting Chono down with an uranage was a great surprise that paid off the earlier neck work. Ditto him not being able to fully capitalize on his follow-up Northern Lights due to the bad leg. Even Chono just kind of getting up afterwards and hitting a Yakuza kick instead of doing some big counter transition worked to sell Hase's fading cardio. I loved the struggle for Hase's failed attempt to land one more uranage on Chono. When Chono escapes it really looked like Hase was spent. Then just when you think Chono's weathered the storm, Hase busts out a surprise reverse STF and Chono has no choice but to tap. Brilliant stuff.