[1992-03-01-NJPW-Big Fight Series] Masa Chono vs Shinya Hashimoto

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

On the slow side, but brutal with lots of great selling. Hashimoto gets his nose bloodied early on and he and Chono exchange some really hard shots. I've already noticed that seeing the natives against each other in New Japan isn't the same guarantee of a decent match like it was in 1993 or 1996, based on some earlier matches on this set. But this is a very good match. Hashimoto wins with a jumping DDT.

[Tim Evans]

Chono had the STF on for what seemed like 5 minutes. OK match but like Loss said, on the slow side.

[shoe]

It was a solid match that could get lost in the shuffle of some much greater bouts. Still this was a hard fought bout. Though I did find the pacing slow too.

[MikeCampbell]

This just didn't click the way I expected Hashimoto vs. Pre Neck Injury Chono. It wasn't bad, and had some fun moments, but it's rather forgettable.

[Zenjo]

A nicely understated match that I very much appreciated. They never left the ring, never cheated and didn't even run the ropes much. All the action took place in the heart of the squared circle. They created a certain intimacy and drew the viewer in. The moves were hard hitting and not too flashy. They stripped things down and produced a keen sporting contest between 2 evenly matched peers. On this day Hash got a degree of payback for the G1. There would be many battles down the line.

[WingedEagle]

This went a bit long and was slow in spots, but they delivered enough at critical moments to keep things compelling. Hash of course delivers a bloody noce and the heat picks up when they start trading kicks, even if its Chono can't quite match the brutality. Conclusive victory for Shinya.

 

***1/4

[PeteF3]

Very deliberate, but they crafted a nice long match without the need for a lot of 2-counts and very basic action until Hash's belly-to-belly superplex. Not a classic, but a showcase of two guys who knew how to work in addition to knowing how to brutalize each other.

[xlynwoodx]

Fine match, Hashimoto has some good kicks. Kind of ended abruptly, it seemed like they were going longer but Hashimoto got the pin after the first high impact spot. Another five minutes or so would've really helped.

[garretta]

This was almost fought like a shoot-style match at times with all the brutal kicks and chops. It was slow, but never boring, as you got the sense that these were two guys who knew each other well and were looking for an opening, not just resting or filling time.

 

Shinya breaking the STF twice, even by going to the ropes, is a huge deal and really puts him over as one of the toughest guys in the promotion. So does Chono taking two regular DDTs before succumbing to the jumping version that earned Shinya the win.

 

I didn't see the shot that bloodied Shinya's nose, but given the nature of the bout I'm surprised that Chono wasn't busted open somehow as well.

 

The most interesting thing about this bout is that these two are going to be partners later this month against Vader and Bam Bam. Will they be able to trust each other enough to work together against these two monsters? I can't wait to find out!

[dawho5]

Good, stiff match between these two. Nothing spectacular, but it had all the stiff shots you could ask for and I liked that they kept it simple. With the way they wrestled the match going too big would have gone away from the expectation they had created.

[JKWebb]

Yeah, I'm right with Zenjo.  I really found some strong appreciation for the intensity they brought,  and the stripped down match they had here.  It really sucked me in.