[1992-08-11-NJPW-G1 Climax] Masa Chono vs Keiji Muto

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I'd imagine this played off of their '91 match, and they seem to have quite a few G-1 matches, but while I really liked the '96 match, this one was tough for me to get into. Good moments of offense, but a lot of laying on the mat. It wasn't bad, but I expected it to be better.

[Tim Evans]

This just felt like it would never stop. Keji Muto is kinda boring compared to Great Muta. And Chono is ok and I like the different ways he's able to hook in the STF but this was kinda boring.

[shoe]

I thought this was excellent. I enjoyed the mat work. I can understand if people thought it dragged. They were on the mat for about 9 minutes. Then they started to go and criss crossing up each others spots. That was cool. The finish was weird. They went to that Yakuza kick, block, drop kick, STF spot at least 5 times. Finally, we get Chono clamp on the STF for the win.

[Kevin Ridge]

I expected more so it was disappointing in the end. Do have trouble getting into the New Japan Heavys matches that go long. I haven't been too thrilled with this G1 from the matches included so far.

[WingedEagle]

We get a pretty quick start with counters and strikes before things slow down. Muto delivers a dragon screw here before it was the hot move. Pretty clear early on we're not getting a repeat of the '91 Final but this isn't a stinker either. Muto works extensively on Chono's neck with a couple suplexes. We get a neat sequence where they trade Yakuza kicks and dropkicks before Chono wins with his second STF.

 

***1/4

[PeteF3]

Big disappointment considering their MOTY in the previous year's tournament. There were some nice bombs and sequences but also a lot of laying around. The previous year had some great, compelling matwork and this really didn't. And man, that Yakuza kick-vs.-dropkick thing just kept going--I couldn't get into what they were doing with that at all.

 

This wasn't bad, and the finish was decisive and put Chono over big, but it was overlong and the expectations were for at least another outstanding match--not necessarily another ***** classic. But we didn't really come close.

[Zenjo]

After last years G1 classic this was a clear attempt to recreate the magic. Like most film sequels it failed badly. The disappointing thing is that it wasn't even a good match. The crowd were dying for something to cheer for, but the whole thing was slow paced and never really got going. Even at the end they were still laying around instead of doing big moves. At 26m long this made it rather boring.

[El-P]

I thought this was excellent. I enjoyed the mat work. I can understand if people thought it dragged. They were on the mat for about 9 minutes. Then they started to go and criss crossing up each others spots. That was cool. The finish was weird. They went to that Yakuza kick, block, drop kick, STF spot at least 5 times. Finally, we get Chono clamp on the STF for the win.

 

Pretty much agree, although I really don't see how anyone could say that they "lay on the mat". They exchanged holds but always kept things moving, playing the equality game until Mutoh did hook up the indian deathlock for a while, but it built to a backdrop driver and piledriver and basically Mutoh working on Chono's neck, which he sold really well. I agree the finishing sequence was a nice idea that turned into an odd one, repeating the pattern way too much before the conclusion. Aside from that, they played off their familiarity really well, worked nice transitions and overall had a very good match I thought.

[garretta]

Between the endless mat sequences in the first half and the lack of high-impact moves, I found this match much duller than it should have been, particularly with a shot at the NWA World title at stake. I wasn't alone, as the crowd seemed deader than a sack of hammers. They tried a little bit of storytelling with Chono's neck, but it never really want anywhere. We've seen much better from each man before, and hopefully we will again from Chono in the finals against Rude.

 

What was it with that Chono boot to the head/Muta dropkick sequence right at the end? They repeated it no less than seven times by my count. In fact, the finish came after Chono swatted away Muta's seventh attempted dropkick and locked in the STF. Was this sequence planned or did each man's groove get stuck in the heat of battle?

[dawho5]

I really, really wanted to like the matwork in the opening part of the match.  I actually did like the really awkward, between-submissions positions both guys got stuck in a couple of times.  Once Mutoh took charge I thought it was too little Chono for a long, long time.  And the thing that really got to me about it didn't hit until after a bunch of Mutoh nearfalls that the crowd just wasn't even beginning to care about.  Once Mutoh misses the moonsault and Chono grabs the STF the crowd is alive for the first time since the opening sequence.  And Chono had barely gotten offense in the preceding 8 minutes of the match. 

Was the crowd hip to Mutoh not winning this match all along?  Were they not into his offense?  I thought he had a lot of cool offense and a good amount of it focused on the neck, which Chono sold like a champ.  For whatever reason I didn't find it as compelling as I thought I should have.  Then more Mutoh nearfalls and more crowd not buying it and Chono makes his comeback before that goofy Yakuza kick-dropkick thing.  At best you get 2 or 3 repetitions before one guy catches on and punishes what he knows is coming for all he's worth.  Instead it wiped out pretty much the entire match that came before it.  Chono kept getting up just a little quicker than Mutoh, showing more resilience I imagine, but he had taken the lion's share of the damage leading up to it and hadn't worn Mutoh down much at all.  If the first two-thirds was uninspiring for reasons I don't understand, I can at least put into words why I didn't like the finish.