[1992-10-21-NJPW-Super Grade Tag League] Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Very good, high-energy tag match. New Japan has had lots of dull patches in '92, but this is one of the better all-native heavies matches of the set. They cut a nice pace, and Hash and Hase, as always, look really good against each other. I also continue to like Sasaki trying to work at a level above what he can do because he wants to be really good, although here, he doesn't look like he's trailing behind the others so much.

[Ditch]

At one point Hash whips Sasaki and gives him a back elbow. I think to myself "hey, on the AJ set, Choshu would do that after a whip by his partner". So that's what they do! Continuity! Good energy, good crowd, but a couple botches and several minutes of chinlockery keep this from greatness. Okay the chinlocks do grow on me as HaseKen use them to control things. A bit annoying that HaseKen never seemed that close to winning, but still, a good match.

[shoe]

I thought this was a really good tag. This was hard hitting. Sasaki looked like he belonged here. Hase and Hash was great, and Choshu looked strong as well.

[PeteF3]

Solid tag match, with Sasaki & Hase getting a chance to show a lot on offense. Even in New Japan as opposed to All-Japan, this result seemed to be fairly foregone, and Choshu & Hash do come back rather easily, but it was fun while it lasted. The Riki Lariat to the back into the Hash DDT was definitely an effective transition move.

[WingedEagle]

Very good tag action here. Great early slap exchange b/w Hash & Sasaki before a lariat takes Hash down. Hash's offense is far & away the best in NJ, with great pacing, impact & selling. He's always working in close quarters and doesn't hold back and as a result is looks awesome. Hase retaping his knee mid-match is a nice touch. Pop for Sasaki enzuigiri bringing Hash down to one knee, which prompts Choshu to level Hase on the apron. Sasaki goes for power bomb on Choshu, Hash kicks him a few times to break it up. Solid finish with Hash & Choshu working together to take out Sasaki. Really good, fun match that never felt slow.

 

****

[DR Ackermann]

I keep looking at Sasaki on this set as a newcomer whose trying really hard, so it surprised me to read that he debuted in '86. He's definitely not a "natural" like Dustin Rhodes, but I respect his effort. With that said I thought this was really good.

[garretta]

This match was the finals of NJPW's equivalent to the Real World Tag League. Both teams really brought their A game; Hase and Sasaki looked much better than they did the previous month against the Steiners. In the end, though, the size and power of Choshu and Hash were just too much.

 

Nice use of the sleeper as a weardown move by Hase and Sasaki, though it bugs me when a wrestler has a guy almost out from a sleeper (as in, the arm's already dropped twice) and then lets the hold go. It seems to happen mostly in Japan for whatever reason, and this match has a prime example, as Hash's arm drops twice from a Hase sleeper, but Hase releases the hold and tags out before the ref can even check Hash's arm a third time. Does anyone know why a spot like this is used?

 

It seems a bot weird to do a tournament like this when your top team (the Steiners) is unavailable due to commitments back in the States. I just looked this up on Wikipedia, and the best they could do for a purely gaijin team was Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and Tom Zenk, who got completely shut out.

[dawho5]

Fun tag for sure.  I liked the way that Hase and Kensuke actually worked the chinlocks instead of just sitting in them.  The lariat/DDT transition basically guaranteed a Hash/Hoshu win, especially after Hash had DDTed Hase.