[1995-12-11-NJPW-Battle Final] Keiji Muto vs Shiro Koshinaka

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I liked their previous match, but this one is even better -- probably one of Koshinaka's best singles matches. These two just complement each other really well. Nice in how it fits into the big picture too. Muto ate a loss to Koshinaka at the G-1, which gives Kosh some cred here as a challenger, and Muto keeps going back to the figure four, on the strength of Takada submitting to the move in October. Muto sometimes overdoes the dragon screw leg whip in his matches -- I like the move, but I don't need to see it a half-dozen times in one match -- but other than that, this is the bees knees.

[Ditch]

I think this smokes both Mutoh/Takada matches by an order of magnitude.

[El-P]

I think this smokes both Mutoh/Takada matches by an order of magnitude.

True, but that's not very hard to do.

[Tim Evans]

I'm not getting the love for this match. Seemed like it was mostly restholds and then Muto locks on the figure four and wins. Kinda felt flat.

[PeteF3]

Easily better than the October Dome match, that's not even up for debate. Not as good as the G1, but I do like how Mutoh's established the figure four as a legit finisher now. Kosh gets some good near-falls--and a few nice kickouts, including one on Mutoh's moonsault--and looks credible as a challenger, but Mutoh decisively puts him away.

[Superstar Sleeze]

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Keiji Mutoh vs Shiro Koshinaka - NJPW 12/11/95

 

I have not seen much of Koshinaka. He was the leader of a lame mid-90s midcard stable known as Heisei Ishingun, which I had never heard of until about a week ago. Nobody ever really amounted to anything from that stable from I can tell and they never really had any angle of note. This is Mutoh's title defense in between title defenses against Nobuhiko Takada.

 

Very enjoyable match. You just have to come to grips that New Japan heavies don't sell. Hashimoto is probably the best but even he doesn't do long term selling. It could be powerbomb-powerbomb-Dragon Suplex, yep Im doing the next move now. As a bombfest, this is super fun, just don't expect anything with depth. I thought the beginning NWA-style championship wrestling was well done. Koshinaka used his ass attack to set up his headlock. Mutoh's used a great dropkick to set up his leg work. Tight legwork from Mutoh that Koshinaka never sold in the match except once. Koshinaka hits a bulldog and works some holds. Mutoh gets caught in back handspring elbow and eats a Dragon Suplex, but Koshinaka cant hold on. Koshinaka hits a powerbomb for a good nearfall. I really liked the symmetry of Mutoh catching Koshinaka on his ass attack and suplexing him. I think at this point Mutoh does some Dragon Leg Whips. I love 2001 Mutoh so I am cool when he wrestles like this. Awesome finish stretch from Mutoh. That springboard dropkick is awesome! Really good at it. Nice top rope Frankensteiner. Eats knees on the moonsault, but Koshinaka actually sells it. But then hits two powerbombs and Dragon Suplex. Like when I say they don't sell this is what I mean. They will sell in the moment but not throughout. Mutoh eats all this offense and it is Dragon Leg Whip City. Moonsault is kicked out, but it is ok because it back to Dragon Leg Whips and Figure-4s to win the match. We were one Shining Wizard from a great 2001 Mutoh match. I enjoyed this a lot. Thought the finish stretch was wicked fun, but yeah the not selling hurts it. ***1/2

[Zenjo]

Not a lot of down time here as they maintained a spritely pace. Good atmosphere too. Both men had the spark and dynamism to energise a crowd on demand. They had the best bout of the G1 in August and combined well again with the IWGP Title at stake. There isn't much to choose between the two encounters. Mutoh worked over the leg with periodic Dragon Screws. His focused approach would eventually pay dividends. Kosh threatened the win beforehand. At one stage it seemed headed for a higher rating, but some of the selling later on didn't ring true.

[SirEdger]

That match was a nice discovery for me because I hadn't seen a Koshinaka match yet. Also thought there was a lot of restholds in the early stages of the match but I really got into it with the Muto-handspring-elbow-caught-in-Koshinaka-Dragon-Suplex spot. Afterwards, it picks up all cylinders with Muto relying on the Dragon Screw Leg Whip to weaken Koshinaka with eventually getting the victory with the Moonsault. Speaking of which, Muto's moonsault might be my favorite ever. Just the way he just comes down with an impact. Sure, aesthetically, one would argue that Kurt Angle's or Charlotte Flair's is better but visually, Muto's is everything I want in the desired effect.

 

One thing that surprised me though is that given that Muto seemed to have some stitches above his eye, I would've thought Koshinaka would heel it up and try to go after it to gain an advantage. Am I the only one under this impression?