[1991-05-06-NJPW-Dream Win III] Jushin Liger vs Hiroshi Hase

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is a great quality handheld that I really wanted to include. It's one of those matches I remember "hearing" about, but I have no idea where. It may have been talked about in the WON, or it may have been something on some best of 1991 comps. I'm not sure. I may have even made it up in my head. All I know is that this is a strong year for both guys and they were given plenty of time, so it felt right to include this.

 

The match doesn't disappoint at all. In terms of execution, this is pretty peerless. The matwork was really urgent and vicious, and they didn't make a huge deal of the junior vs heavy dynamic, which I appreciated, as it would have seemed out of place. They really sold the effects of all the strong matwork for the first 20 minutes of this in a big way, so the bomb dropping down the final stretch seems like two guys just getting desperate to get a lucky win. I'm not sure I've ever seen Hase look better than he does in this match.

[shoe]

This was great. The 1st 10 minutes or so we get some really great work on the mat. It had a real 70's style feel to it with more modern stuff mixed in. Then the match morphs into both guys just working over each others arms. Hase in particular was really nasty. It had a real Anderson/Garvin quality to it. A little later Liger busts out some flashy offense. Though he stops and goes back to attacking the arm. I popped big for that. Hase does a cool leverage spot that takes Liger to the outside. Hase posts Liger on the outside. Hase starts working over Liger's back which really gives a sense of urgency. We start building to a hot finish with Liger's high flying offense versus Hase's suplex. Just great stuff.

[PeteF3]

The armwork here was really hurty and aggressive, with Hase's kneedrops onto the elbow looking particularly vicious. Each guy takes turns trying to work the arm and then we gradually build into bombs, with Liger taking advantage of an injured rib/stomach area to get some near-falls of his own. Then he runs into a Hase golden arm bomber and that turns the tide more or less for good. Liger withstands most of Hase's finish attempts but the Northern Lights suplex puts him away. Really good stuff, miles ahead of Hase's '80s juniors work.

[Childs]

I need to rewatch this. I always find it technically strong but only modestly engaging.

[Kevin Ridge]

Hase was really yanking in the arm wringer. Even lifting up Liger in the air at one point. Hase has more control in the match but doesn’t feel like it has to do with the weight difference but that he is more of the aggressor. Turned into a good match. Liked how even though it was a hand held cam it didn’t feel like one.

[soup23]

Fantastic match from two of my favorite guys to watch right now. The mat work was really great and we had a lot of payback spots between the two. I like that Hase took a more grounded approach and threw bombs to counteract the high octane offense of Liger. Handheld was awesome.

[Zenjo]

Full of the joys of Spring. Complete of pureness, they really gave the fans a show. A lengthy 28m encounter that never got dull thanks to the strong technical work throughout. The workrate was impressive and they mixed in highspots to create a nice flow. Plenty of well thought out arm attacks and neat little touches of psychology. Liger threatened the upset before Hase took control at the end and beat the time limit. Wholesome, and great fun too.

[garretta]

The arm work in this would make the Andersons proud, and so would Hase's destruction of Liger's back. But as vicious as Hase's attacks got, I never got the impression that Hase was fighting dirty or heeling, simply doing what he needed to do to win. Liger matches the armwork at first (more than adequately, I may add) before going to the high flying he's famous for. The only problem was, the crowd got in the way, so we had to pretty much guess whether the dives landed on target or not. Eventually, Hase's superior size, strength, and technical expertise tell the tale, and his Northern Lights suplex puts Liger down for three.

 

A question about New Japan booking: Were losses by junior heavyweights to heavyweights seen as damaging in terms of pecking order? If so, this was a disaster for Liger, as he's lost three in a row (as of the end of May) to Honaga, someone clearly beneath him, and now he's been beaten clean (albeit in a good showing) by Hase. He needs to pick things up in a hurry if he's to be seen as any sort of contender for the junior heavyweight title again.

[PeteF3]

No, they really weren't. I think if a non-ace junior like Samurai were to pin anyone above the mid-card heavies, it'd have been seen as a colossal upset, and a pretty big upset if Liger were to do it. Plus Hase was essentially in Liger's role for the latter part of the '80s, so at worst they'd be seen as being on even ground.

[garretta]

That's what I was looking for. Thanks for the explanation, Pete!

[JKWebb]

I agree that the arm work at the beginning looked really good, but it's kind of a bummer it didn't come into play at all throughout the course of the match. NBD though, as I thought they really delivered with the excitement down the stretch. A really good match that wasn't quite great to me, but overall it was really entertaining. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I think the handheld aspect adds a level of mystique that might bump up the enjoyment level for those of us that like to find hidden treasures. It's kind of like the basement tapes or garage recordings that might get released of one of your favorite bands.

[dawho5]

I liked how awesome (and hurty) the over the shoulder armbreaker looked on a shorter guy like Liger. THAT is something that ought to have been ripped off time and again. The Jim Breaks stomps to the arm and kneedrops that followed were spectacular. One touch I loved was Hase getting the advantage through more heavyweight means, then Liger taking control through flying. Hase decides to go up top, which only solidifies Liger's advantage when he is countered. Great bit of junior vs. heavyweight psychology that makes it's point without overstating it.

[Jetlag]

I'd never heard about this match until Classics Road uploaded it 3 days ago, and now I find out people have known about this for years. What the hell? This was fantastic and one of the Top 5, maybe Top 3 best matches Hase been in. It starts out pretty great with about 11 minutes of tight matwork that leads to both guys getting angrier and eventually trying to tear each others arms out. All the matwork felt fresh thanks to both guys having legit ability and doing some things they dropped later (for example, the double arm hold Liger did). The tangling armbreaker spots were great and Hases kneedrops to the elbow joint were insane, looked to turn Ligers arm inside out. Liger hitting a dive and blasting Hase with his rolling kick unexpectedly were a good way to let the audience know Liger could hang and very well upset Hase. The structure here reminded me a bit of a lucha title match, with the opening lengthy matwork and then Liger hitting some nice armdrags before Hase took over working his back. There were some pretty intense back stretches with Liger breaking out of the holds looking painful. Then Liger was able to hit a surprise powerbomb to knock the wind out of Hase. Last 10 minutes were insane, Liger whiping Hase out with huge dives, the crowd going nuts etc. I really liked how Liger, after Hase crashed with a top rope move, wasn't going to make the same mistake and just hit a double stomp, before following up with a dropkick to the ribs. There were lots of nearfalls, but they managed to make rather basic spots like a Camel Clutch or Liger tackling Hase into the turnbuckle feel epic. Also loved the epic nearfall on the Giant Swing and Hase desperately avoiding the suplexes. It reminded me a bit of Liger/Schuhmann in that they mixed in basic sequences for maximum effect.

 

Checking now, this missed both Loss' and Chads Top 30 for the year. Yeah no, this is way better than that stupid Mutoh/Chono match.

[ohtani's jacket]

Y'know, I've wanted to see this match ever since I got into Japanese wrestling, which is more than 20 years ago now. A match I've been wanting to see for 20 years. Weird.

It's good. One of the better Hase matches I can remember seeing (not a guy I'm high on), and recently I've started to appreciate prime Liger again after viewing his Euro bouts. It didn't change my life, but it was a damn good match. I never really thought I'd want to watch a Liger match again, but I'm starting to see the similarities with Santo where both guys excel at working their formula. I loved the intensity at the beginning, and I was surprised by the shotei attack from Liger. I didn't realize he was using that move in '91. Great finishing stretch. Liger's dives looked great, and I liked how he sold his disappointment at the end.