Shinya Hashimoto

[Phil Schneider]

When watching for the Memphis sets I remember how bad Hashimoto would kill Chris Frazier, he would work regular against the other jobbers and maul Frazier. Have you seen this match? Maybe my favorite live match ever and a great obscure Hashimoto match

 

[GOTNW]

Of course, ditto the Steve Corino match. My favourite thing about it is how in the beginning there were are a few instances where Hashimoto looked kind of lost (or maybe the indy guys were just really shitty at setting up stuff?) which made sense considering he'd probably never worked a four way but then he just started wrecking fools and by the end of the match when he's trading blows with Corino it feels like the greatest thing you'll ever see.

[GOTNW]

I'll just keep doing these:

 

Shinya Hashimoto vs Keiji Mutoh-NJPW 10.12.1993.

Hash-Mutoh is an intriguing match-up, one that should be great but you always have to be weary of Mutoh dogging it. I remember enuhito mentioning in an article Masa Funaki said Mutoh as the best shootfighter in New Japan back in the day which amused me since I always saw Mutoh's matwork more as a philosophical choice than a demonstration of skill (he mentioned in an interview beginning matches with ground wrestling was Inoki's and his style and that Choshu basically invented the modern puro style due to his impatience). Though I take his comments with a grain of salt since Mutoh and Funaki are buddies and Mutoh was also his employer at the time. I mostly liked the matwork here, Mutoh is often guilty of just grabbing a limb and spacing out but here it felt like a fight for control. Hash firing himself up after Mutoh had dominated him was awesome. I'd say this was in the same vein as famous NewJa matches like Mutoh/Chono and the Hase/Sasaki-Mutoh/Chono tag in that it was mostly about the finishing stretch, and it more than delivered here, just great drama all around. Faveourite moment was probably Hashimoto gradually accelerating his breathing before spinning heel kicking Mutoh into oblivion.

Shinya Hashimoto, Keiji Mutoh, Steve Regal, Manabu Nakanishi & Kensuke Sasaki vs Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton, Marcus Bagwell, nWo sting & Hiroyoshi Tenzan-NJPW 20.3.1997.

Super fun elimination match, watching NewJa fans eat up Buff Bagwell's shtick was hilarious as were some of the eliminations, Hashimoto was as great as you'd expect him to be, particularly at the end when he was fighting off multiple people by himself which isn't something you'd usually see from him.

Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoji Anjoh-NJPW 25.2.1996.

Wonderful match, Takayama and Anjoh play great dick heels, making fun of Hirata's SSM gimmick, Hashimoto is the ultimate badass, every time he enters the ring the momentum of the match completely shifts, really wish this style of tag team wrestling with more focus on extended control segments, cutting off the ring and just generally trying to win was more prominent today, there's no reason to stand on the apron and look around when your partner's pinned after a big move.

Shinya Hashimoto & Riki Choshu vs The Great Muta & Masahiro Chono-NJPW 6.7.1997.

This is basically Hogan & Cena vs Austin & Rock in terms of charisma, not even Mutoh and Chono could fuck this up, this was more of a Choshu showcase but I am a gigantic Choshu fan so I was more than fine with it, Hash performed his role really well, saving Choshu and cleaning the ring with A+ offence.

Shinya Hashimoto, Riki Choshu & Junji Hirata vs Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito-NJPW 12.2.1995.

 

I saw a write up on this match on a DVDVR some time ago and it sounded incredible. Boy did it deliver. Complete carnage, everyone hates everyone, Choshu and Hash DEMOLISH Tenzan, just murdering him with kicks and lariats, everyone's brawling at ringside, hitting each other with chairs and anything they can get their hands on, they continue brawling after the match, then after everything clears up and they're seperated Choshu attacks the ref, THEN they cut angry promos and shittalk each other backstage and almost get into it again.

Shinya Hashimoto, Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs The Great Kabuki, Shiro Koshinaka & Kengo Kimura-NJPW 16.2.1993.

I was disappointed with this one, not sure how I'd rate it, I really enjoyed the beginning and finish but the meat of the match completely lost me, I am a huge Koshinaka and Kabuki fan but this wasn't their finest hour, Kimura I also like but he seemed totally washed up here, Mutoh didn't give a shit and Chono only started giving a shit at the end. It's not even that Koshinaka and Kabuki put on bad performances, Koshinaka actually put on a good one, but it just wasn't enough. This was good whenever Hashimoto was in the ring, any time he'd tag in I'd wake up from a half-slumber. Basically if this were Hashimoto working a handicap match against Koshinaka and Kabuki it would've ruled. But alas. This did make me want to check out more Hashimoto vs. Koshinaka.

Shinya Hashimoto & Masa Saito vs Dusty Rhodes Jr. & Scott Norton-NJPW 4.1.1993.

Good match, enjoyed them smacking each other but it wasn't anything special, the Hashimoto in peril segment went on for too long, Dustin looked like the worst worker here, messing up a few times and doing a comical sell of Hashimoto's Lariat. Still if you want to see grown men chest slap each other a lot this is the stuff.

Shinya Hashimoto vs The Great Oz-NJPW 17.5.1992.

I had no idea Hashimoto wrestled KEVIN NASH. Kevin Nash is not very good at the wrestling. This wasn't very good but it wasn't bad either. Solid use of my time, Nash busting out a leapfrog and a high kick was hilarious, Hash sold for him big due to his size but Nash's offence wasn't much, highlight of the match was Hash waking up the crowd at the end by firing up and kicking and DDTing Nash into oblivion, great finish to a match that felt a lot more cohesive than I'd expected, Hash didn't seem to get lost working goofs most other wrestlers would have trainwrecks against.

Shinya Hashimoto vs Bill Kazmaier-NJPW 4.1.1992.

Boy nothing says "great and accomplished pro wrestler" like having to figure out how katakana converts to roman letters and going "WHO?". Anyway, this guy.....Bill.........this guy Bill was kind of a powerlifter/strongman world champion yadda yadda. He looked somewhat charismatic here but didn't bring much, Hashimoto played a great face in peril and got the crowd behind him really well and then made a good looking comeback. Solid match, but a really impressive Hash carry-job, especially when you consider how Bill couldn't even take a proper back bump by himself the two times in the match he needed to for the Suimengiris.

[JerryvonKramer]

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2/17/94)

 

People said they want no play by play or description, but just pure analysis and opinion. I can do that.

 

I love all the basic matwork in this. They aren't doing anything flashy at all, but there's an unrivaled intensity and crispness to it all -- the sense that we're watching something with high stakes -- that makes every move and hold work. Everything counts when these two lock up. Deliberate, punishing and hard hitting wrestling. I can dig it.

 

This match is super smart. Because they spend so much time on the mat not doing any highspots, Hashimoto's first big kick around the halfway point gets a massive pop.

All of this is true, but it still means that out of a match that goes maybe 17 minutes, they spend the first 10 of it on the mat, exchanging basic arm locks and leg locks. Perfectly fine if you are going 30 mins+, but this was basically a sprint.

 

This is where the NJ stuff always seems to compare badly to the AJ stuff for me. This should have been a five star classic, but it's not by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Yes, intensity, yes stiffness. Yes basic matwork. Yes, Tenryu is the most disdainful mother fucker who ever walked the planet. But the match is too short and they just don't do enough stuff to fill up the time.

 

I am also not entirely sure what the story of this match was apart from the big finish. Hash kept Tenryu grounded, for the most part preventing bombs. When Tenryu was on top, he did his disdainful kicks. It's not exactly a psychological masterpiece.

 

Good fun, but I just don't see this going in the conversation with the Steamboat-Flairs, Kawada-Misawas or Jumbo-Tenryus. Match just wasn't good enough. Great for what it is, but no better. A match like this would have no chance of making my top 100.

 

****

[WingedEagle]

Bring back the play by play and description!

[JerryvonKramer]

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Riki Choshu (8/2/96)

 

This has such a brilliant old man vs. hot young thing vibe. It's Paul Newman vs. Tom Cruise in the Color of Money. It's the old cop back for one last case.

 

And Jesus do they smack the shit out of each other here. This is probably the best Choshu singles match I can recall seeing because it is predominantly strike-based rather than mat-based. The early exchanges do a fantastic job of setting the tone and telling the story. I loved the moment when Hash kicks his leg and Choshu comes back with a massive slap to Hash's face.

 

That's what Choshu can do better than the vast majority of guys to ever step in there: have a moment like that resonate. And really let it sink in and register the full impact. He's a master at that, and we get many moments like it during this one.

 

This is just pure violence and intensity. You can see the sweat smash off them as they connect the lariats and chops. Really fantastic match that feels massive and tells a wonderful story.

 

If Matt D ever wanted an exhibit for his "anti-rate" campaign, this would have to be right there. Loved it. And see, this is a match that would go straight into my top 100. This is pro wrestling right here. ****4/3

[Jmare007]

Possibly my favorite "spot" (not sure how to call it) ever is Hash screaming "CHOSUUU!" before getting killed by the nth lariat in that match.

[GOTNW]

Glad to discover you are in fact human and loved that match. I wrote a gigantic post about that match and all the layers in it but it was in croatian so no direct c/p unfortunately.

[JerryvonKramer]

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (2/24/94)

 

If the narrative of the Choshu 96 match was old vs. young, this one is big vs. small. Or rather fat vs. not fat, or if you want heavyweight vs. junior. Whatever you want to call it, it comes across. This match really benefits from the extra ten mins or so, it's closer to thirty mins than twenty and so they have the extra time for that obligatory NJ early matwork to actually build towards a satisfying climax. The bombs in the finish stretch are great and they pay off because the whole bout is very well paced.

 

It's very well worked and I loved the finish. What an amazing brainbuster. I'd take this over your typical Rey match for sure, and it's about as good as a match worked in these parameters could be. However, Hash really isn't that much bigger than Liger and I kinda wished that they'd have gone for a straight up match a bit more. If I had my way there'd be no such thing as Juniors or Cruiserweights.

 

****1/2

[jdw]

I am also not entirely sure what the story of this match was apart from the big finish. Hash kept Tenryu grounded, for the most part preventing bombs. When Tenryu was on top, he did his disdainful kicks. It's not exactly a psychological masterpiece.

 

 

Maybe would have been better to start with their prior two matches from the years before. Basic story is that Tenryu had run the table with New Japan, including just pinning Inoki, which was on the extreme rate end of things natives did. Hash was the last line of defense to retain NJPW honor before Tenryu wandered off. He also was 0-2 against Tenryu at the time.

 

So this isn't just the climax of a trilogy, but also of an 18 month old NJPW vs WAR (really Tenryu) feud.

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Toshiaki Kawada-AJPW 22.2.2004.

 

Hashimoto, the previous champion, challenges Kawada to take back the Triple Crown Championship he'd never lost. Hashimoto had to vacate the title after a shoulder injury. This was actually one of the first Hashimoto matches I'd ever seen. When I watched it I thought it was a great match, but I watched it in a vacuum, not understanding all the nuances and psychology that were present in this match, and also with a much different mindset than the one I currently have (All Japan is the best wrestling ever, Marufuji is the best, more apron moves please). I thought it was a great match because they hit each other hard. But that's kind of omnipresent in every Hashimoto and Kawada match. This isn't worked like any other Hashimoto match and definitely not like any other Kawada match. I swear this was going to be at least **** for me for the entrances alone. Man Hashimoto just looks so cool. He comes out and he has the flashy jacket and the bandana and the crowd is losing their shit and I'm losing my shit and Hashimoto just carries himself like this is the most important thing we are ever going to witness. Then Kawada comes out and he's got the flashy robe and the cool belts and the crowd is going wild once again. Man the feeling out process in this one was super great. Just them stretching and staring at each other manages to be incredibly captivating and super awesome. First bigger thing Hashimoto does in this one is a Hane Goshi and it's hard to describe just how much the beauty of the technique resonated with me. That's one of the biggest strenghts of this match-every transition managed to look great, feel great and make sense in the context of the match. They go the strike exhanging and Hashimoto hits Kawada so hard he starts bleeding from his ear. That's right. I've seen a lot of fucked up things in professional wrestling, whether they be in FUTEN folks punching each other as hard as humanly possible or various deathmatch stuff but I don't ever remember feeling as horrified as I did once it hit me what had just transpired. They engage in a kick battle which you would want from famed kickers and the commentators bring up their fighting backgrounds and how that affects their kicking technique. Man this match rules so much. Hashimoto's karate proves to be stronger than whatever the hell Kawada did. That might have been the best Suimengiri he had ever done. Hashimoto attacks Kawada's leg and the commentators bring up Hashimoto submitting Kawada in a big tag match with a Kneebar which I'd kind of forgotten about despite watching the mentioned tag match. Kawada attacks Hashimoto's injured shoulder in return. That is such an important part of what makes this match work, tapped up shoulder Hashimoto is an amazing character, a couple of months beforehand he had a match vs. Ohtani that featured one of the most unique finishes in wrestling history and it really adds a lot to this match because there's a feeling Hashimoto could fall apart at any given moment. Hashimoto makes sure to beat the shit out of Kawada's leg enough to make you feel the same way about him as well. Kawada initially tries to fire back by using the same leg Hashimoto had started attacking but Hashimoto (no)sells them perfectly as Kawada was throwing them both with a weakened limb and from a really terrible position. Hashimoto did register the kicks Kawada threw with his left leg. Of course-kicks are too big of a part of Kawada's offence for him to give up on them entirely, but despite hitting them he always sells sells the pain while setting the move up and after hitting it, in a way most wrestlers who "fight through pain" simply don't. There's a pretty great moment where Hashimoto goes for another Hane Goshi and there's a struggle over whether he's going to throw Kawada or Kawada is going to throw him by countering it with a Backdrop Suplex (like in that awesome Kawada-Naoya Ogawa match) and despite managing to throw Hashimoto he doesn't really do it with the force he usually would due to his leg giving out. There's a lot of drama over whether or not they are going to be able to execute a certain move due to the damage their injured limbs have suffered which is constantly played up, especially in the final strike exchange. Finish is about as fitting as it couldv've been. This was fucking amazing. I wanted more though which is how I don't feel about the Hashimoto matches I've rated as perfect. Maybe I will improve its rating after another rewatch. ****3/4

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara-NJPW 1.6.1994.

Not as great as I'd hoped it would be but still really good. It is worked with a slower, more methodical pace I could see throwing off some but that was a big part of why I liked it, it felt like a logical conclusion given their established characters and tendencies, for examples Fujiwara is known to either catch kicks whether or not they hit him beforehand and he tried to do that here but eventually Hashimoto just kicked him so hard Fujiwara couldn't fight back. The battle for the DDT at the end was great and there was some nice violent stuff but overall it didn't feel gratifying enough for a higher rating. ***1/2

Shinya Hashimoto vs The Great Muta-NJPW 20.9.1993.

This was a badass match in 2002 so you'd expect it to rule when Mutoh was closer to his athletic prime but you just never know with him. I think I might've finally managed to put into words why the extended matwork sections work for me. The biggest problem I have with them in other styles is they just don't captivate me. It's not interesting, they don't try to make it interesting, they use the same holds and the same patterns over and over again. The traditional New Japan style does use a much wider array of holds but how the matwork seems to progress a lot more freely as well. And here you also get them doing a pretty neat "top this" sequence teasing a lot of their bigger moves as well as Hashimoto kicking Mutoh in the head to block a transition. I'm not usually a fan of Muta shtick but it adds a lot to the match here, as he uses the springboard to do a wacky somersault into the ring and Hashimoto just kicks him as hard as humanly possible as soon as he lands on his feet, Muta uses a young lion as a human shield to block Hashimoto's Spinning Heel Kick and they just starts literally throwing young boys at Hashimoto which is probably his career highlight. Using a chair in an IWGP Heavyweight Match isn't something I'd be crazy about either usually but they incorporate it really well here, managing to use it in several very smart transitions and spots. Great finish as well, usually you would just have Muta hit an obligatory Moonsault and maybe miss one for a lazy transition but here Hashimoto was desperately fighting to avoid it. This one exceeded expectations. ****1/4

Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs Mark Kerr & Tom Howard-ZERO-1 9.12.2001.

This has an awesome faux shoot vibe. Everyone's wearing gloves and Hashimoto is going to show us the true strength of pro wrestling. I don't remember Tom Howard much, I think he was in King Of Colosseum II, my memory of Mark Kerr's pro wrestling career is also blank, I have no idea what to expect and all of a sudden they start doing all this awesome matwork, Mark Kerr is kneeing and punching the shit out of people, Howard seamlessly transitions from doing awesome heel stooging to doing awesome takedown and hitting folks really hard in the face, there are so many great moments in this, they tease tension between Hashimoto and Ogawa, there's an amazing nearfall where Kerr starts choking Ogawa and Howard dashes at Hashimoto to stop his interference and takes this fucking 2011 Dolph Ziggler bump on a missed Spinning Heel Kick by falling out of the ring and instead of going to break up the submission Hashimoto beats Howard up a little more first and there's this good 10-15 second portion where Ogawa is selling like he's gonna die and the crowd is losing it and it's like something out of a 1995 All Japan tag and then Hashimoto finally breaks it up an pro wrestling is the best. Hashimoto and Ogawa use their badass double teams and there's another epic moment when they do the STO/German and Hashimoto knocks himself loopy on his own German and Ogawa and we get another great nerfall with a double countdown tease and Ogawa uses THE RULES OF PRO WRESTLING and stomps them both to break up the count. This has so much awesome struggling and face punching and bomb throwing and it's wonderful. I would honestly put it at ****1/2, I don't expect anyone else to love it as much as I did but.........man. Early ZERO-1 was so great.

Shinya Hashimoto vs Tatsumi Fujinami-NJPW 5.6.1998.

Last time I saw these two square off Hashimoto gave Fujinami his worst beating since the infamous Maeda match. Fujinami is getting older I'm not sure he can take one more. They start off with some nice matwork as you'd expect until Hashimoto out of nowhere counters a Headlock with a brutal DDT. Then we move onto Hashimoto kicking Fujinami's legs really hard and I'm thinking that is an acceptable substitute in case Fujinami is getting too old for this shit. They do a great callback spot to their 1994 title switch and tease Fujinami countering Hashimoto's kicks a couple of times but never go through with it. This builds to Fujinami snapping and slapping the daylights out of Hashimoto which in turn makes Hashimoto lose it and THE BEATDOWN now properly begins. They do a great job utilizing their signature moves and maximizing their value and when Fujinami finally manages to counter Hashimoto's kick it's a big deal. It's also really well done because he just viciously threw Hashimoto's leg on the ground instead of doing a Dragon Screw as Hashimoto would expect so when he goes for the Dragon Screw Hashimoto's leg is already weakened but not enough for him not to fight back and you have this amazing struggle over whether or not the move is going to go through. Another thing I love about Hashimoto is how well he uses his weight, he did this amazing counter to Fujinami's Dragon Sleeper where he just threw himself backwards and knocked Fujinami off his feet and the finish was a very smart play on that. I would have this one over four stars as well, I liked it more than the Muta match and about as much as the OHgun tag so ****1/2 sounds about right. Hashimoto's glassy-eyed selling at the end is picture perfect.

[ohtani's jacket]

I think I love that Hashimoto/Fujiwara match more than is humanly possible. It's pretty much a masterpiece in terms of how I'd want to see those two workers square off. I would have been disappointed if it had been "bigger" in any way.

[GOTNW]

I think they were thrown off a bit by the response Fujiwara got and how much the crowd got behind him, which I would also credit to how heelish Hashimoto worked vs. Fujinami the previous two months.

[GOTNW]

Anyway.

 

Shinya Hashimoto vs Satoshi Kojima-NJPW 11.6.1996.

No wonder Kojima never fot over as company ace when he was in the same position for almost ten years. Kojima's outfit needs to be seen to be believed, it looks like he found it in a woodstock-themed second-hand shop. He has about one move which could conceivably put Hashimoto in danger (the Lariat) which makes up about half of his offence. Everything else he does isn't particularly memorable but luckily he wasn't in control much here. I will watch Hashimoto destroy someone any day of the week and that's what we get here. ***3/4

Shinya Hashimoto & Shinjiro Ohtani vs Atsushi Onita & The Great Sasuke-WEW 5.5.2002.
Well that's one insane line up right there. It's understandable how this isn't a more famous match, as it's a pretty big mess, but one I still enjoyed. Onita doesn't do nearly as much as he's probably doing these days, Ohtani and Sasuke carry the workload with Hashimoto occasionally stepping in to kill someone. ***

Shinya Hashimoto vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan-NJPW 4.2.1995.

Hashimoto does a very good job of carrying Tenzan through a more evenly worked match. Tenzan's strikes looked surprisingly good, though him in control did get a bit tedious but luckily Hashimoto cut him off just as that was happening. Tenzan gets more shine than I expected before they went home and Hashimoto managed to turn what was usually a transitional hold in his matches to a believable nearfall due to how well he set it up and due to how smartly he generally finished matches. I find that to be a very good example of the numerous advantages his choice to intentionally not use all of his big offence in big matches had. ***1/2-***3/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu-NJPW 1.8.1998.

Another match I watched before "getting" Hashimoto that deserved a rewatch. I remembered this match as them just stiffing each other so while I assumed being familiar with them would result in me liking it better this time around I didn't expect the difference to be so drastic. Yes-the match is very stiff, no doubt about that. But there are so many other things that are essential to its quality as well. How well they sold each other's strikes immediately came to mind, as did the sense of desperation and how well the fight for control was done. You get the gigantic facial expressions you'd want from this match, but what I was probably impressed the most with were transitions. Stuff like Tenryu cutting off Hashimoto's flurry with a kick jab, a surprising soccer kck Tenryu would throw when they were both down, Tenryu noticing Hashimoto was going to bounce off the ropes and then bouncing off the ropes himself to try and beat him to the punch but failing, Tenryu succeeding when he tried to do the same later on in the match because he'd beaten down Hashimoto enough, it manages to almost perfectly wed elements that make real fighting exciting with the ones that do the same for fake fighting. Great. So, so great. ****1/2

[Tim Cooke]

Popped in the Hash/Choshu 1991 G-1 handheld. Such a great match, perfect length, great crowd. ***3/4

[JerryvonKramer]

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/1/98)

 

This bout is quite similar to the two awesome Flair vs. Wahoo matches from Houston in 85, as well as Flair vs. Tenryu from SWS in 92. All matches I gave ****1/2 to, and all marked by being massive chop fests.

 

I have this a little shade below those simply because the insertion of Flair into a match worked along these parameters adds quite a few dimensions to those exchanges, take him away -- and we can see it directly here with the replacement of him with Hash vs. Tenryu -- and what you are left with is a match that can border on the one dimensional.

 

However, I am a mark for insane stiffness and, aside from Flair and Wahoo, there aren't many who can dish them out like Tenryu and Hash. I enjoyed some of Hash's desperation when he was hitting the forearm smashes. I mean, if you look at it, it's a spot Ax and Smash from Demolition used to do, but ramp up the intensity to these levels and it becomes compelling. I was also impressed with some of Tenryu's selling efforts here, I've been critical of his stony lack of emotion at times in the past, but I think Hash was hitting him that hard that he was more or less forced to sell the pain here.

 

Cool match that I'm glad to have seen. If you haven't watched it and dig Flair vs. Wahoo or Flair vs. Tenryu, I'd recommend checking this one out.

 

****

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Takao Omori-ZERO-1 31.8.2004.

Hashimoto's last match. This is the kind of gnarly, gritty match I love, it's kind of a shame Omori is in there because this would be a bonafide dream match with someone at least on say.......Masato Tanaka's level. Not that Omori sucks, but you kind of have to beat a good performance out of him, which Fujiwara manages to do, it's kind of hard to fuck up trading slaps in the face with him and Omori even does this really cool spot where he goes to punch Fujiwara's head and hurts his fist. Hashimoto is all business, obliterating people with kicks, but his strikes, while still quite good, don't seem to have quite the intensity they had just a few months prior to this due to his shoulder injury. Still both Ohtani/Fujiwara and Ohtani/Hashimoto interactions are golden and these kind of ZERO-1 tags have a special charm. ***3/4

Shinya Hashimoto & Kazuhiko Ogasawara vs Steve Corino & Tom Howard-ZERO-1 5.4.2003.

These matches are like the antithesis of the "constant highspots" bullshit I've come to hate. I will take Steve Corino stalling over some springbaord reverse ace crusher bullshit counter where you can't tell what's going on and whom it's supposed to be hurting (and the wrestlers don't even give you an answer to that as they just no sell it and move on to the next spot) any day of the week. Anyway this is shine>heat>comeback so a southern tag I guess? Really great bit at the beginning of the match where Corino tries to go toe to toe with Hashimoto and throws some really good strikes only for Hash to decapitate him with the greatest Kesagiri Chop my eyes will ever witness. Ogasawara is a wacky karate guy I guess, and Corino and Howard make fun of him, showcase their ignorant yet amusing stereotypes about japanese culture in an extended workover, use the most cliche missed move spot ever to set up the hot tag and then Hash comes in to fucking go over. But before he does that Corino gets a little more heat on him and you remember damn Steve Corino used to be fucking good at wrestling. ***1/2

Shinya Hashimoto & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Tom Howard & The Predator-ZERO-1 30.7.2002.

Featuring the infamous team of The Predator and Tom Howard, best known as the guys whom I would put the tag titles on when booking ZERO-1 in King Of Colosseum II. Or the guys that would job to the team I'd actually want the belts on. On a somewhat related note I have now reviewed enough Tom Howard matches to nominate him for the GWE. Though I am pretty sure there were already three reviews of his matches on Segunda Caida which diminishes my "accomplishment". The Predator has a chain. I wonder if he's working a Bruiser Brody gimmick. He doesn't sell a lot for Hashimoto-only when he really needs to, but Hashimoto is also his boss so he kind of needs to sell for him anyway. Confirmed. Howard does this stupid spot where he puts his arms behind his back and challenges his opponent to hit him, Fujiwara falls for it which I can kind of buy because he's a smartass but I wished he'd have headbutted him in the head instead. Hashimoto comes in and he tells Howard to fuck off for he has no time for this shit. Howard, aware his future bookings are at stake, decides to fight for real. I am all about hot tag Hashimoto, and there's a pretty cool narrative going on as you wonder how much times does Hashimoto need to drop the guy who doesn't sell on his head in order for him to lose. There is also the possibility that Hashimoto will tag in Fujiwara was no reason only for him to eat to pin. Only one way to find out- PM me for a link of the shady chinese site hosting it. Or find that DVD you bought 13 years ago. So two ways I guess. Fuck. ***1/2

[Childs]

 

Shinya Hashimoto & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Tom Howard & The Predator-ZERO-1 30.7.2002.

 

Featuring the infamous team of The Predator and Tom Howard, best known as the guys whom I would put the tag titles on when booking ZERO-1 in King Of Colosseum II. Or the guys that would job to the team I'd actually want the belts on. On a somewhat related note I have now reviewed enough Tom Howard matches to nominate him for the GWE. Though I am pretty sure there were already three reviews of his matches on Segunda Caida which diminishes my "accomplishment". The Predator has a chain. I wonder if he's working a Bruiser Brody gimmick. He doesn't sell a lot for Hashimoto-only when he really needs to, but Hashimoto is also his boss so he kind of needs to sell for him anyway. Confirmed. Howard does this stupid spot where he puts his arms behind his back and challenges his opponent to hit him, Fujiwara falls for it which I can kind of buy because he's a smartass but I wished he'd have headbutted him in the head instead. Hashimoto comes in and he tells Howard to fuck off for he has no time for this shit. Howard, aware his future bookings are at stake, decides to fight for real. I am all about hot tag Hashimoto, and there's a pretty cool narrative going on as you wonder how much times does Hashimoto need to drop the guy who doesn't sell on his head in order for him to lose. There is also the possibility that Hashimoto will tag in Fujiwara was no reason only for him to eat to pin. Only one way to find out- PM me for a link of the shady chinese site hosting it. Or find that DVD you bought 13 years ago. So two ways I guess. Fuck. ***1/2

I happened to watch this the other day, and it was shockingly entertaining considering, you know, Tom Howard and the Predator. If you need evidence of why Hash was so special, consider how much energy the broken down version of him injected into a match like this. It's not the kind of match that would be in the first paragraph of a GWE case, but performances like this really do separate him.

[Phil Schneider]

Here is my review of that match from my C+A Fujiwara

 

 

Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Shinya Hashimoto v. Predator/Tom Howard Zero One 7/30/02-GREAT

Man this was a ton of fun, your gaijin team are two guys with some amusing signature spots who work stiff. That is totally enough for legends like Hashimoto and Fujiwara to have a great match with. Hashimoto blisters these two guys, I have to give Predator some credit, he may not be very good, but I bet Brody wouldn't be willing to stand in there and exchange shots with Hashimoto. Howard has a spot where he puts his hands behind his back and dares his opponents to hit him, and Hash and Fujiwara are a pair of guys up for that challenge. Fujiwara wasn't in the match a ton, but he did have a couple of nice exchanges with each opponent. I really liked how he used his speed and guile to maneuver Predator into the armbar, you don't see a lot of Fujiwara working as Rey Jr. v. Undertaker but he is really good at it.

[Phil Schneider]

Here is a review of an awesome Fujiwara/Hash v. Sato/Yokoi match which you should track down

 

Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Shinya Hashimoto v. Kohei Sato/Hirotaka Yokoi Zero-One 8/15/04-EPIC

Here is the first really spectacular 21st century Fujiwara match I have found. This had the feel of a classic BattlArts match,yuy nothing fancy just all four guys trying to beat the ever living shit out of each other. Fujiwara gets isolated for a part of this match and eats a pretty big beating from the young guys. Yokoi wears MMA gloves and unloads with nasty full strength punches to the face and body. There is this awesome section where he is unloading on Fujiwara and Fujiwara fires back with his jumping shoot headbutt. They also have a great early mat wrestling section, with Fujiwara showing the kind of slick counters that are his forte. Of course Hashimoto is a fucking tank, when he gets tagged in he just murders people, axe like chops to the neck, thudding kicks, big suplexes. There are several points in the match where Sato tries to stand toe to toe with Hashimoto and it is like trying to brawl with late 80s Tyson. I love this kind of gritty violent stuff and this match totally put a smile on my face.

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs Keiji Mutoh & Satoshi Kojima-ZERO-1 2.5.2003.

This match isn't perfect. It's great, but I need to get my "why it isn't perfect" talking points out of the way before we get there. You'd want this match to be great. I mean, you'd want every match to be great but that's just not possible but here you gave four big stars in a big interpromotional tag and two of them are great and two of them have some merit in their work so there's potential at least. The problem here was that some interactions simply didn't work. Ogawa vs. Mutoh and Kojima just isn't what you'd want it to be, Ogawa is this unstoppable killing machine and yet he's forced to take their weak as shit offence and sell ridiculous stuff he'd never sell in a singles match. Ogawa vs Muta was ruled, and I'm sure an Ogawa-Kojima match would've ruled, but that doesn't translate into working the opening portion of a tag match. Still because Ogawa is really good at wrestling he'll bust out cool judo throws and counter a Figure Four Leglock with a punch, and it's not like the action is ever bad per se. The first time Hashimoto and Mutoh squared off wasn't all that great either, some fun exchanges built around their signature spots, and an especially amusing one where Mutoh hit a shitty Shining Wizard and Hashimoto sold it for a bit only to get up and look him like "you're shitting me right? that's your big move now" only to attempt his own Shining Wizard which, techique wize, probably wasn't even as good as Mutoh's but because Hashimoto is fucking huge it looks like it would hurt you and to his credit Mutoh sold it really well. What's really memorable in the part two thirds of the match are the exchanges between Hashimoto and Kojima (who is also a great Hashimoto opponent one might not immediately think of in case you're wondering). Kojima had really mastered fighting as a fiery underdog against more established opponents and Hashimoto is the best, while he gives Kojima plenty you also get awesome stuff like him reacting to Kojima not hitting him as he'd need to take him down with awesome gigantic facial expressions followed by taking Cozy's head off. And then there's the finish, which is so awesome it's hard to put it into words and it's followed by an AMAZING post-match segment as well, it is the kind of chaotic brawl you want out of pro wrestling and it's hard to top Hashimoto wrecking fools and Ogawa throwing shoot punches. ****1/4

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Keiichi Yamada-NJPW ??????

 

This a three minute JIP but look at the names involved, no way do I miss out on a chance to see more Hash, they are both young lions here, what we get in this clip is non-stop action, everything Hashimoto does looks great, he busts out a bunch of neat slams and kicks the daylights out of Yamada who is no slouch either. Finish is really sick as Yamada Powerbomb Hashimoto on his head and then follows that up with a Diving Headbutt for some reason. More insight into how cool young Hash was. Cagematch says he has matches vs. Yoji Anjoh and Tatsuo Nakano in the 1987 Young Lions Cup and if those exist on tape I should probably find a way to watch them.

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Keiji Mutoh-NJPW 12.6.1990.

Mutoh can fuck off forever. This is such an ambivalent match up, and you'd hope with this being 1990 Mutoh would give a shit, and maybe he did but at this point he has no clue how to pro-wrestle. He works over Hashimoto's leg and it's really dry, dull and completely uninteresting. Mutoh will grab a shitty toe hold and Hashimoto will counter it by just punching him in the face and I am trying to figure out how anyone could come to the conclusion Mutoh was ever better than Hash. He could jump high. I guess that's important to some. He did a really nice elbow drop flurry. He got really impressive height on those elbow drops. If only he could structure a match worth shit. Hashimoto does his best to try and make something of Mutoh's work, selling well for him, switching to his right leg, but there really is no focus to Mutoh's work, he'll just start doing random shit because he think it looks cool, he'll go from working a kneebar to a punch flurry in the corner to doing cartwheel planchas without any logic or rhythm. He can bump well at least so it's gratifying when Hashimoto DDT's his head through the ring but fuck man this just has WAAAAY too much Mutoh in control to be good. I did enjoy parts of it, like Hashimoto continously countering Mutoh's holds by throwing him around but this is as unremarkable as a Hashimoto match gets. Also Mutoh jumps Hashimoto at the beginning of the match by irish whipping him and then doing the cartwheel elbow which was every bit as stupid as it sounds.

**1/2

Shinya Hashimoto vs Bam Bam Bigelow-NJPW 17.8.1991.

I liked this a lot, I am all about hoss fights and watching these two crash into each other was a lot of fun, Bigelow does a really cool bump and catapults himself outside of the ring over the top rope which made Hashimoto's deadly kick look even more badass. Fun slams and strikes and stuff.

***1/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs Akitoshi Saito-NJPW 2.7.1994.

I kinda freaked out over this, I'm about as big of an Akitoshi Saito fan as there is and Hash is #1, they start this by Hash just beating the shit out of Saito and I'm thinking this might be one of those Choshu superiority matches where one guy takes the entire match because fuck you New Japan is strongest. Then Saito makes a comeback with these great looking body punches and awesome knee strikes and I realise we're getting a different type of the Choshu superiority booking match, still you want to see Hashimoto beat on someone and Saito will fire back with some nice shots as well. Very short (just under 5 min) and a great use of my time.

***1/4+

[GOTNW]

Shinya Hashimoto vs Kensuke Sasaki-NJPW 9.4.2001.
I remember hearing about this match, I think I read an old article from SSS Stuart which depicted it as a disaster and shit on the booking and the Inokiism in it. Luckily I'm way too into absurdism to care about who wins in pro wrestling (especially in a fifteen year old match) and the way it was described really made me want to see it. Honestly this might be the best Hashimoto-Kensuke Sasaki match. I'm not sure how many matches they've had against each other but of the top off my head I can think of a Hash IWGP Title defence vs. Power Warrior, one in the Dome and a G1 match and I would have this one above all of them. It's billed as a "no rules deathmatch", that doesn't mean you're going to get garbage spots and heavily gimmicked stuff, just more punches to the face and also a very clever submission spot built around the stipulation. Hashimoto comes out wearing boxing gloves and man do these two beat on one another, they throw a lot of nasty shots in close range and while clinching before the match evolves into ridiculous bomb throwing. I could see the uniqueness of the pacing and (somewhat of) the finish throwing some folks off but I really appreciated them. It's esentially a proto-Futen match.

****

Shinya Hashimoto & Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa-WAR 2.4.1993.
There's no way this lives up to the hype I created for it in my head right? WRONG. Hashimoto and Tenryu start things off and they tease each other for a bit before BREAKING DOWN and they just fucking go at it and throw reackless blows at each other and it totally makes sense that all of them are connecting but none where they should because they're just manically throwing as many blows as possible and it really comes off like they want to kill each other. I also much prefer Hashimoto's philosophy of "fuck you, if your sloppy enzuigiri can only hit my shoulder I'm jumping on you and punching you in the face" to selling it like a death blow despite it not looking good. This match kind of represents everything I love about pro wrestling and even with my ridiculously high rating I feel like I'm selling it short. There's a spot in there when Tenryu starts chopping Choshu and just as he's about to deliver the third one Choshu backs off and tags Hashimoto in and it's just so wonderfully pro wrestling. This Takashi Ishikawa guy, let me tell you, he'll do a Legdrop, nothing fancy about it, won't wow you with his athleticism, but it is a legdrop that will connect and I wonder how the hell has Hashimoto's nose remained not broken after it. That seems to piss of Tenryu who makes sure to shoot kick Hashimoto in the nose to break it later on. Who doesn't love a good FIP segment? This match had a fantastic one, Tenryu and Ishikawa just beat the shit out of him, man if you're going to hide a blade job I can't think of a better way to do so than doing one while you're blocking soccers kicks to the head. Tenryu and Ishikawa will double team and cheat and piss you off whenever in peril and suddenly I find myself incredibly emotionally invested in a match that happened 23 years ago. What's also great is that these teams really do feel like teams-the aforemention backing off of Choshu was a great moment, but when Choshu finally makes his comeback Ishikawa avoids a Riki Lariat and Hashimoto comes in and kicks him to assure Choshu's second attempt is successful and they really are making it look like they have each other's back. The finish is just so great, completely chaotic, everyone swinging at everyone, eventually Choshu pissess Tenryu off so much he goes after him and stars unloading on him with these sickening punches which also leaves Ishikawa alone with Hash and well.....you can guess how that ended up. Post-match Tenryu goes after Hash and they unload on each other once again and then you think ok this was amazing great match everyone but Tenryu grabs the microphone and cuts a "fuck you mate" promo and then throws the mic ONTO CHOSHU'S FACE.

****3/4

Shinya Hashimoto vs Masahiro Chono-NJPW 29.7.1994.
"I'm overwhelmed by the greatness, time for a Chono match" may or may not have gone through my mind. I have a hard time rating this because all I could find is a TV version that showed about half of it but what was showed was shockingly good. Chono looked really motivated here, first thing we see is him viciously choking Hashimoto, it's not even an STF he's holding him in as he has a sleeper on instead of a facelock, Hashimoto sells it like Chono is torturing him and Chono just viciously goes after him, his attacks are focused and mostly aimed at Hashimoto's cut, Hashimoto's selling is really amazing as he gets over that he is wounded but also that he is still incredibly dangerous and could make a comeback at any time, like Misawa would late in his matches. I have no idea what the fuck Chono was thinking here, maybe he got a really great payday but he takes a bump that someone with a broken neck really shouldn't take. Hashimoto's kick flurries are awesome and the great looking counter finish enhances this even more. I'd give what was shown ***3/4 I think that sounds about right.

Shinya Hashimoto vs Jake Roberts-NJPW 23.9.1993.
This was is just too bizarre of a match up for me not to give it a watch. I'd seen virtually nothing of Jake Roberts before so I was slightly worried about how they were going to match up but he really impressed me with his performance here. Everything here looked really snug, there was struggle over every move, Roberts' stooging was entertaining, they sold the threat of each other's finishing maneuvers nicely, I enjoyed Roberts' character work and mannerisms, his punches looked really good and while this wasn't build around absurd stiffness like some of Hashimoto's more famous matches they did lay in some nasty shots towards the end of the match. I also found it amusing how they worked in Robert's heel spots with Hashimoto not falling for them so easily like your big dumb american babyface would.

***1/4