[1997-08-31-NJPW] Shinya Hashimoto vs Kensuke Sasaki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Typical hard-hitting New Japan heavies match with lots of stiff exchanges to pop the crowd. I will point out that after the 1995 match and this one, I think Hashimoto may have been Sasaki's best opponent. No one can do a job in a way that really counts like Hashimoto. Sasaki wins the IWGP title.

[Kevin Ridge]

Big August for Sasaki concludes with him winning the IWGP title.

[soup23]

Pop seemed a little lackluster as the numbers game catches up to Hashimoto with a ton of big matches in August. I really enjoyed the finishing stretch here.

[PeteF3]

Hash remains a master--I'm not sure anyone has done more great carry-jobs in their career outside of Flair. Sasaki goes along for the ride and wins the IWGP title in a development I'm not altogether thrilled about.

[Zenjo]

Ken wasn't at all ready for this push. He had yet to become a ring general. Showing uncertainty at times and selecting the wrong moves as well. For anyone unaware he was booker Riki Choshu's pet project.

 

JIP 11m of 17m shown. There were some hard strikes and decent moments. The atmosphere certainly wasn't one worthy of a world title bout. Sasaki adds the IWGP Title to the G1 Title and becomes the New Japan ace. On paper at least.