[1980-04-03-NJPW-Big Fight Series] Gran Hamada vs Babyface

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[War is Raw]

Ref botched pin at end.

[SAMS]

1980-04-03
NJPW
Gran Hamada (c) vs. Baby Face
UWA World Light Heavyweight Title Match
Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
Card
★★★

I was eager to see these two matched up 1v1 and I was not disappointed in the slightest as this was an awesome technical display. The moves between the two were slick and fluid and when they went airborne they showed off how high flying can have impact and look like it hurts. I can’t believe how much air Hamada gets on his back body drops! Obviously this gives him the ability to nail the over rotation and then land on his feet move he does so well. The finish was a bit of a cluster fuck, even if it was intentional, as Hamada got the Victory Roll for what looked like a two count, then after a few seconds of confusion, the referee raised Hamada’s hand and claimed it was a three count and declared Hamada the winner. After the Lou Thesz debacle at the IWE show I’ve had enough of these phantom three counts. Anyway, both of these men will pop up on tape in Mexico soon so I’m looking forward to that.

[tcg91]

This has a decent reputation, but it doesn't age that well. It wasn't bad by any means, but the (solid) matwork didn't have enough energy and the crowd seemed to agree, as they only popped when the action became quicker. Hamada was definitely more motivated and took better bumps, while Baby Face didn't impress me that much. The finish was botched as well, as Hamada got a 2.5 count and was declared the winner anyway. I don't know who messed it up, but it didn't look good at all.
**1/2

[G. Badger]

Very good lucha/junior type match. This definitely translates well into contemporary wrestling. The wrestling on the mat was very good albeit more of the sit and stretch variety than the fighting over holds/escapes/reversals like we'd see in other NJ "strong style" junior wrestling. The running and flying stuff was the real showcase here. The only drawback was the finish where it was not really clear what happened... i.e. bad ref count perhaps? This was #83 on the DVDVR Best of the 80's NJPW. That sounds about right  Absolutely worth a watch if you're a Gran Hamada fan.