[2000-01-04-NJPW-Wrestling World 2000] Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki

[Sean Liska]

I’ve come to like Sasaki but this is bringing back memories of when it felt like Choshu was shoving him down our throats Roman Reigns-style . One of the fun things about a project like this is how your perspective of watching a match can completely change. Tenryu is probably a top-ten guy for me, lets see what he can do headlining the Dome.

 

I don’t mind modern NJPW but yeah I miss the days of two tough bastards beating each other up, this my sweet spot a little more. God it’s wonderful. The stiffness is great. There’s a few times we run out of things to do so sit in a chinlock for a bit, then back to punching each other in the face. The crowd heat for this match indicates I wasn’t alone on my Sasaki hesitance, it’s not electric.

 

You know it’s January 4 when we’re busting out these top rope hurricanrana spots. Overall a very good enjoyable match, but for a Dome main event, not sure it’s a top-third Tenryu match.

[Stiva]

A great way to end a great show. I blow hot and cold on Sasaki but enjoyed a lot of what he did here, considering he was laying it in as hard as he could. Tenryu is my man though and he was great here. I loved him selling the rights to the jaw with a fantastic glazed look. Like you would have when rocked with a huge right and you're struggling to figure out where you are.

[drew wardlaw]

Tenryu really knows how to work the Dome. I love his big performances, and this one fits right in with what I want to see here. Big, hard hitting moves, some holds to slow things down, tons of great facials, and two guys going at it, slowly wearing each other down over the course of the match. Good stuff.

[superkix]

Can’t beat watching these two big dudes lobbing knuckles at each other. When Tenryu tries backing Sasaki into a corner, Sasaki straight up pops him with a couple of shots, knocking him on his ass, and the referee’s like “what the fuck did you do, Kens-kay?”. Some ugly but terrific bar fight exchanges in between the rest holds and bomb-dumping in the back half. Tenryu hitting the spider German suplex and trying for the frankensteiner was awesome. Really fun match.

[tbrett]

Enjoyed the match, it is amazing that Tenryu can still wrestle at a high level in the 2000s. I have never been a big Sasaki fan and I really didn't think he was great here either. I would say that this is a good match but won't be in my top ten for the year.

[ohheylook]

I actually marked this one down a quarter star on rewatch, but I still really respect and love the hell out of this. I love bi bruiser matches and have always had a soft spot for Kensuke Sasaki, so this match hits a lot of buttons for me.

 

Tenryu looks great here, half the man he used to be but still convincing as a champion. I do like the less is more approach where we see punches, holds and big spots that fuckin mean something.

 

Im excited to see where both these guys go as the year goes on, maybe more than almost anyone, they have lots of interesting competition to go up against and while I have seen some things here and there, Im expecting to get a few new gems added.

 

Overall, a super fun match. 4.25/5

[klhare]

This was a fun match. Sasaki did a good job of hanging with Tenryu and was completely believable beating him. The Frakensteiner reversal made me jump. A solid main event to a very fun show.

 

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