[2004-08-08-NJPW-G1 Climax] Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04

 

WAR! What is it good for? Well my entertainment of course! Takayama continues his reign as the top freelancer in Japan. Sasaki has had quiet years since his explosive 2000. Of the interim generation between Three Musketeers and Tanahashi/Nakamura etc..., Sasaki is my favorite by a good margin over Nagata, Tenzan and Kojima. He is hard hitting and explosive. He is not a thinking man's wrestler. He is just a bulldozer. The winner of this match is the one was going to hit the other harder, no frills, just really stiff strikes. They start off with tests of strength that shows how even this is with Takayama winning one with a fireman's carry and Sasaki winning a top wristlock battle. Takayama scores first with a big knee lift. Takayama throws his weight around to control the short and stout Sasaki. Sasaki fires back the only way he knows how with some vicious lariats. His strategy throw Takayama into something hard and lariat the shit out of him. The eventual strike exchange happens, but this one is especially stiff. Holy fuck those lariats and Takayama takes them like a man. Each men ends up on one knee from the ferocity of these strikes. With slobber dripping from his face, the Bleach Blond & Bad Giant of Japan kicks Sasaki's head off, but the subsequent knee lift did not get the job done. The Power Warrior hits an enziguiri and an awesome cross body from the top to the floor to the retreating Takayama. The crowd is pumped and Sasaki calls for the Northern Lights Bomb and hits it. BUT KICK OUT!!! I totally bought that false finish. Takayama big knee lift in the corner, dragon suplex and Everest German gives Takayama his only win of this G-1 Climax. I have enjoyed how different New Japan has been than NOAH in this time with their short, but impactful matches. I thought this one really exemplified Strong Style with his no frills, straight forward badass match. Who ever hit who hardest was going to win? The Bleach Blond & Bad Giant of Japan hit just that much harder on this night. ****

[dawho5]

Early stuff was really, really well done. Everything had a sense of struggle and they really get over the idea that both men are beasts. Then they start beating the shit out of each other. In glorious fashion. The strike exchange was really well done. Even the lariat stuff didn't bother me at all. I loved how well they sold the fact that they were taking a massive beating in between big shots. Only a few nearfalls but they were HUGE. Can't say enough about how great this match was. Very likely top 20. For whatever reason, Takayama beings out the great worker hiding inside Kensuke Sasaki. Also, the hug at the end was great. Loving the short, Kawada vs. Hansen 2/28/93 inspired matches in the 2000s so far. Just get in there, beat the shit out of each other in a coherent manner for about 15-20 minutes then hit the finish.

[dawho5]

On rewatch this actually climbed a bit on my ballot. It helped that I had watched the 2002 match the day before. They play off of the fact that they had just beat each other up last time and both take a strategy of wearing the other guy down with holds and basic wrestling rather than subject themselves to the same beating they got last time. Then things escalate and they get right back to it. And they do a nice callback to the match from 2 years earlier with a NLB nearfall complete with late Takayama kickout. Great, great match done in a smart, efficient way.

[Steenalized]

Big, bomb throwing heavyweight sprint? Yes. please. It starts out with both Takayama and Sasaki trying to out-muscle the other guy to grab on some basic holds. Sasaki actually makes Takayama backpedal and grab the ropes on a cross arm breaker. Takayama's finally had enough of this catch as catch can crap. He puts Sasaki down with one of those giant knees to the chest. Takayama does work an cross arm breaker of his own but his offense is mostly switching to big boots and hard kicks. Sasaki has to fire back with hard strikes and big clothesline, including one that tosses Takayama to the outside. He works Takayama into the ring post for a few spots, none of which look especially great. All I'm saying is I've seen Stan Hansen punch the shit out of a ring post, why aren't you doing it, Sasaki? But legitimately, his offense looks lighter once they're outside and that's fine if he's playing it safe. Center of the ring show down sequence; neither guy wants to drop but both have to take a knee. They're really laying it in here. Drool leaks from Takayama's mouth in a gross visual. Takayama finally takes a bump on a Sasaki clothesline, which the crowd pops for less than I'd hope. They go nuts for Sasaki's dive from the top rope to the outside, as well they should. Sasaki finally gets a nearfall that makes the crowd erupt. Takayama drops Sasaki with a dragon suplex and follows up ASAP with that picture perfect German. Short. Sweet. Awesome. ****1/4. The two hug it out after.

[Graham Crackers]

For some reason I wasn't into this the first time I watched it last year. I decided to check it out again after reading the other reviews in this thread and I can't figure out what my problem was. This was insanely fun. It's a hard hitting match but they make you wait for the striking during some surprisingly well done grappling. When Takayama finally hits that first kneelift it's explosive. This follows a logical progression running from grappling, to striking, to highspots and brawling on the floor, before ending it in the ring with some big bombs. There aren't many nearfalls but Sasaki's nearfall after the Northern Lights Bomb is super effective. The length is perfect. Yeah, this will do well.

[Childs]

Agree with everything said about the match. But the video of Takayama's post-match interview on the commercial tape was disturbing. Not sure if it actually captured the early stages of his stroke but appeared so.

[William Bologna]

Takayama is paralyzed, and this match might be party of the reason why.

 

Was it a good enough match to justify Takayama's current condition? No.

 

Was it a good match? Not really. Takayama was pretty awful at professional wrestling.

 

I don't know, man. Wrestling is awful.

[GOTNW]

Takayama is paralyzed, and this match might be party of the reason why.

 

Was it a good enough match to justify Takayama's current condition? No.

 

Was it a good match? Not really. Takayama was pretty awful at professional wrestling.

 

I don't know, man. Wrestling is awful.

We've had some shitty gimmick posters and people who were too weird to tell whether they were working or not but this one takes the cake.

[William Bologna]

 

Takayama is paralyzed, and this match might be party of the reason why.

 

Was it a good enough match to justify Takayama's current condition? No.

 

Was it a good match? Not really. Takayama was pretty awful at professional wrestling.

 

I don't know, man. Wrestling is awful.

We've had some shitty gimmick posters and people who were too weird to tell whether they were working or not but this one takes the cake.

 

Neat. What did you think of the match?

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm not sure if this match played a part in Takayama's stroke, but the ending of the post-match interview was some uncomfortable shit. The match was everything you'd want from Takayama vs Sasaki. It didn't appear to be particularly brutal, but who knows? 

[fxnj]

Watching lots of 70s/80s NJPW seems to have left me jaded and spoiled for most Heisei era NJPW matwork, because I had "get on with it" thoughts watching the opening section of this back-to-back with the 2002 match. I expected something like the second coming of Frye/Takayama after hearing about Takayama's stroke, but it was pretty far from that and I'm now very skeptical about this match being the direct cause of the stroke. Instead of a straight shoot-out like the 2002 match, this was more carefully built with its own peaks and valleys to make the bombs stand out. I felt a lot of weariness in how Takayama sold for Sasaki's strikes and in his execution of his bombs down the stretch, which slightly pushed it past the 2002 match for me despite the slow start.