[1998-03-17-FMW-Winning Road] Hayabusa vs The Gladiator

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[soup23]

This was worked as Busa having to show his flash and speed to avoid Awesome as much as he can. I liked it a good deal because Awesome didn't focus on a body part so it didnt make anything inconsistent when Busa went flying around. All of the impact spots were hit with authority. One thing I am not appreciating though is the rampant kickouts that are starting to occur. Busa ends up picking up the big upset off of a dragon suplex that seemed too anitclimatic and not flashy enough given the entire narrative of the match. Good stuff but falling short of the great level. ***1/2.

[Loss]

This lost me when Awesome did such horrible looking powerbombs which were executed in a way that makes it nearly impossible for Hayabusa to actually take the bump. In general, this was a good spotfest and Hayabusa continues to show how versatile he is and how he can work with anyone, but this was lacking as a wrestling match. It was a strong individual performance from Hayabusa though, but Awesome was all over the place, meaning this didn't come together like it should have.

[PeteF3]

In the first five minutes we get an incredible Awesome lariat, Awesome springboarding to the floor with another clothesline, and a Firebird Splash. None of that fancy-ass psychology shit here, this is a spotfest all the way. It starts off pretty great but both guys get really sloppy down the stretch, with Hayabusa blowing a few relatively basic counters even while hitting his highspots. Still hit or miss on both these guys, who are clearly terrific athletes but need someone else to guide them if you want a truly great overall wrestling match. They're like better versions of early-'90s Ultimo Dragon (since both can at least get their characters over).

[TravJ1979]

This was like every Mike Awesome ECW match ever. Sloppy power moves and ridiculous number of kick outs. Didn't like it at all.