[1998-04-19-BattlARTS] Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Carl Greco

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Tim Cooke]

BattlArts tags can be hit or miss for me. At their best, they are worked in the traditional Japanese tag match style, which is a version of the US southern tag style with their moves, submissions, etc. At their worst, they can meander and feel like any other below average match. This goes about 17:00 and I could have cut off 2-3 minutes to really tighten it up, but that’s nitpicky. You get your Ikeda/Ishikawa section, Carl Malenko’s excellent mat work, and Otsuka’s incredible versatility (work the mat, hit big suplexes, hit a tope). I watched this in conjunction with Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak and Timothy Thatcher vs. Biff Busik from the EVOLVE shows this weekend (August 8-9, 2014). Both matches, specifically the Busik match, were good and the main reason was the quality mat work. But then you compare it to this BattlArts match, which isn’t in any of the four participants top 20 matches and you see how far away the modern day guys are away from producing really amazing mixed pro wrestling/shoot style matches.

[Loss]

This was fantastic. Carl Greco gets a chance to show off his outstanding mat skills, Ishikawa and Ikeda do their typical hard-hitting brutality and Otsuka is the guy who can do it all, going to the mat, laying in strikes, landing a tope to the floor and rolling out the giant swing yet again! I thought this was an absolutely great match with four guys that are quickly becoming my favorites. Poor sportsman Ikeda attacks Ishikawa after the match, I presume to set up their singles match in May. This is a throwback in many ways and it's also something more modern-feeling than just about anything in 1998.

[Childs]

This was very good as a showcase for each of the four guys but only pretty good as tag match. Greco was probably the star, showing off his incredible athletic ability with some of the coolest grappling spots you'll ever see. The Ishikawa-Ikeda interactions popped as always. It did gel as a tag match a few times, including the first double-team spot from Ikeda and Greco and at the very end. But instead of building naturally throughout, I felt like they reset when a new match-up took the stage. It was kind of like the first fall of a lucha trios in that respect.

[soup23]

Shoot style tag matches arent always my cup of tea but this was a really good match even if it felt like a showcase of things to come instead of a heated stand alone encounter. I liken it to the tag matches taken place before a big Budokan show. Greco was so slick at doing some great mat stuff to Alex. Ishikawa and Ikeda of course dont like each other one bit and this ended right at the correct time to not feel overly long. This set up a lot of interesting matchups for the future of Battlarts. (***3/4)

[PeteF3]

Not sure this is a MOTYC-level match but it was fun, with Greco being the big standout here with some awesome holds and suplexes. Definitely more of a table-setter than a truly great match in its own right but it more than served its purpose. Yes, even really good modern mat-wrestling from guys like Gable & Jordan tends to look rehearsed and choreographed compared to the stuff here.

[TravJ1979]

I guess it's just me as BattleArts just doesn't cut it. While technically great, meaning nothing blown and crisp, it lacked drama and excitement (at least until after the bell). It's hard for me to take any match seriously with a basketball goal so prominently displayed in the background first of all. Second, this seemed to me like what collegiate wrestlers who watched one UFC PPV and then went into a ring to show what they saw mixed with their actual discipline would look like. I like actual shoot style more than this hybrid stuff.

[Jetlag]

Another night, another town, another good match between the BattlARTS crew. These guys had ridiculously high workrate. Even though they didn't go for broke, every exchange delivered, and there were a few great spots. Ishikawa/Ikeda was Ishikawa/Ikeda, but I think I prefer the Ishikawa/Greco matchup on these small shows. Greco is such a killer, always pushing the pace and going for the tapout and suplexing the shit out of everyone. Greco/Otsuka is a matchup that makes you salivate at the mouth thinking of it and it delivers good here. This also had a bit of that tag psychology with Greco & Ikeda using some double teams until it backfires for a great nearfall with the Cobra Twist.