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[1999-06-08-NJPW-Best of the Super Juniors] Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto


Loss

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  • 2 months later...

Tenryu must think he’s Jerry Lawler, working a match mostly built around great punching and even grabbing the house mic to cut a promo mid-match. These two are hitting the crap out of each other. This wasn’t as great as previous versions of this match, but there is still plenty here to love - the stiffness, great strikes and big personalities are enough to carry this to something good. It’s almost all slugging with very little wrestling, so everyone should brace themselves for that, but it’s still really good and compelling.

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  • 2 months later...

This is one hell of a match up and this is a slugfest that lives up to it. Hashimoto's kick while perched on the top rope was a great spot. Really impressive how these guys are able to work such a satisfying and consistently entertaining match around strikes. Ending is cool too.

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  • 2 months later...

This is one feud I don't really think off immediately as feud of the 90's but it may have a claim. The matches in 94, 98, and now 99 are great. I still have the 93 singles matches to watch but the build and tags up to that point have been nothing short of awesome. Here was an interesting worked match really worked around the strikes of each man but it was incredibly stiff and compelling. It feels like a stripped down war which is a natural progression from where the feud has been going. I havent really heard much of anything about Tenryu's 1999 before and maybe its just chalked up as another great year for him but he has had some incredible stuff and is one of the highlights so far. Hashimoto hits a nasty brainbuster after almost exclusive striking up to that point. Tenryu stops him dead in his tracks with a straight right. Hash responds with some great hooks of his own that seems uncharacteristic. Tenryu makes a run and hits a running chop ti win the match. The finish was a little anitclimatic but I was surprised at the result and loved the build to it. ****

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  • 3 months later...

This wasn't a bad match by any means, but they really should have left this issue dead and buried in 1994. There was no point dragging it up again five years later. The dynamic worked well in '93-94 when Hashimoto was a rising star and Tenryu an established one, but Hashimoto as the Man vs. Tenryu the aging vet doesn't pack the same punch. Speaking of punches, was it just me or was Tenryu modeling himself after Terry Funk during this run? Every time he threw a punch it reminded me of Terry. The finish didn't really match my notion of Hashimoto being the Man. I guess post G-1 Climax 1998 he was never at that level again booking-wise. Physically, he had it all over Tenryu so it was hard to buy him jobbing.

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  • 2 months later...

A strikefest all the way. You know what you're getting with this feud. Whilst solid fare it did feel like a match too far in the rivalry. They never got beyond 3rd gear and the crowd wasn't as into it as you might expect. Weak finish as well with Hash falling to a chop of all things.

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  • 1 year later...

Hash's first match since the Dome disaster in January. He's dropped a lot of weight and otherwise looks like he never left. Why yes, I could in fact watch these two go at it all day. I wish it had gone 20+ and it might make a year-end list. As it is it's simply a very enjoyable slugfest between two of wrestling's greatest minimalists.

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  • 2 months later...

Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu - NJPW 6/8/99

 

Hashimoto's first match back since the 1/4 Dome show against Ogawa, which would be his primary feud until he departs New Japan, I do believe. 1999 was the year Mutoh got another crack at running on top for New Japan as the IWGP champion winning the belt at 1/4 from Norton and having five successful defense on the year. After giving Hashimoto a massive run from 96-97 and Sasaki 97-98 and with Chono injuring himself at the start of his run, Mutoh was the logical choice for the standard bearer of New Japan 1999 even though his style did not fit the shoot-style route that Inoki was directioning his company. This is actually on the undercard of the Finals of Best of Super Juniors 1999 tournament held at the Budokan, which saw Kashin defeat Kanemoto.

 

It is Hashimoto vs Tenryu you know it is going to be WAR~! The match is basically worked around headshots and who can KO their opponent first. They are both just headhunting from the get go. Tenryu lands that first big punch, hits an enziguiri and a powerbomb. You think it is over! Tenryu just blitzed the returning Hashimoto, but he goes out to cut a mid-match promo and BAM! Hashimoto greets him with a dropkick. God I missed Hashimoto! Great kicks and that badass aura. Tenryu rocks him again with a punch to the head. It is all punches and chops. He sits him up top never give your opponent the high ground. Hashimoto smashes his head from the top with a kick. Best spot of the match! After that it is just rifling Tenryu with kicks and overhand chops. They trade DDTs as this match is all about giving your opponent a concussion. Two things telegraph Tenryu's win: this is Hashimoto's return and Hashimoto kicks the dogshit out of him the majority of the match. The high kick/Brainbuster really should have been the finish and probably a build to Hashimoto/Mutoh would have been great. Tenryu punches him in the head and then Hashimoto just straight rights him two times and the ref is freaking out and Hash gets one more in. Again another great opportunity for a finish. They did stall out. Hashimoto beat Tenryu up so much that they didn't have a place to go. They kept just going back to strike exchanges. I think a Hashimoto fuck up would have bridged to the finish better. They didn't really sell Hashimoto as punching himself out either. Tenryu hits a Kappo Kick to the head and then hitting a big chop to the head to win. Kinda outta nowhere. They stayed with the theme of headhunting throughout the match. Everybody's big shots were to the head, all of Hashimoto's flase finishes and Tenryu's win were all attacking the head. I just thought they ran out of build and kept circling back to the same place. Also the crowd was oddly dead for a hard-hitting affair between two mega-stars. Great match as always, but pales in comparison with their classics from earlier in the decade. ****

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  • GSR changed the title to [1999-06-08-NJPW-Best of the Super Juniors] Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto

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