Atsushi Onita

[Childs]

I don't remember there being a lot. I know we put the match in which he blew out his knee on as an extra. I looked back and there was a tag match with him and Steamboat nominated, but not with a lot of enthusiasm. 

Actually, I went back and looked, and there were some Onita singles on the G+ Classics discs we reviewed. I didn't like them much at the time and particularly didn't like his work. Not sure if I'd feel differently now. 

[Matt D]

Hey this is a favorite of mine:

 

[elliott]

From what I've seen I've really enjoyed his work against Chavo Guerrero.

[Childs]

2 hours ago, elliott said:

From what I've seen I've really enjoyed his work against Chavo Guerrero.

Just watched two of their matches from 1982, including Onita's title win from Crockett, and thought they were pretty good but mostly as showcases for Chavo. Onita came off as a guy who was stealing wins from a superior wrestler and not doing it in particularly charismatic fashion. He wasn't terrible or anything; I just didn't see any real hints of the wrestler he would become. 

[elliott]

I will have specific recommendations soon, but I don't want to ruin the surprise  

Grimmas included one in the Watch Party that MattD uploaded without watching it beforehand (I think my comment prior to seeing it was "Matt uploaded it so thats good enough for me) and I thought it was really impressive. 10/1/82 was the date. 

[Childs]

Yeah, I watched that. Thought it was clearly better than the title change but still more a fine performance than a standout one from Onita.

[Boss Rock]

Watched the Aoyagi matches and they're terrific. Onita certainly knew how to make a match feel both chaotic and like a spectacle.

[club]

Been on an Onita kick recently and he really shines as a wild brawler from 89 to 93. GOTNW made a great post in the Shinya Hashimoto thread about the likes of Inoki and Maeda being able to work their best when able to work their own vision of pro-wrestling. Onita belongs in this category. My read on early FMW is it’s really just the story of Onita getting this improbable second chance to become a star. A punkish underdog heir to Lawler and Funk, dialling up the violence and the emoting. It plays to all his strengths and negates his weaknesses, and that of some of his opponents as well. Even FMW’s DIY aesthetic seems to accentuate Onita’s status as this working-class hero outsider defying the odds and succeeding on his own terms. A pro-wrestling version of Ashita no Joe if you will.

 

Looking at his back catalogue I always assumed that judging him by his big matches against other big 90s names - your Chonos and Tenryus - would give a fair summation. It really doesn’t. A lot of his best stuff come from lesser names: Tarzan Goto, Masashi Aoyagi, Gregori Veritchev. Who the hell has a better match with Gregori Veritchev than Genichiro Tenryu?!