Osamu Nishimura

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Timbo Slice]

Another one of those personal favorites where I can see him getting on my list. There was a stretch in the early 2000s where I thought he could do no wrong. He had the best Akiyama match in the 2003 G-1 Climax, was great in the 2002 Climax, as well.

[Ditch]

All-time though? Really? Top 100 from Japan maybe, or post-2000, but *ever* is a tough tough sell. He added a lot to a couple G-1 tournaments but that Akiyama match (for instance) isn't great enough to be a big selling point in a GOAT discussion.

[Dylan Waco]

I have grown incredibly found of Nishimura over the last few years, to the point where I would now call him one of my favorite five Japanese wrestlers of all time. Top five Japanese wrestlers of all time? No way in hell. But his stripped down, NWA champ style of working is something I mark out for every fucking time out. I really loved him in WNC, I loved him in MUGA, I love him just about any time I watch a random old match of his. When I get down to my bottom five or so it is very possible that I will be dropping on favorites that I think deserve more praise than they get and Nish fits the bill.

[Jetlag]

I think Nishimura may be one of the greatest big match workers ever.

AJPW 28.06.2008 - Suwama vs Osamu Nishimura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEuGLIDTIjg

The previous day I said Suwama was impossible to carry in a long match. Spoke too soon, as he looked perfectly fine here. He looks solid doing opening matwork and he does fine selling his leg and putting over that he is in trouble when it is clear locking up with even a wounded Nishimura is dangerous and sprinting across the ring for lariats isn't an easy thing either. This is 100% Nishimura's match however. Every single move counts and is to the point. It really is that simple. Early hold exchanges establish Suwama can hang with Nish, so he gets Suwama on the outside and tears his leg up. Back in the ring Suwama reverses the Figure 4 immediately using his power, but Nish turns it back and really emphasizes that he is locking the move in with maximum pressure. Both guys end up in the ropes and wincing in pain with their legs entangled which is great. Suwama eventually gets the advantage using his power and big blows, while Nishimura makes his goofy looking double handed chops look better than they have any right to be. Early on he takes that corner bump as if he was rocked by a shootstylist, then he later on he takes them like Jackie Fargo hanging from the ropes and getting further worn out with each hit. Second half is Suwama throwing bombs while Nishimura counters with various cradles and submissions that get huge reactions. Nishimura fights like he has nothing left in the tank, takes these backdrop suplexes better than anyone I've ever seen and does this awesome noodle legged selling, trying to withstand Suwama's force. Throughout this Nish comes across as a tough, barefooted maniac with the determination of a terminator attempting to neutralize a tank but eventually succumbs to the blunt force of Suwama's bomb throwing. Hell of a match, Nishimura may be the coolest wrestler of the decade, maybe not technically the greatest, but def. the coolest.

[Tim Cooke]

Rewatched the Takayama 2002 G-1 Semifinal match over the weekend. Hadn't seen it in years. The way Nishimura has the crowd with him throughout all of his old school work is amazing. They could have taken the easy route and worked his around Takayama and his brutality since he was the hot commodity at the time. They don't go that route and are greatly rewarded.

 

Most wrestlers/performers and even athletes can work well within their own bubble. Nishimura working his own style in MUGA is much less impressive to me than getting over big time in New Japan, at a time where Inoki and his MMA influence were sending the promotion spiraling out of control. Absolutely great match that any Nishimura fan (or Takayama fan) should seek out immediately.

[El-P]

Retromania. But yeah, really good.

[Childs]

I have also remembered my affection for Nishimura in the course of going through so much 2000s footage. His style was especially refreshing at a time when so much of Japanese wrestling was so overdone. I wish some of the guys around him had taken more note of the reactions he got just by selling and carefully building to key moments.

 

The Takayama match was great. I know some found it overly exhibitiony, but I didn't see that. Takayama started with the hubris of trying to outwork Nishimura at his own game. When that didn't work, he turned to his tried-and-true bombs, only to find Nishimura had more ammunition than he thought in the striking game as well. I know we think of Nishimura as primarily a ground worker, but his European uppercuts always looked tremendous. So by the time Takayama finally landed the telling blows, it felt like he'd been through a true ordeal.

 

Nishimura's 2004 battle with Kanemoto was another of my favorite G1 matches from the decade.

 

I'm planning to watch some 2008-2011 All Japan to see how Minoru Suzuki looked, and I'm also eager to see if Nishimura was still going strong on those shows. From Jetlag's Suwama review, sounds like he was.

[fxnj]

Problem with looking at the Suwana match as evidence how well he could work a long match is that like 10 minutes got clipped, which leaves some room to be cynical on if the full version would drag more. Otherwise, I agree that's a great match with Nishimura hanging really well in delivering an epic, and I'm honestly surprised that it didn't seem to get on the best of 2000s Japan thing.

[NintendoLogic]

I'm kind of surprised to see a Dory Funk tribute act getting so much more love than the genuine article.

[Graham Crackers]

I'm kind of surprised to see a Dory Funk tribute act getting so much more love than the genuine article.

Tribute act or not I find him far more interesting than Dory. I've never seen a Dory match as good as the Fujinami match from MUGA. I think context helps as he often uses his old school matwork as a weapon against diverse opponents from completely different backgrounds. He regularly gets really fired up during his comebacks and I've really only seen Dory like that on a few occasions like the shorter brawl against Brody.

[Jetlag]

Dory has nowhere near the presence or sense of timing that Nish has.

[dawho5]

His MUGA match against Saito from 06 is pretty damn good as well. It's not at the level of the Fujinami match, but it's still a match that's well worth your 20 minutes or so. He has a 2006 or 2007 match against Tajiri worth seeing just for how Nishimura and Tajiri work Tajiri's signature stuff into MUGA style. I can see him being in the 90 to 100 range based on the limited amount I've seen of him. He's incredible at selling, works the "king of the mountain" stuff like nobody else I've ever seen, keeps his matches really, really compact, and his striking is far better than you would ever think it is. If you like the 70s/early 80s NWA/AWA style of working at all he's worth checking out. Especially for how he blends that style in against opponents as varied as Takayama, Kanemoto and Tajiri almost seamlessly.

[Childs]

Just saw his G-1 match with Akiyama from 2003 and it was terrific as well. Excellent attention to detail throughout and a great finish that seemed out of nowhere but actually wasn't. I wish it was nominated for the 2000s project, because it might have been a top-50 match for me.

[ohtani's jacket]

Dylan and Childs inspired me to finally watch some Nishimura. What a beautiful match that Fujinami bout was. I had this notion that Nishimura was a latter day version of someone like Osamu Kido, but clearly he was a lot more expressive than that. I thought he sold exceptionally well during the bout and was fantastic, but what a phenomenal performance from Fujinami. If he'd worked that way more often in the 90s and 00s he'd be a dead set contender for the top 10. It almost reminded me of a Japanese maestros bout. In fact, the bout I kept thinking of was the IWRG Dandy vs. Navarro bout, though the Japanese pair were much much more physical. And what an amazing finish. One of the best sold submission reversals you'll come across. Great match. I felt lucky to watch it it was so special.

[ButchReedMark]

I loved his cup of coffee in ECW (him vs Al Snow is a wonderful sprint), is the rest of his body of work like that? I know about as much about Puro as I do about subtlety.

[MJH]

My problem with Nishimura is half of his signature spots were counters. It's not as bad as, for example, Doug Williams showing up in NOAH and Masao Inoue is suddenly using British holds so Doug can do his counter spots, but it's nevertheless high on my list of bugbears. As far as tribute acts go however - and it's worth noting that he got there earlier than most and had the 'protege' endorsement too - I enjoy him more than most. There's a Dory-in-the-1975-World-Open feel to his tournament work; you'd know that even with the Nakanishis and Yoshies of the world he was gonna hold their hand to a solid, fine-but-forgettable match, and I can't remember many disasters or disappointments.

[El-P]

I loved his cup of coffee in ECW (him vs Al Snow is a wonderful sprint), is the rest of his body of work like that?

 

It's actually much better when he became El Hijo del Fujinami in the 00's, working the "old-school New Japan" guy gimmick better than the guys from the era, almost. The Osamu Kido analogy is kinda spot on, but I guess I like Osamu Kido more than most. If I had to watch *one* NJ guy from the 00's just out of curiosity, it would be him, because he was just so different, and so good at what he did. I regret not having the time to.

[ohtani's jacket]

The Hiro Saito match from 2006 isn't anywhere near as good as the Fujinami bout, but it's actually a better watch in terms of what Nishimura brings to the table. Instead of being blinded by a phenomenal performance from Fujinami, you've got Nishimura working a longish bout against a pretty generic tough guy Japanese wrestler. The focus here as really on leg selling. If you like matches where guys are targeting a body selling and there's a near perfect internal logic to the work and consistent, long term selling then you'll lap this up. Nishimura really does have a sweet European uppercut. I don't think he uses it as well as the Europeans did with their forearm smash contests, but it's a sweet imitation.

[dawho5]

Yeah I had that Fujinami match ridiculous high on my 2000s vote. I think it was top 5. Mainly because of how great it was and the way it compared to all of the other 2000s Japan "tough guy" to borrow a phrase type wrestling. Nish is a guy I'm going to have to dig into more before my final ballot comes together because he seems like somebody I could be really high on as a whole.

[ohtani's jacket]

I downloaded as much Nishimura as I could, and while I can understand Ditch being excited for another Nishimura/Saito match, a match that was clipped in half and took place in New Japan and not Muga is not really a big addition to the man's oeuvre.

[ohtani's jacket]

I enjoyed the Nishimura vs. Akiyama match from 2003. G1 matches are worked differently from MUGA bouts. You can't work the mat as much; instead the bout has to be more dynamic. I thought Nishimura did a pretty good job of working that style even if it didn't play to his strengths. He reminds me of Fujiwara at times, but that may be the shaved head and black trunks talking. I did sense similarities between Fujiwara's 90s New Japan appearances and Nishimura's G1 work, however. I also watched Nishimura vs. Kanemoto from the 2004 G1, I believe. I could barely recognise Kanemoto from his 90s days. He seemed to have adopted a quasi-MMA look. Nishimura gave him way more than a heavyweight usually would. He took a constant pounding from the lighter man but pulled through with one of the more spectacular finishes you'll see this year. Come to think of it, most of Nishimura's finishes have been creative thus far.

[ohtani's jacket]

Nishimura vs. Suzuki was cool for the time it lasted, but Nishimura gave Suzuki way too much of the bout and a guy with legit MMA experience is always going to make a Dory Funk Jr. clone look dithering. A backslide counter was a lame finish against an MMA dude, but I suppose the good thing about this bout is that it defined Nishimura's comfort zone. Circa 1980 facsimiles with Fujinami are a chance to shine, but a worked shoot was a step beyond.

[Childs]

Nishimura vs. Suzuki was cool for the time it lasted, but Nishimura gave Suzuki way too much of the bout and a guy with legit MMA experience is always going to make a Dory Funk Jr. clone look dithering. A backslide counter was a lame finish against an MMA dude, but I suppose the good thing about this bout is that it defined Nishimura's comfort zone. Circa 1980 facsimiles with Fujinami are a chance to shine, but a worked shoot was a step beyond/

If you want to see something really weird along those lines, check out his match with Bas Rutten.

[DGinnetty]

Nishimura has a IWGP tag title match with Manabu Nakanishi against Chono and Tenzan from 6/5/02.

35 minutes of the 60 min (yep) draw aired on Samurai TV, and it was excellent.

 

Nishimura is MUGA-ing it up against his opponents, until Nakanishi gets injured during the match.

Nakanishi is taken to the back.

 

What does Nishimura do?

He exits the ring and removes his wrestling boots, thereby activating SUPER MUGA-mode!!!

 

Alone and barefooted, he fends off Chono AND Tenzan with his counters and fighting spirit until a bandaged Nakanishi can

return to the ring a while later.

 

Worth watching to see how well Nishimura does in that tag match. FWIW, Nakanishi's timing isn't as atrocious as it normally is, so he doesn't drag it down as much as he normally does.

 

Nishimura was def on the fast track, especially after getting the Binta slap from Inoki at Inoki's retirement show. The crowd went nuts when Inoki transferred his fighting spirit to Nishimura.

 

Sadly, 22 matches and 4 months later: testicular cancer sidelines him for 2 years. They push him when he gets back, but Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Makabe appear to be the new direction NJ is moving in.

 

I think Nishimura could have accomplished more, but to me he remains a pleasure to watch.

 

Dan