Yoji Anjoh

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Grimmas]

Anybody?

[GOTNW]

I LOVE ANJOH!!! and will surely rank him. I'll make a case for him eventually that will include information other than "he worked shoot style and had good knee strikes".

[Jetlag]

He was great shootstylist who figured how to have great matches in what was arguably the weakest form of shootstyle presentation. Great singles bouts with Funaki, Tamura and Sano, all of which stand out as among the best bouts of it's respective company. Smart matworker with a knack for layout and some killer strikes. His big drawing card however is his ability to switch it up and transform into an absolute bastard and heat magnet when slotted into interpromotional battles. His expressiveness matches anyone else's in japanese wrestling history which makes him a great opponent for guys like Tenryu or Fujiwara, and one of those must-watch candidates where any possible matchup is interesting. Anjoh vs. Tarzan Goto? You know you want to see it, atleast I do, which is why digging up all the undercard Anjoh matches from the 2000s has been on my to do list for a while. The biggest crack on him is that the KINGDOM promotion that used him as ace was kind of a failure, but if you are considering Ohtani then Anjoh more than deserves a look.

[Parties]

He's almost a lock for my list somewhere, but I don't know how low he'll go. I will have him above a lot of "star" American 80s/90s/00s nominees who might not even make my list. I will Anjo much higher than someone like Waltman or Low-Ki. I think he suffers a bit by hitting his peak status in UWFi, but he is always both highly entertaining and extremely talented on the mat. If his career had sustained, I could have seen him as an Onita type of over-the-top but charismatic personality, but the closest place for such a character by that point was HUSTLE. His career as a shooter was too weird to gain traction, but as one of the only shoot style guys willing to work as a sleazy, semi-cowardly heel, he mastered his role. An #85-100 option, but a strong candidate who shouldn't suffer just because he's the 7th or 8th best shoot style worker.

[DR Ackermann]

Terrific heel. Shows lots of character and emotion, especially for shoot style. Sells wonderfully and also brings it offensively with great matwork and striking. In a style that's all about toughness and technique he doesn't mind being a punk, stalling and taking cheap shots. The more I watch the more he rises on my list. I think of all the shoot style guys he might be the most accessible for people who aren't used to the nuances of the style.

 

Some matches on YouTube that I recommend:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSABUJNAjA

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVa65UtHF8E

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLD8xmWluHA

 

[elliott]

I voted Yoji Anjoh 81st in 2016 and I feel good about that one. Hes a great character who kicks ass and you want to see get his ass kicked. Great on the mat as well. Love the matches against Sano & Tamura. Jetlag references it above from the last project, but Anjoh is awesome in an interpromotional setting. His tag work in NJPW or the singles match with Tenryu especially stands out. Anjoh just rules. 

[KB8]

Anjoh was my number 58 in 2016 and honestly, I've watched enough new Anjoh in the last five years to put him higher next time. I absolutely love Anjoh and he's probably a top half guy for me at this point. In terms of shoot style workers who are great in a pro style setting he's not Fujiwara. He's not Maeda or maybe even Yamazaki, and if you're a Takada fan then there's another name. But he's a brilliant shoot style worker and even if he doesn't necessarily have a litany of amazing pro style matches, he certainly had all the tools to be great against guys like Chono and Tenryu. He was pretty much perfect for an inter-promotional feud, like has been mentioned already. Basically every time he was involved in something like that there would be rabid heat. His douchebag charisma is practically second to none and he had some of the best obnoxious pouty facial expressions ever. With Anjoh there was also always that lingering sense that he might get pissed off about something innocuous and the match would take a turn for the unpleasant. It helps that he has a handful of shoot style matches that are some of the best ever in the style. 

 

YOJI ANJOH YOU SHOULD WATCH:

v Masakatsu Funaki (UWF, 6/14/89)

v Kiyoshi Tamura (UWFi, 7/3/91)

w/Kazuo Yamazaki v Gary Albright & Jim Boss (UWFi, 1/9/92)

v Naoki Sano (UWFi, 8/13/93)

v Genichiro Tenryu (WAR, 7/21/96)