Takashi Ishikawa

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Jetlag]

Probably won't convince anyone, but I like this dude more than about 3/4ths of the guys nominated. Really good second fiddle player to the stars and manages to steal the show from guys like Jumbo and Choshu. Don't know how good his AJPW run exactly his, but his post 1990 work as lumpy-surely old bastard who will kick you in the eye is among my favourite things to watch.

[Graham Crackers]

I'm under the impression he didn't get a lot of opportunities in the 80s but I remember loving Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa AJPW 2/20/1988. He's also in the really good Tenryu vs Choshu 6 man tag from 1/10/1985.

[ScToTeE]

I'm under the impression he didn't get a lot of opportunities in the 80s but I remember loving Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa AJPW 2/20/1988. He's also in the really good Tenryu vs Choshu 6 man tag from 1/10/1985.

 

I just re-watched 02.20.1988 and it ruled. Ishikawa is a total terrier, audaciously staring down rottweiler Tenryu as he's about to cinch a sharpshooter on his buddy. Then Tenryu smashes his face in with vicious forearms against the ring edge. Everyone really added to that match, Ishikawa especially.

 

Isn't Ishikawa a player in the NJPW vs. WAR feud? I looked at my old reviews on WKO and he doesn't seem to stand out during the tags in '93. But he has a bunch of nominated singles matches that I have yet to see.

[Phil Schneider]

He was totally awesome in the WAR feud, rewatch those tags, he was as important as Tenryu in their team, here is my review of the 4/23/93 match

 

Riki Choshu/Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu/Takashi Ishikawa

Tremendous, tremendous match. Three of the all time great asskickers in professional wrestling history kicking major ass, and Ishikawa desperately trying to hold up his end. Really spectacular performance by Ishikawa, he was excellent as the burly, lumpy overmatched guy who was going to jump right into the fray. He was constantly cheap shotting the NJPW team from the apron, running in a stomping then in pin, clubbering them for behind. He both absorbed and delivered a beating worthy of the other three guys in the match. We get an awesome opening Tenryu v. Hashimoto scramble with both guys working crazy fast to grab and arm or leg. The match hits another gear when Choshu gets posted and starts bleeding, Tenryu may be the greatest "blood in the water" wrestler of all time, he just lasers in on the cut, punching and kicking Choshu right in his bloody head. Then we get a spectacular Hashimoto hot tag where he just splits guys in half with kicks, ending in a super hot finish run. I honestly though this was par with your high end All Japan tags of this period. Same level of heat and drama, just replacing the headrops with lariats and kicks to the eye and throat. Highest recommendation, WAR MOTHERFUCKER WAR!!!

[Phil Schneider]

He also had two great Hara singles

 

Reviews

 

7/14/92

 

Man alive did this rule, Ishikawa has been the total discovery of this WAR project, I honestly had zero memory of his existence before this and he has been a total superstar. Both guys come off as total bad asses, they both level epic beatings on each other to start up the match, but Ishikawa gets the upper hand. The finish run of the match was so great, Ishikawa is relentless, crushing with suplexes and kicks to back, Hara keeps getting up but Ishikawa keeps knocking him down. Finally Ishikawa just starts punting him in the kidneys until the ref just calls the match. Ishikawa then just chucks Hara out of the ring throws him into a table and slaps the fuck out of Fuyuki for no reason. Totally awesome, Ishikawa comes off as a wrecking machine and Hara comes off as a tough motherfucker for being able to withstand the beating.

 

 

2/10/93

 

Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa

These guys had an awesome brutal battle on the debut show, and their rematch lives up to it. This starts a little slower, as both guys work holds for a bit at the beginning. These are guys who can put on a headlock, as they look like they are fresh squeezing grapefruit juice. When they start pounding each other it is as violent and awesome as you expect. Ishikawa's stomps to the head and Hara's headbutts were the highlights, and both guys threw cringing lariats. Ishikawa has some pretty impressive agility for a tubby dude, he gets wasted off the apron by a Hara lariat and takes a big bump to the floor. In addition he hits a really pretty pescada. 2010 Puro has a bunch of really stiff wrestling, the thing that makes this so much better is that these guys are really great at selling fatigue and brutality. This isn't two guys exchanging shots with no long term impact, every shot takes the kind of toll you would expect it to, and at the end they look like they crawled through land mines.