[1988-01-04-NJPW] Antonio Inoki vs Big Van Vader

[GOTNW]

At this point Vader has figured out some of the stuff that would later become his trademarks like the clubbing blows and the body tackles/attacks/how do you even call those things? Wiki has running body block but that's not something I've ever heard used in real life. But he also does goofy headbutts that aren't really fitting for his gimmick. What's interesting about this match is just how far Inoki goes in putting Vader over. Vader takes control of the ring positioning making Inoki retreat to corners. When Inoki throws some of his punches/slaps he usually uses to surprise his opponents early on and throw them off their game Vader easily shrugs them off. When Vader throws hands Inoki goes down. Inoki's only real moments of shine come after a sweeping leg kick (and Vader's bump made it look amazing and reminds you of what he would eventually become) and a missed shoulder tackle. The shoulder tackle Vader managed to hit Inoki sold for the remainder of the match. They did a ref bump that actually managed to look realistic enough-Vader picked up Inoki for a Bodyslam and while up in the air Inoki hit the referee in the face with his feet. After the missed tackle Inoki got in a couple of Enzuigiris and locked in the Octopus Hold only to have Vader counter by just slamming him on the ground which looked great. Vader managed to both get a visual pin in and take out Inoki after the match. The closest Inoki got to a payback or a comeback after that getting up and going after Vader while Vader was almost already backstage, and even then he quickly went back to selling the ribs. Not nearly as interesting as an Inoki/Andre match, and Vader's control segments lacked the violence and the intelligence of an Andre to positon himself as this giant threat that would have made this structure work. Inoki's burning fighting spirit however remains unbroken. Also Choshu interfered and hit Vader with a Lariat which Vader quickly got up from. There really isn't much difference in how they're putting Vader over here and how Undertaker and Kane were put over ten years later. Both worked too. ***