[1986-08-05-NJPW] Nobuhiko Takada vs Shiro Koshinaka

[superkix]

This match was a blast. I love how he no sells Takada’s high kick early on so he can tie him up in the ropes and give him a good smack. Takada’s kicks look brutal and Koshinaka’s selling is terrific, at one point dropping like a bag of flour. There’s some sloppiness to the match, especially with some of the pin attempts, but it doesn’t take too much away from it. They fire off some bigger offense, Takada with his jumping tombstone and Koshinaka with a German suplex hold. As Takada tries to submit Koshinaka, first with the arm, then the leg, tension starts to build. They start kicking at each other while Takada’s got the kneebar on and then they just explode into a maelstrom of vicious slaps. Koshinaka builds momentum heading into the finish but he misses the diving headbutt and Takada is comes after him with those stiff kicks. After a full nelson suplex hold isn’t enough to put him away, Takada locks in the crossface chickenwing for the submission victory.

[Superstar Sleeze]

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Nobuhiko Takada vs Shiro Koshinaka - NJPW 8/5/86

Koshinaka was the inaugural IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion having defeated the Cobra in February and then dropped the belt to Takada in May. Takada is Team UWF all the way with UWF on his boots. 

I have not watched Shoot-Style in so long and this was great to see to scratch that itch. Takada throws a wild kick that connects pretty good with the head. Koshinaka NO-SELLS, Lock-Up slaps the taste out of Takada's mouth. Takada rifles off some more kicks and more no-selling from Koshinaka who has come to play! This leads to a great, heated feel to the match. I thought early holds were well-worked. Takada was completely in charge. He worked the holds well but more importantly was how Koshinaka reacted in scrambling for the ropes. Koshinaka tried to take charge and Takada NO-SOLD his takedowns. He refused to go down twice! I wonder if that was a receipt for the no-selling his kicks. Koshinaka REFUSES to go down on a snapmare! OH SHIT! Takada purposefully evades a dropkick. This shit is wild! It feels really uncooperative. They settle into some boring legbars which is too bad. They had something cool going. It was only two minutes or so and then Koshinaka finally got some offense with a bodyslam and legdrop into a figure-4. They standup. Takada says enough of this shit and it is a BLIZZARD OF KICKS! Takada pummels him into the corner. Koshinaka sold so well. He collapsed twice after two rounds of bitchin' Takada kicks. Takada much like Maeda is at his  best when he is throwing kicks. He threw some that connected with the head & jaw that looked WICKED!  Takada was on fire offensively here going some tight holds, big strikes and big bombs like a Tombstone. Koshinaka was trying for stuff like a Superplex but got stuffed by a slap. I thought Koshinaka stuff didnt always connect. He had a wild slap after the onslaught of kicks and just kinda grazed Takada who sold it and fed him so he could properly hit it. Takada rattled off some jumping Karate kicks but whiffed on the Enziguiri. At some point, Koshinaka was supposed to stymie Takada's flurry with a leg sweep and again didnt get much on it, but Takada sold it. Koshinaka strength was eating Takada's offense and selling. Koshinaka was especially good in holds. As we all know Takada can be quite dry on the mat especially in his leg-laces. Koshinaka was great spicing these up. One time he rolled out with Takada all the way to the floor which was great. The best was the last one, it was maybe the most electric leg lace I have ever seen and I am no fan of it. Koshinaka starts with heel kicks and Takada fires back. Koshinaka then tries slaps and Takada just loses it at one point and SNAPS~! He unleashes fury on Koshinaka's face! Before that, I would be remiss not to mention that Koshinaka true to form hit two Rear Views. I have seen a smattering from Koshinaka from the 90s and that is what stands out from him. I really hope the Japanese commentary was saying "He calls that the Rear View!". Koshinaka does earn the Superplex. After the leglace, we see Koshinaka go for the diving headbutt which is his big finish attempt but on the miss, you can tell the end is nigh. Takada PULVERIZES him with a bevy of brutal kicks which I thought was a sufficient finish. Dragon Suplex and Crossface Chickenwing polishes him off. 

I really liked Takada's offense especially his kicks. Koshinaka was great eating and selling Takada's offense. I think what lifts this match a little higher than your standard Takada match was how hard Koshinaka worked to make the holds interesting especially the leg-laces. ****1/4