[1987-02-05-NJPW] Shiro Koshinaka vs Nobuhiko Takada

[superkix]

This is a low-burning match that really heats up in the home stretch. Overall, it felt very "wild" in the sense that they're flying all over the place offensively and there's this wick of bitterness that flares up every now and then. Takada comes at Koshinaka with the stiff kicks and spends a lot of time on the ground trying to set-up the chickenwing. Takada's dragon suplex bridge is nuts.He blows off some of Shiro's offense but his selling toward the finish was great. Koshinaka was terrific in this, between his selling, his fun runs of offense and smart defense. I loved the finish, with Koshinaka attacking the fingers as a counter to the chickenwing and working the shit out of Takada's hand to set-up the submission finish. A buzzing atmosphere and a really good match with an odd pace and/or structure.

[Makai Club #1]

Yet again, they have a tremendous match that is relentless in action and drama. When they are on the ground, they are always moving around and working towards something whether it’s the chicken wing or the Fujiwara armbar. But they mix it up as well, with petter slaps and kicks being thrown as well which increased the heated atmosphere more so. I think their spells of no-selling really work. Like anything else, there is a time to do it and times where anything can help a match and this does. Takada would take a suplex and get right back on Koshinaka and vice-versa, and that just speaks to how this match was. It was two stubborn wrestlers fighting to a finish. And the struggle to lock on the Fujiwara armbar was awesome as Koshinaka kept on ripping into Takada’s hands and fingers to weaken the defensive resistance. Koshinaka finally gets the tap out win and retains the Junior Heavyweight title. Takada is pissed and wants to continue though. More! ****1/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Shiro Koshinaka vs Nobuhiko Takada - NJPW 2/5/87

The last of their trilogy which was pretty much panned by the DVDVR voters which is pretty shocking as this match and the first match are terrific and the second match is pretty good too. 

It is tentative start which made me feel like this match would be be more like the previous match than the first match but boy was I wrong as this one topped them all. There is a brief moment at the beginning of the match where Koshinaka slaps at Takada's hand he comes grimacing. He is wearing tape on two fingers. I didnt think much of it at the time, but it is crucial. In each match, there is an early slap exchange and that fires them. Takada pissed attacks Koshinaka in the ropes with kicks. Koshinaka barks back as if to say "I was in the fucking ropes, asshole!". They end a criss cross sequence with Takada going for a spinning heel kick and Koshinaka going for a dropkick after three matches I like the scouting/know each other spot. Weird spot as Takada goes to suplex out of the ring, Koshinak lands on the apron but loses his balance and falls ass first to the floor. He regains control and Tombstones Takada in the ring. I wonder if he was supposed to land on the apron and counter Takada from there. Takada BLASTS him in the face with a wicked kick coming up from that. The rest of the kicks miss by a mile in the flurry but that first one had me verbally exclaiming. Takada hits his own Tombstone and then missile dropkick. Takada is looking for the Crossface Chickenwing which was a staple of the last match. He misses an Enziguiri and Koshinaka appleis a single leg crab and then a German Suplex bridge. Koshinaka really wants the Rear View and Takada really wants the Crossface Chickenwing but neither gets what he wants. Takada SMASHES his face with a kick! That looked even more vicious than the last one I "OOOOHHH" for. Lo & Behold, Koshinaka has a bloody mouth. Takada works a lot of armbar takedowns and leglocks. Armbars looked great. Koshinaka was great again at working in the leglock first rolling to the floor and then engaging in a wicked slap exchange in the second. Takada looks to be in the driver's seat. Looks to finish the match with a Saito Suplex and when that doesnt work a Dragon Suplex. In a blink and you miss moment, Koshinaka breaks free of the Full Nelson and Takada is writhing in pain. I rewound and saw it was because Koshinaka went after the taped fingers. Interesting. Takada applies the Crossface Chickenwing but is too close to the ropes. Nails a fucking PICTURE PERFECT DRAGON SUPLEX! Look at his forehead! Takada applies the Crossface Chickenwing and I really thought Koshinaka was dead to rites and then he yanks at the busted fingers! FINGER MANIPULATION! Which I thought was illegal in traditional pro wrestling like how closed fists are. Ref lets it go. Koshinaka is relentless! Takada sells it like a million bucks. He throws the tape off and tries to regroup but Koshinaka wont stop! Takada gets some desperation head kicks as Koshinaka is still bleeding from the mouth. Takada is seated in the corner trying to regroup but Koshinaka keeps coming and armbar takedown with finger manipulation gets Takada, the UWF Fighter to submit! Huge victory! 

There are parts of the first match I like better, but I loved this finish. I like how they foreshadowed it and then really drove it home. Takada is clearly the better wrestler but Koshinaka is finding ways to win! Awesome match! ****1/2

[KB8]

Cards on the table, I hated this series back during the DVDVR project. Well I hated two of their matches. This one I had just outside my top 60, so I probably didn't hate it but I wouldn't suggest I loved it. But 2009 was a time long ago and what are we (it is merely I, a singular entity) if not open to re-evaluation? Honestly this is a bit of a strange match, at least in terms of structure. It's quite choppy, but that matches the rough execution and overall it adds to the uncooperative feel of it, almost like a pro/shoot style hybrid. Even though they don't necessarily communicate hatred in an overt sense, at least not early, you can tell that they do not like each other one bit and that resonates from start to finish. They're a little tentative to begin, some missed kicks here and there, mostly a feeling out process. There's one moment where they tie up and Koshinaka kind of slaps Takada's hand away, and Takada immediately sells it in a way that tells you there's something to it. Two of the fingers on that hand are taped up and the camera zooms in on it, so you can probably file that one away for later. Neither guy really sustains an advantage early and they do a few "I have you too well scouted" exchanges, but they were fine and the underlying malice behind those exchanges kept them from feeling rote. Like, the part where Takada's spin kick was met with Koshinaka's dropkick worked not just because it conveyed that part of the story ("this is our third singles match so we know each other pretty well"), but because it didn't look like those kicks were intended to do anything other than land on the opponent. Even some of the iffy selling was fine. I don't think either guy is a particularly compelling seller anyway, but this was some fight-through-pain selling that I didn't mind and even the dodgy no-selling parts added to how uncooperative everything felt. The first real example of that was when Koshinaka hit a tombstone and Takada kicked out, got up to his feet and punted Koshinaka right in the head (and even after it he sort of slumped in the ropes as a delayed reaction). Takada has the edge in grappling and he's obviously a better striker, so at points it feels like Koshinaka only has a shot through stubborn determination. There was also a great sense of escalation, the way they'd try and hit moves only for the other to fight them off, then come back to them later once fatigue had kicked in. It happened with the dragon suplex (this was one of the most gorgeous dragon suplexes you'll see btw), some of the submission attempts, even some of the strikes that were being avoided earlier. Towards the end Takada is all in on the crossface chickenwing, then we get that payoff from earlier as Koshinaka tries to snap his fingers. Takada's selling here was awesome and I loved that he looked at Koshinaka like this was beyond the pale even for him. He'd try and circle around Koshinaka with that hand hidden, but any time he'd grab him or come close enough Koshinaka would get to the finger-bending. The bit where he stomped on the hand while bleeding from the mouth made him look like a desperate man who may or may not also be a psychopath. Finish rules, with Koshinaka applying an armbar while bending the fingers at disgusting angles, leaving the fancy kickpad MMA guy no choice but to submit. Those pro wrestling rules are different, brother. This was way the fuck better than I remembered. Maybe watching it in isolation without the stink of their previous matches helped, but either way I thought it was really good. Maybe I've been too harsh on 80s Koshinaka all this time.