[2017-04-25-AJPW] Shuji Ishikawa vs Daichi Hashimoto

[GOTNW]

This had a promising start, with Ishikawa beating on Daichi and focusing on his mid section, but quickly went to shit once it was time for them to work back and forth. There was a cool moment in the beginning of the match where they were doing shoulder blocks, and as Ishikawa is bigger it's expected he'll know Daichi down, so Daichi booted him in the face before he did so, which was cool since it broke the flow of the sequence and made the inevitable shoulder block that would take him down a little bigger moment. That was completely absent later on in the match, they were just doing empty rope running counters, it doesn't even mattter who hits their move or catches the opponent as they're bouncing off, the crowd will politely clap and move along. It's a ritual really, but one that completely sucks the energy and the meaning of control. And it's not like this is some nitpicking nonsense you have to look super into to see-you see that philosophy clearly moments later in a sequence where first Ishikawa hits a Thunder Driver, but then Hashimoto does a Penalty Kick, and then it's Ishikawa that cuts off the "meaningless rope run~" with a Lariat. They don't even try to half ass pops up in the most cartoonish, Sekimoto-esque eat a headdrop>fighting spirit no sell way. They just get their stuff in. And I don't think that's good wrestling. **