[2000-07-13-WAR] Genichiro Tenryu vs Hayabusa

[soup23]

This felt like a perfect G1 block match. A few moments of really engaging opening matwork and then a nice, well built finishing stretch. Nothing felt overdone but the viewer also didn't feel cheated. Busa showed good restraint here and didn't over reach in the ring with Tenryu which was refreshing. Tenryu going for his dive to the outside gets a great reaction from Korakuen. Overall, this was a pairing where I wasn't sure how they would match up together, but it worked and left the viewer wanting to see more. ***1/2 (7.1)

[cheapshot]

I went in to this match expecting them not to gel well, and I was glad I was wrong. Always a fan of Tenryu's old man dives, and he didn't disappoint in this match. Great point from Chad, this did feel like a G1 block match, both in terms of length and match quality. Nice to see a clean finish in match pitting two promotions top stars against each other. ***1/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

Hey Chad, whats up with the Dewey Decimal system in parentheses? You trying to out-nerd, Parv, or sumthin?

 

Genichiro Tenryu vs Hayabusa - WAR 7/13/00

 

WAR & FMW had an off and on feud from 1994 through 2000 (when both promotions ceased being relevant). It definitely peaked in 1994, but throughout the late 90s Tenryu would face wrestlers from FMW. After UWFi closed, WAR & FMW remained the two major independent promotions so made sense to leverage one another for a payday Tenryu is fresh off a 2 year run with New Japan where he won the tag titles and defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at 1/4/00 Dome show. He was just about to return to All Japan, but in between he had some fun with Hayabusa. Besides having the coolest look since Great Muta, I have not been too fond of Hayabusa in the few matches I have seen thus far.

 

This was a showdown of two aces and it was worked pretty segmented and straightforward. I am going to do my shit and then you do yours. For two very charismatic superstars, this leads to a good, but not great match. I loved Tenryu in this. His reaction to Hayabusa wimpy kick and chops was great and then hits a MAN-SIZED CHOP to fell Hayabusa in one blow. Hayabusa gets destroyed in a power match as Tenryu is just steamrolling him. He gets a dragon leg whip this affords him the opportunity to hit a couple dives and a big high kick. This is exactly what Hayabusa needs to do. He needs to fly around, but stay on Tenryu. Tenryu decks him and it is all Tenryu again. Tenryu is awesome playing to the crowd for his dive. It made me pop. He can still hang with the young guns. His little Dusty Rhodes flip flop fly on his punch-chop was awesome. The transition sucked as Hayabusa just suplexed Tenryu and then hit a back body driver and Falcon's Arrow, which did not feel earned. Imagine telling Tenryu in 1990 in ten years you will be hit by a 450 splash. Tenryu kicks out. Hayabusa gets some more token offense, but you know it is over for him. Tenryu powerbombs him out of rana attempt. Super Reverse Suplex! Mack truck Lariats! Powerbomb wins it for the Old Man.

 

Entertaining exhibition of both men's talents and charisma. Just nothing next level. ***1/4

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a fun match. I loved how indignant Tenryu was when Hayabusa kicked him in the chest as though Hayabusa didn't deserve a single lick of offense. I didn't really get the hype surrounding Tenryu until I did a deep dive on him during the GWE project and now my appreciation for him grows with every passing match. He's such a great seller and always adds tiny details to his bouts liking shaking out the cobwebs after kicking out of one of Hayabusa(s top rope moves. He was a bit lazy with his transitions in this bout but it was more of an exhibition than anything else and those WAR fans sure knew how to enjoy themselves. I loved that guy clapping after Tenryu(s old man dive. Worth watching simply because it's Tenryu.

[Tim Evans]

So how does Tenyru go from being Hayabusa in FMW to having a match with him in WAR? Fun match with both guys going full speed. I liked how Tenyru kept being shocked Hayabusa would kick out of his moves untill finally putting him away. This kinda felt like a RAW match.

[Makai Club #1]

I think this is one of the few times that I've seeked out a Hayabusa match to see what the crack is. I've watched him being in certain matches like the Onita one, the ECW tag, the All Japan tags he has with Shinzaki but this I seeked out specifically for him, my focus was on him. And he was alright, I came out prefering Tenryu which is fine. Hayabuysa bumped well for Tenryu and was a nice underdog who kept kicking out of moves. Tenryu was great. I loved the he'd wallop Hayabusa with a lariat. That tope was super fun to see as well. Hayabusa had some hope spots and that was really it. The one thing that stood out of his was the pele kicks. Both messy and precise. More of that. ***1/2