[2000-08-13-NJPW-G1 Climax] Yuji Nagata vs Kensuke Sasaki

[soup23]

Nagata is a strong worker at mixing up the mat work. This felt varied and different from the opening of the Ilzuka match which is no small feat. Here it felt more like Nagata gaining the dominant advantage and the leg lock he cranks in the early moments looks brutal. Nagata is also good at logical progressions. If Sasaki reaches back with his arm, why not grab that and work it over a bit? Sasaki chops himself out of the submission and it shows Nagata takes the bait by going into a strike exchange. Nagata is a good enough striker to hold his own but now he is in Sasaki’s domain and Sasaki takes over with strikes, bulldog and powerslam combo. Nagata quickly realizes his error and goes back to the leg with a trip and dragon screw. A really neat counter is Nagata spinning out of the Scorpion right into a modified figure four. Sasaki is hurting but still has all the strength left in his arms and is able to maintain position with a lariat and kicks with his good leg. Nagata goes right back to the well and takes the bad limb down again with another submission. What a great honed in attack. They really tease Sasaki almost tapping out here and the crowd is getting frantic. Great struggle showing him inching his way to the ropes. Great show of strength with Sasaki swinging for the fences and hitting a one armed powerbomb. Running clotheslines but Nagata isn’t done yet with an STO and German going right into another leg submission that has another great bit of struggle. When Nagata goes for two spinning back kicks, Sasaki catches him and hits two straight strength powerbombs. A running clothesline gives him a nearfall but Nagata isn’t done yet. Sasaki pounces right on him though with the brainbuster to put him out and advance to the finals. Nagata made one mistake and Sasaki put together the flurry he needed to win. This was a great fucking match. ****1/4 (8.3)

[AstroBoy]

The story they told is fine and mostly well-executed but I don't love the story and Sasaki didn't sell the leg well enough for my liking. That's a taste thing, so no big deal. I also don't care much for the layout of Nagata working over the leg, controlling so much of the match, and it ultimately has no endgame. I get the point -- the legwork is a means of control and creates the opportunity to stay on offense, to avoid Sasaki's offense. I always just find myself wanting more consequence if this happens where Sasaki overcomes Nagata so swiftly and definitely. Sasaki is the man, so it makes a lot of sense in that way. I would have just preferred a bit more subtlety or ingenuity in how they got there.

 

***1/4

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm not sure where I stand on Nagata as a worker but this was a gripping match. Any match that has you interested in the result has done its job in hooking you. But a match where you already know the result and still get hooked is extra special. The work doesn't have to be great -- a hook isn't always about how good the work is -- but something either in the atmosphere or the dramatic tension has to reach out and grab you and that was the case with the nearfalls here and the work down the stretch. The work wouldn't have meant much if there wasn't so much at stake but the planets aligned here and produced probably the best men's match of the month. it certainly felt that way to me,

[superkix]

A slow burn with Nagata mostly controlling with the legwork, which I thought worked well here, with Sasaki just trying to power through the pain but still acknowledging the targeted leg. I like when Nagata is trying to hack out the leg with kicks and Sasaki is just clubbing him with lariats. Whenever he deviates from the normal clobbering approach, it usually backfires. He tries for the Sharpshooter and Nagata counters with the leglock and again, when he starts using kicks, Nagata is able to catch him in the reverse figure four. Sasaki didn't oversell but he also didn't undersell, which I can appreciate. In the end, he has to rely on the power to beat Nagata, hitting the lariat and the Northern Lights Bomb to finish him off. Pretty good stuff.