[2000-03-25-BattlARTS] Minoru Tanaka vs Ikuto Hidaka

[superkix]

Straight up wacky junior heavyweight wrestling with a go-go-go pace. There's some dueling legwork early on that doesn't pop up again until the end, when Hidaka is trying to submit Minoru with the Shawn Capture. Lots of counters and pin attempts, swinging DDTs in and out of the ring by Hidaka, and some gnarly looking suplexes from Minoru, including a release dragon that dumps Hidaka right on his frosted tips. Selling is sometimes on but mostly off, as is the case with most Minoru matches, but for the most part, this was a fun, easy watch.

[soup23]

We get about 12 out of 19 minutes and this was enjoyable at points with the sequences but also a match where you have to disconnect the promotion from where the action is leading. This wouldn't have felt out of place at all in the middle of a BOSJ tournament. I thought Hidaka's speed helped move things along. Maybe I am coming around on Minoru as we enter the close of the year as while I don't think he is close to the WOTY hype it feels like he received in real time, he does have a bevy of good matches he is involved in. ***1/4 (6.4)