[1974-12-15-Sao Paulo, BRA] Antonio Inoki vs Andre the Giant

[paul sosnowski]

Talk about it here

EDIT: YouTube video has been deleted

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWF Heavyweight Champion Antonio Inoki vs Andre The Giant - NJPW In Brazil 12/15/74

Japanese National Hero meets French Giant in Brazil in 1974. Pro Wrestling is the best. This is not their first meeting Andre bested Inoki in March of '74 in Japan. Inoki would not get his win back in Japan until 1976, interesting booking move to keep the monster heel hot for years. Inoki & Sakaguchi would routinely beat Andre & Partner at the conclusion of Andre's tours while Andre would usually win singles matches over Strong Kobayashi & Sakaguchi while on tour.

As for this match, it owes most of its entertainment and excitement to the fact that see two are instrincally interesting as larger than life characters. There is not much in the way of highspots and the rhythm of the match is unusual but it is still compelling. There is not much in the way of realism either. I don't want to be misconstrued when I saying the pacing was odd because it felt shoot-y because it didn't. There would be moments of fast break offense but that would be quickly quelled. It also never really progressed, but I kinda liked that given how routine modern wrestling feels. 

Inoki's greatest weapon against the Giant was his speed. The dropkick proved to be very effective against Andre along with generally moving out of the way letting Andre do his get tied up in the ropes spots which were the best highspots. The dropkicks along with the snapmare were the biggest pops of the match. Andre stuck to the fundamentals and worked great holds. The ref intimidation spots were fun. I really liked him holding the rope on the second snapmare attempt felt like a duck move. The match was hurt by Inoki's penchant for not selling. Big heavy handed blows by Andre were just shrugged off. Inoki teed off at one point but this never really felt the brawl you wanted it to be. The finish is classic puroresu. Loved the Flying Short Arm Scissors takedown even if it was botched because it is such a neat idea. Andre picks him up in the hold and they both tumble over. Knew it was the finish immediately I'm a bit confused if it a DCO or an Inoki win.

Worth a watch but ultimately underwhelming. ***1/4

 

[fxnj]

This was a match I'd known about for a long time, figured it was probably great, and, unlike a lot of the 90's/2000's NJPW stuff I'd also held off on, this actually was quite great. Unique setting with it being in Brazil with lots of Japanese immigrants in attendance. Seemed they wanted to market Inoki's background in the country. It's one of those matches that's pretty simple in terms of play-by-play but works tremendously well because of the great character work, strong execution, and a simple but engaging story. It comes across as the predecessor to PRIDE freak show fights. Andre dwarfs Inoki in terms of overall size, but the difference is really apparent when they go for a knuckle lock and Inoki's hand looks like a toddler's compared to Andre. Inoki is great working little things to put over the size difference, like how he sells every hold he goes for as a titanic struggle just putting it on, and he isn't always successful like with the bow and arrow attempt. It looks so violent every time Andre throws Inoki into the ropes. Andre takes most of the match on the mat and he shows some impressive skills with how works the holds and keeps it entertaining by changing his attack up. Thought the headlock takedown he did looked really hard and I liked how he used it to wrench Inoki's neck. Some fun comedy too. Inoki discovers he can use his power and defensive quickness to get the slight edge in the striking game, and ends up getting his best success by going for punches and drop kicks, which Andre shows some great selling for. I love the finish where Inoki finally starts finding openings on the mat and just holds on for dear life on the first real submission hold he can lock in (a short arm scissors/biceps slicer), and through a series of events manages to parlay that into a count-out win.