Matches from 1972

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IWE Heavyweight Title: Strong Kobayashi © vs. Rusher Kimura (7/9/72)

 

This came off the first IWE Box Set, which covered 1969-74. A match listing that catches one's eye--not because it's a dream match-up of two brilliant workers, but it's a native -vs.-native title match in 1972, a full two years before the Inoki-Kobayashi showdowns that were supposedly the first big native-native matches since Rikidozan-Kimura. Perhaps the IWE had less of a choice in these matters, being a 3rd promotion with a skeleton crew of a roster.

 

I watched this more for the historical value than anything else, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Strong's work. He is "the man" of IWE fending off the challenge of the #2 native in the company, rather than an outsider serving as the victim of an extended squash match against Inoki. Kobayashi takes Kimura apart on the mat to start with some neat takedowns and holds, particularly a crucifix arm-and-neck bar with Strong working it to the hilt: pulling back on Rusher's other arm, rubbing his face in the mat with his legs, and raining legdrops down on the back of his head. Unfortunately, Kimura never could do much on the mat and here he can't do much more than lie there while Kobayashi does the bulk of the work.

 

Kimura does bring a bit of his fire and striking to the end of the fall, heeling it up with punches and an eye gouge before putting Strong away with a double arm suplex. (10:22 shown; there appeared to be a clip in the early stages.)

 

Down a fall with his title on the line, Strong wastes no time kicking Rusher's face in to start the second. A swinging neckbreaker, a front facelock, and a delayed vertical suplex later and it's quickly tied up at 2:11. Rusher appeared to get his shoulder up but the referee counted three regardless.

 

The third fall is little more than both guys trading bombs back and forth. The psychology of the first fall--Strong controlling things on the mat and Rusher gaining advantage through fighting and strikes--falls by the wayside. However, these two bring a whole lot of offense for a match in 1972: a few different suplexes and some big elbowdrops from Strong and a piledriver from Rusher. Rusher is able to kick out of the suplex that put him

away in the second fall, then manages to counter Strong's atomic drop (his finisher) with the All-Japan "push off the ropes" spot, but whiffs on a big splash attempt and is put away with a back suplex (with the ref horribly botching the count), as Strong retains the title at 4:26.

 

This obviously lacked the historical impact of Strong-Inoki, as well as that match's red-hot crowd. But these two did a nice job of raising the crowd's intensity as they moved from matwork to throwing big moves at each other as the falls went on, making for a much more satisfying match. It's not an all-time classic and I'm not going to go about pushing Strong Kobayashi as the Great Lost Worker of the '70s, but he looked very good carrying a match here, maybe as a result of greater motivation in being the ace of a company rather than New Japan's #3 native. Worth a look.