[2002-03-02-ZERO-ONE-Truth Century Creation] Shinjiro Ohtani vs Naoya Ogawa

[Jetlag]

Big awesome spectacle. Ohtani rushes Ogawa kicking him in the face, and Kazunari Murakami is ringside causing trouble. Ogawa has his haters, but to me his greatness is undeniable as he is pretty much the best possible japanese Goldberg. When hits the first judo throw on Ohtani he just drills him into the mat, and when he follows up kicking Ohtani he looks like a killing machine. He looks like he will destroy a guy in 2 minutes, but his selling is such that it always looks like the other guy can believably make a comeback. I also love how he took a german suplex with his big lanky frame. Ohtani of course rules punching Ogawa in the balls and selling the beatdown huge especially the last STO where he was just laid out as if he had his neck broken.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Naoya Ogawa vs Shinjiro Ohtani - Zero-One 3/2/02

I watched Ogawa vs Matt Ghaffari (USA Olympic Wrestler) from the UFO 2002 Dome show because I thought it was a work but I’m 99% sure it was a shoot. Ogawa KO’d with a crazy straight left to the nose. Ogawa handled self well against a dude who was clearly a one-dimensional wrestler. Also on that show Fujita kicked Yasuda’s ass in a shoot. Inoki looked oddly nonplussed about that finish. I figured it be like watching your two sons but it looked like he wanted Yasuda to win. Inoki was very happy about Ogawa’s win. Hashimoto was also there and put Ogawa on his shoulders. No point in reviewing actual shoots on here as this is Pro Wrestling ONLY goddamnit where we WORK! 
 

This is the main event of the first year anniversary show draws pretty well with Ogawa on top and Hashimoto in the semi-main event against Masato Tanaka. They take a break from featuring Tom Howard and his UPW boys. Kazunari Murakami is at ringside and he is beefing with his former partner Ogawa. Now there’s a match I wish we saw! Perhaps it happened in IGF but it definitely didn’t happen in 2002 which is a bummer. I have no idea if it would have drew well (probably Ogawa Drew pretty well in 2002) but goddamn it would have been a banger. 
 

One of the better Ogawa matches I have seen in a bit this was raucous mayhem. Ogawa gets on the mic immediately antagonizes Murakami and throws a mic at him. Murakami gets up on the apron to create the kerfuffle that gives Ohtani the opening to pounce and overwhelm Ogawa early with a plancha to the outside and face washes (one trying to get back in the ring was great). Ohtani goes full-court press but the ref peels him off. Ogawa composes himself and just going into Killer mode, great front kick and punts once Ohtani is down. Murakami back up and it is Ohtani famous springboard DROPKICK! I love how Murakami is creating these openings for Ohtani. Ohtani hits a ballshot. I approve. Cobra Clutch is Ohtani’s near fall and Ogawa needs the ropes. Ohtani gets cocky trying to shoot Ogawa into the ropes and does a jumping spin kick. Ogawa stops and flattens him with a STO!!! Ogawa crushes him with a  Saito Suplex. The only odd transition is Ohtani getting a kneebar and then a cross armbreaker on Ogawa on his own. Ohtani goes for a powerbomb but is backdrop. He scrambled to his feet and charges only to get flattened by SPACE TORNADO OGAWA~! STO CITY! LETS FUCKIN GO! Ogawa wins! They do the pull apart with Murakami which sadly doesn't go anywhere. 
 

This match is virtually perfect in 7 minutes. Little things like how the back drop was used to set up the first STO. Ohtani didn’t sell it like a slam or make Ogawa come get him. He panicked. He lost the advantage and he scrambled to reassert himself but haste makes waste as my mother always said. In his desperation he left himself open to the STO. That is just one example of how pretty much every transition was organic and logical. Awesome pro wrestling! ****