[2002-05-02-NJPW] Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Scott Norton

[Jetlag]

This is one of those feel good matches you can just back and enjoy every second of it. Basically Hashimoto & Ogawa waltz in and just destroy everything in their path. STOs, nasty kicks and chops and various cool combination moves abound. Norton & Tenzan don‘t stand much of a chance but they try. You get a great little Norton performance as he sells all the nasty chops and kicks he takes to his shoulder in a big way. There is an art to selling in such a way that everyone can emphatize with you even when you‘re a giant muscled up dude like Norton and he had it down. Tenzan also doesn‘t suck!

[Superstar Sleeze]

Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs TEAM 2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Scott Norton) - NJPW Tokyo Dome 5/2/02

Historically a very important match as this was Hashimoto’s last match in a New Japan ring and Ogawa’s second to last match in New Japan. This is New Japan’s 30th Anniversary show drawing 47000 not too shabby. Misawa vs Chono and Nagata vs Takayama were on top. You have to imagine this would have been TenCozy if Kojima had not defected to All Japan. It is interesting to track if Tenzan’s push was a result of Kojima’s departure. We have Norton in this spot instead and in probably one of his last premiere matches. Hashimoto is still over like rover so these are the perfect guys to feed to him especially since he is playing the role of invader.

I was surprised at how much offense Tenzan and Norton got but I guessed viewed through the lens of Hashimoto & Ogawa as invaders it makes more sense. Ogawa is highly protected and only sells because of nefarious tactics by Team 2000: Tenzan BUmrushing him at the bell, Norton bullying into the Team 2000 corner for double team, a Tenzan ballshot leading to a Tenzan Driver. Hashimoto is not as well protected. Tenzan and Norton hit their clubbering offense and Hashimoto sells similar to a Choshu style match. This is very much a Fighting Spirit match. Hashimoto always absorbs the offense and eventually overcomes this opponents. They had a sick nasty STO/Legsweep combination. That’s when Tenzan hits the aforementioned ballshot to set up the Tenzan Driver. Norton comes in and Hashimoto hits the Single Arm DDT which leads to some fantastic selling of the arm by Norton for the rest of the match. Ogawa is nailing Judo takedowns and putting Norton into wristlocks and armbars. Tenzan hits a diving headbutt to break up the cross armbreaker which was sick! Norton powers up against Hashimoto doing this epic Babyface arm dangling comeback with power slams and lariats. He tries to get the Shoulderbreaker on Hashimoto but OGAWA WALTZS IN FOR THE STO!!! STO FLATTENS TENZAN! The STO/German combo on Norton wins it for the Z-1 boys! 
 

Loved the finish! Nothing that will set your world on fire but solid meat and potatoes wrestling. I thought everything after the Single Arm DDT on Norton was red hot! ***1/2