[1999-05-21-NJPW-Best Of The Super Junior VI] Kendo Kashin Vs. Minoru Tanaka

[Ma Stump Puller]

I was pleasantly surprised how well-done this was for a barely 10 minute match. Both of these guys work a Jr-style pace of the time while combining that with a TON of submission wangling and smart mat-work while making sure nothing drags for too long. The start of this in particular sets that tone perfectly as the two just spam kneebars and cross armbreakers on each other over and over to try to catch the other guy out. Some could say this was unrealistic: I would say otherwise given these two didn't make this nonsensically fast-paced and made sure to sell the struggle of either man escaping and then applying said submissions. 

Kashin is naturally as hit-or-miss as ever but I do think even naysayers have to admit that this was a strong performance out of him: he really sells the desperation at points as he struggles to get a win while pulling all of his usual rule-bending shit to do so. Tanaka responds with some surprisingly brutal spots: him consistently dropkicking Kashin's trapped leg in the ropes endlessly and turning a Torture Rack into a nasty rear naked choke are good examples. The match gets real ugly after Tanaka tries for a dive and fails, with a frustrated Kashin throwing him over the guardrail and hitting him with a horrifically stiff chair throw to his back. Tanaka sells for a bit but quickly goes back into submission attempts. He throws a ton of offence at Kashin and tries to find the sweet spot, but his defence is just way too good for him to crack. Eventually he makes the mistake of trying for a standing cross armbreaker transition as a dig at Kashin which the latter counters and smoothly steps in and rolls over into his own for the sneaky win.

Gotta say, this is somewhat all over the place; some might say spotty at times with the amount of submissions and flashy shit: but I loved it. Tanaka is so fast on the mat and Kashin provides that grit via his selling, but also his sharp strikes and effective mat-defence. Tanaka's strikes felt a bit too floaty at points and lacked impact but they weren't really the main focus of the match, so I tended to ignore them. The selling is spotty on Tanaka's side and I felt like he didn't quite sell the damage he was taking over the course of the match nearly as well as Kashin was but regardless both put on a top-notch performance here for a fast-paced tournament-format match. A very good match and a breeze to get through.