[1999-08-30-AJPW] Hiroshi Hase vs Vader

[Ma Stump Puller]

Clipped by about 5 minutes on the conventional TV broadcast, but I'll share a secret: the full version is available via the AJPW Omnibus (give or take, there's still about 2 or so minutes missing of downtime but trust me, that 2 minutes is probably worth not seeing) To say Vader and Hase have history with each other is a understatement: they had a incredible 1995 match in the tag scene while in NJPW which is widely regarded as a highlight of both men's career: but here we get a singles matchup that's more or less designed to get Vader over going into the 1999 Tag League, and, well, I think it's probably one of Vader's best AJPW showings if in general. It's a match that has a insanely loud crowd that immediately kick up for this as soon as the two start throwing meaty chops and big slams. Vader smacking the crap out of him with hammer blows with Hase going like a trooper and throwing himself around like it's no tomorrow with big knee shots and Uranages like Vader doesn't even weigh anything at all is a very surreal visual, but it all works to provide a unique Vader-style match that never dies down or gets especially boring. It's just the two hitting sick stuff to the other while making it make sense in the context of the match.

The crowd explodes for him nailing Vader with a perfect Northern Lights Suplex as well, rightfully so because it was a awesome spot. Vader eventually takes over with his usual power moves, but Hase manages to kick out of a big middle rope splash with ease, even managing to walk off a hellacious Vader lariat. Hase's main tricks are submissions on the legs and arms (doing these as counters to try to make the guy tap out namely a great rolling cross armbreaker out of a chokeslam) and jumping knees, namely off the top rope and apron. Both of these are used as clutches that Vader slowly gets better and better at taking, to the point where they simply don't work anymore. You really get the feeling that Hase knows he's inevitably losing, but he still stubbornly takes as much as he can and then some to try to squeak something out. Of course the inevitable comes as Hase runs out of time and gas, with Vader overwhelming him with a big chokeslam and powerbomb. 

I would've loved to see more of these two because they've clearly got some incredible chemistry, but for a short sprint, this was incredible stuff, especially helped by the insanely hot crowd that were all over Hase's offence, or just kicking out of stuff. The feeling of Kings Road is definitely still here, but condensed into a smart and compact showing rather than a bloated 30+ bomb city match, which was becoming more and more rare as the years went by. I can still feel confident in placing it as high as this is, both men killed it for something that could've easily been as forgettable as other Vader undercard outings.

 

 

 

[fxnj]

Full match actually did air on 12/19/99 TV, which is available on a certain xtreme site. Not a MOTYC, but I liked this a lot. It's an interesting comparison to the 5/1/92 tag they did. In that one they had a great match mainly built around some crazy athleticism from the Vader/Bigelow team. Here, Vader is older and they have less time to work with, so instead they rely more on spectacle and storytelling to build the match. It's less about if Hase can beat Vader (he can't) and more about seeing what he can survive and how much he can hurt him. Any time he actually does manage something, it feels like a huge deal. The throws from both guys look really impressive, between the snap behind Hase's uranage and the height on Vader's chokeslams. It's also helped a lot by a crowd who's into all of it. It becomes quite the spectacle in the last few minutes. I loved Hase trying to do a pop-up sell but he's just too out of it to stay on his feet, and then later Vader begging him to get up off a chokeslam because he already knows that's not enough to put him away.