[2001-10-27-AJPW] Keiji Mutoh vs Masahiro Chono

[EnviousStupid]

My expectations going into this were extremely low, knowing that both are well past their primes and how these two can tend to phone it in, but I completely dug what they were going for here. It's a match that takes into account their physical limitations and builds off of their collective charisma to make all the sparks and quick bursts (particularly from Mutoh) hold much more significance than usual. The matwork and limb targeting early on is kept to a minimum and that's for the best: Mutoh's a great face when his sporadic choices in pacing and offense come off like a necessary reaction to his opponents. Chono can't work like Vader in 1991, but somewhere along the lines of an older Tenryu is possible and that's the feeling I got while watching this. Chono is in control most of the time and is usually able to shut down those moments of hope from the champion and be disrespectful as hell while doing so. It's one of the few times I can recall finishers being blocked instead of just countered or avoided. The match also plays on the more recent parts of their rivalry; Chono had beaten Mutoh earlier in the year as well as the year prior, both times submitting to the STF. They milk that a couple times in the finishing stretch, however it's Chono's insistence of never really trying to win quickly that left the biggest impression. He knows that this matchup has been in his favor these last few years, so he's not rushing to a pin after most of his Yazuka Kicks land their mark. By giving Mutoh enough time to recover, he's quick and still agile enough to perform a flash Frankensteiner to snatch the win. Not a MOTYC, but it's one that I felt strongly enough about to post here.