[2020-01-30-NOAH Global Junior League] Dick Togo vs Yoshinari Ogawa

[Ma Stump Puller]

Remember when Dick Togo actually wrestled? I sure do. This was a semi-final match so Togo wasn't pushed a ton (as he'd be working the finals) but Ogawa's style also means they could do a lot without it being super exhausting or high-impact. The result was a lot of really well-put together technical work where the two basically had a Catch-style masterclass where they got over duelling over arms and heads, some seriously smooth transitions (like there's one where Togo tries escaping out of a hammerlock by going the other way and Ogawa immediately responding by snapping on a standing rolling double wrist-lock that's just seamless, legit near perfect in execution) and a general pace that was definitely slow, but that actually played well into getting the crowd into this with some really positive responses and big cheers. Togo does a Nishimura handstand to escape the headscissors and Ogawa just dumps his head on the floor; the second attempt is successful and Togo takes the legs to go into a impressive Bow and Arrow submission. The second half had a bit more color as Ogawa was working Triple H style Indian Deathlocks alongside head cranks while Togo had to pull at the hair, throw chops, and sold hard to reverse the leverage and finally escape, which was surprisingly solid for a extended sequence of just the two sitting in a hold.

The two default to throwing Memphis-lite closed-fist punches at the other but Ogawa uses his slippery counters to keep control and land his usual signature spots to try to snap the win. Togo cleanly counters a second backdrop into a crossbody and lands a flush sunset flip, leading the two to spam near-fall flash covers before Togo snaps on his Crossface off a rolling cradle attempt; despite Ogawa trying to escape via tricky pin-falls via reversing the leverage into a School-Boy alongside attempts to roll to the ropes, Togo keeps finding ways to get back into the submission and Ogawa is eventually forced to tap when he runs out of gas. This was a crafty match that did a lot despite the length: only 8 minutes, if you can believe it. Usually saying something was longer than it actually was is a insult, but in this case it really isn't: the two had some solid chemistry going hold to hold here and understood the assignment, making a solid showing out of a match with not a lot of actual bumps. Really enjoyable work that blended old-school grappling with some good flavour to mix it up didn't even need 10 minutes to be good.