[2003-04-12-AJPW-Champion Carnival] Carl Contini vs Kendo Kashin

[Ma Stump Puller]

Greco's been put over massively by defeating numerous Jr wrestlers and winning that year's Carnival for the title shot over Kashin, meaning we get a epic encounter between two grapple-heavy dudes. As such, the sequences on the mat and the technical work are great between the two, with lots of sprawling and submission trading very early. There's no sitting in holds or careful applying of wear-down shit, this is all just right away into the armbreakers and instant death submissions that could very easily end the match if applied by either man, no messing around in that regard and right into the eye of the storm.

Greco has some very smart counters to Kashin's tricks but finds himself also in trouble as these get worked around in response, leading to some funky chain-wrestling. Greco also pulls out some surprisingly decent strikes, including a snug jumping knee shot at one point. Kashin for his sake pulls out some unique heel antics, namely rubbing his knuckle onto Greco's nose to make him unsteady during a headlock and hanging off his body for additional leverage while choking him out with the ropes, throwing out all of the nifty tricks to get around Greco's immense technical knowledge. He also pulls out the traditional low blows and whatnot to keep control, as well as putting over Greco's suplexes by consistently finding ways to not take them or use the ropes, being terrified of getting dropped at any point here.

Finish happens when Greco rolls into a grounded Butterfly Lock but his big cross armbreaker play is reversed into another one by his opponent, causing a early tap out as Kashin sneaks out yet another victory just barely. I would've liked to see this go at least 5 minutes longer given Greco is a incredibly solid worker and these two had some strong chemistry grappling on the mat. That said, this is still a strong burst of energy for a Jr match, with explosive sequences and some fairly good submission struggles that throw away the conventional epic-style for immediate action and rewards you for that attention span by continuing the action to the very end. I think Kashin struggles to be taken seriously as a actual character given he acts like a heel but gets big cheers; it's a weird juxtaposition. Not a classic or anything but if you like janky and unconventional matchups this is definitely it. I just wish Greco would've stayed in the company given he still looked more than capable of working a solid match.