[2002-08-29-NOAH Navigation Over The Date Line] Kentaro Shiga vs Osamu Nishimura

[Ma Stump Puller]

Surprised this isn't even up yet given it's pretty infamous for being a great Kentaro Shiga match: a pretty rare sight! 

Most of the match has Shiga try to play Nishimura's game in the technical department, but he's grossly outmatched. Sure, he is at points able to grab on holds, but sustained offence is impossible when he's facing someone who's as experienced as his opponent, with Nishimura showing off a bit by doing a headlock into a Dory spin to transition to the ground. Shiga learns from this as the next time he's able to counter a headlock transition into a legscissors, however Nishimura escapes this rather easily. We get some nice bridge spots between the pair as they struggle for control, with Nishimura powering himself up and hitting a nice underhook suplex. There's a excellent sequence of Shiga trying to escape a surfboard, with each time getting big reactions from the crowd as Nishimura is able to continually counter him, and really lays it in by sticking his knees on his back for extra leverage. This is Nishimura 101 antics that I've seen a good few times already but god damn do the crowd always pick up loud for it without fail. Eventually Shiga counters it successfully and the crowd pops hard for it: it's a great example of how basic wrestling can be engaging if paced accordingly. Nishimura gets a bit pissy after this, almost offended that this kid is one-upping him, and lands some stiff elbow smashes in response, throwing him outside and damaging his knee on the railing for a near count-out victory, namely because Nishimura isn't stupid and doesn't give him any time to get back in. Latter half of match is focused around Shiga's legs being targeted with fairly robust work as per standard.

Shiga has to claw through these attempts and manages to get the advantage after Nishimura gets overzealous and tries for a knee drop that gets dodged, allowing for him to take control with a headlock/cravat into a sleeper. There's a bit of back and forward as both men use swift counters to focus in on their strengths, namely Shiga using his speed to nail Nishimura with stuff like a running neckbreaker, while the latter attacks the damaged leg to establish more control. Nishimura counters a suplex into a Cobra Twist which is then turned into a upturned reverse cradle pin for a big near fall. Shiga counters a second attempt into a Shiga-STF into choke until the bell rings. 2002 Shiga was getting pretty damn good around this time and the fact he got to work a Nishimura match really shows that off in full force. Nishimura really carries this match in terms of pacing out the technical work and gets the crowd behind the hometown hero with strong mechanics (shutting down hope spots, etc) and heeling it up a bit by laying stuff in when it matters. Shiga to his credit keeps up as best as he can, albeit I felt like the leg work was a bit spotty in places. Maybe I'm just biased because this was overly technical but I felt like this told a solid, compelling story of Shiga trying to beat one of the masters of the mat at his own game and almost succeeding. A bit unrealistic? Sure. Great viewing? Absolutely. One wonders what Shiga could've been in the grand scheme of things if he didn't get the neck injury, because this was seriously good work for a guy who hadn't looked half as impressive in the prior years.