[2004-10-09-NJPW] Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Keiji Muto & Osamu Nishimura

[Ma Stump Puller]

Pretty transparently designed to get the younger guys over but also show that the duo have some growing up to do yet. Muto hadn't shown up in NJPW since 2002 so the crowd were very hot for him from the get-go, even for his fairly by the numbers starting sequences. Tana and him have good chemistry as they exchange some freestyle wrestling, with Muto in particular shining with some great transitions alongside subtle mind games via quick slaps to confuse Tana and get the first takedown, or hair pulling to loosen leverage in a side headlock. Nothing massively heelish, just little things to make this a bit more interesting. The first half is mainly polite grappling before Nishimura breaks it with some stiff elbow smashes and we quickly go into usual puro formulas as Muto goes into his leg work, though he does mix it up in places. Nishimura also does some work before missing a sudden jumping kick, resulting in one back from Tana seamlessly. I do feel like this lacked heat for the Nishimura sections....not because of him in particular, it's mainly because everyone came to see Muto, not him, so they tend to wait until he shows up to really start going, even if they will cheer on occasion. As much as I like Nakamura as well, he did seem a bit all over the place here despite being really flashy. I did think Muto countering a takedown with a low dropkick was rad as shit though, so I suppose it worked here. That's probably the only time you'll see Muto do pure Inoki-Ism. Tana does have good athleticism but his offence goes from decent to "wow that didn't look good at all" tier move to move. While the two certainly can do moves, they don't really know how to pace out a match logically with them here, as opposed to Muto who gets massive cheers for honing in on the leg and exploiting counters to fit in Shining Wizards. He has a story to tell while the two younger guys don't plan out that far.

We get in some bits like Nishimura's backslide struggle alongside a double figure four spot. Nishimura turns a superplex tease into a front-face choke (!!!) which was pretty cool as was Tana stealing the Wizard and Muto immediately getting pissy and running in for his own right after Muto gets taken out with a Shining Triangle by Naka a-la the Misawa tag. Tana and Nishimura have a good exchange of tricky near falls until Tana gets the upset with a flash small package. A bit aimless in places as the new guys tend to lack direction, Nishimura and Muto really shine with the younger bodies in the ring with some fast-paced work alongside subtle distain by Muto towards his old student. I wouldn't say this particularly interested me; the match never really got off the ground proper; the work was done well and Muto is a delight in these smaller, more compact showings where his charisma and mastery of pacing shine best as opposed to his more overblown dramatics in big main events. Nishimura does the bulk of the actual ring stuff and he's as per expected, quite good, typically being the one to direct and sell for the two. As the puppet master behind this match being solid, it's another great example of how his style just enhances everyone around him.