[2023-02-05-Mutoha] Kenichiro Arai vs GENTARO

[corwo]

This was like an old-school grappling match transported to the modern era. I get that sixty-one minutes mostly spent on the mat is a lot, especially when it takes place in front of less than sixty people at the Ice Ribbon dojo. But when the match is dripping with as much substance as this is, it’s hard not to be glued to the screen.

The first few minutes were like a game of chess, with neither player able to gain an advantage. Arai made GENTARO earn everything, with even something as simple as a Gator Roll feeling like a struggle. I dug Arai countering GENTARO’s attempts at the hold by deadweighting. Arai busting out short headbutts to maintain control was pretty nifty as well. They weren’t the gnarliest I’ve seen, but they served their purpose.

From there, GENTARO mostly stuck with what worked for him: the headscissors. I liked how he pulled Arai’s arms as far apart as possible, then pressed down his weight on Araken to try to pin him. Arai briefly targeted the arm with arm-wringers and wristlocks. That came into play later on. When something as simple as a kip-up from Arai can be considered a high spot, you know they’re doing something special.

Generally, I find back-and-forth roll-up reversals to be an overused crutch. That said, it felt like a proper escalation of the action, a tool used to create drama with Araken and GENTARO reaching deep into their arsenals, grasping at straws to expend each other’s energy deep into the bout. GENTARO reversed an armbar and pressed his weight down on Arai’s arm long enough to secure the first fall.

I almost leaped out of my seat when Arai nearly stole the second fall with the same pin attempt that won GENTARO the first. I don’t even want to spoil the other counters here. There’s some genuinely breathtaking, inventive stuff on display, and it feels like every submission could signal the end of the match. The early arm work came back into play during the second act. Araken was ruthless, stomping away at the arm while trapped in a headscissors, cranking on it with armbars, and bending GENTARO’s digits at unsightly angles. GENTARO eventually had to tap to an armbar and save himself for the final fall.

Arai went to the top rope and missed a splash, landing hard on his knee, which felt a little out of place. GENTARO, like a shark smelling blood in the water, frantically tried to lock in a figure-four. The final few minutes were delightful, as both wrenched on each other’s legs in an attempt to force the submission. That they made a bodyslam feel like a believable near-fall and were still busting out new tricks over 50 minutes into the contest made it all the more impressive. GENTARO almost won the third fall with a reverse figure-four, but Araken merely rode out the time limit to retain.

This match had it all: logical progression, virtually no downtime, and thoughtful body part work that paid off in the long run. While I wish they would’ve fully committed to the grappling and not done stuff like rope-running sequences and almost costing themselves the match by going up top, I can’t harp on those moments too much when everything else here was top-notch. A genuinely remarkable piece of business that deserves every bit of praise it’s gotten. If this sounds like your cup of tea, give it a shot.