[2015-11-07-NJPW-Power-Struggle] Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma

[Superstar Sleeze]

NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma - NJPW 11/7/15

Another match where im not sure why I didn’t watch thsi when it happened as 2015 was the last year I watched New Japan in real-time and I was high on this series. I enjoyed this match a lot but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I watched when it happened as I hyped for the feud back then. How come you never heard about Honma after this? I know his gimmick was a hard luck underdog but they never pushed him again? He has a lot of charisma and was pretty over but at some point you gotta win otherwise youre just a hard luck loser. 

Honma is a charismatic underdog whose 90% of his offense centers around using his hard head. He misses a bunch of falling headbutts early and Ishii always a sadist makes him pay. There’s a cool suplex struggle that Honma wins that opens up the Headbutt game. Awesome lunging Headbutt cutoff while Ishii was on the apron leads to the high spot of the match a falling top rope Headbutt to the floor. Bitchin’! Honma keeps leading with the head torpedoing Ishii. Ishii POPS with a lunging Headbutt under the chin that was brutal! I had shoot Headbutt exchanges because they either look weak and pulled for obvious  reasons or they too brutal violent make me uncomfortable. Another words theres no way to win with me. With these two it was Definitely the latter. This was some stomach churning shit. Honma missed a top rope Headbutt and the end is nigh. Sliding Lariat an end of match Ishii staple. Honma gets a couple underdog roll ups But eats a Brainbuster to take another L as was his destiny. 
 

I didn’t bring it up but the transitions could have been a lot tighter. There was a lot of just it is my turn now bullshit but the main notes hit. It is an entertaining stiff fest but Honma’s charisma elevates it to something special. **** 1/4