Loss Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Jushin Liger v Shinjiro Otani - 03/17/96 (NJPW) This is one of the most heartbreaking matches I've ever seen, I do believe. Otani tries so hard and fights so valiantly, but yet again, his passion is his undoing. That's not to say he hasn't learned anything, because he does go for the kill in situations where he didn't against Samurai, but Liger is a step above Samurai, and that's a lesson Otani has to figure out for himself; it's not really something that can be told or explained. It's going to take more to put away Liger than it would have to put away Sammy, and he's going to have to dig a little deeper to reach his ultimate goal. Liger does a great job of putting over everything Otani does without sacrificing his own credibility. The concurrent holds I loved in Otani/Samurai are prevalent again here, but Otani would eventually learn that Liger has far more at his disposal, with his aerial tactics being every bit as great as his ground game. Going for his arm wouldn't be enough; he might have to take out an arm and a leg, and he didn't really explore that at all. If anything, he can derive satisfaction from knowing that he pushed Liger to the limit, although the point still stands that he could have won the match had he not yet again become lost in the moment. While passion is a key to the success of both overall, and it's even a key to the small victories each obtains in the build to the finish, it's not what will determine who wins and who loses, and he who has the most desire isn't necessarily the better man in this instance. The story in this case is more of Liger doing a much better job of thinking on his feet, because he has more experience doing so, and because he has already been where Otani is at this point, which almost gives him an unauthorized pass inside his opponent's head. The work conveys the story in nearly the best way it can, and while he doesn't emerge victorious, Otani loses nothing except the deciding fall here; in fact, he probably gained more from it than anything, because it taught him an invaluable lesson; a lesson he was closer to learning, but hadn't quite grasped yet. It's impossible to not love Otani, simply because he puts his heart on display so much, not caring who sees, and he leaves everything in the ring. However, Liger was able to win without doing nearly as much, which the challenger realized, as was made evident by him storming out of the ring after realizing what had happened. ****1/2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KingPK Posted July 24, 2005 Report Share Posted July 24, 2005 I watched this last night and agree with Loss' assessment. Ohtani gives it his all, but Liger is just too experienced and uses it to get the win. I also watched Ohtani vs. Ultimo Dragon, 1996 J-Crown match and that seems to follow the same formula, but I think that match got the crowd rocking even more than Liger-Ohtani did. When Dragon wins, you can just FEEL the crowd deflate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2005 Absolutely. I think I'd have Dragon/Otani a step ahead of this as well. In fact, rewatching Liger/Otani, I don't think I'd rank it quite as favorably as I did this time around. Still a great match, but lots of time wasting on the mat that doesn't build to anything as far as I could tell. My favorite thing about it is that you'd think the match takes place in front of a packed house when it's actually in a relatively small arena, but yeah, not as good the second time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 This is one of my favourite matches ever and is actually a match I've shown to a few different people. Everyone loves it. Ohtani realising he screwed up after the dragon suplex is 100% pure gold. I must have actually watched this 20! some times over the years and I have it as Ohtani's best overall. One of the other cool things about this match is Benoit seconding Lyger. When I first this match in the VCR years ago I completely and totally marked out because it was something I was not expecting at all. You even see Lyger and Benoit communicating with each other some during the match and the Benoit/Lyger 5 star hug was tremendous in putting the match over. WP -- feeling the Lyger love after watch Lyger vs Benoit, Casas and Honaga tonight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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