Saturday 7 September 2013

HASHIMOTO vs TENRYU - MASTERS OF WAR~!

Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto, WAR (6/17/93)

Well shit on a stick, just when you think your expectations may be too severe and hinder whatever enjoyment you can get out of a match, these two go and do their thing and wouldn't ya know it...it rules. First few minutes really establish this Clash of the Titans atmosphere and both men sell the caution in their game remarkably well, the visual of Hashimoto in the corner not taking his eyes off of Tenryu as the ref drastically tries to force a break...god damn. They really pack a lot of explosive violence into short bursts to really get over the threat each other poses with their offence, but Hashimoto targeting the leg really creates an intriguing second half of the match with Tenryu rendered practically immobile and having to find a new gameplan to escape from his growing nemesis. A few people could argue the leg selling doesn't go anywhere near the end, i.e Hashimoto not going for submissions but I thought it served a great purpose in not only getting over the threat of Hashimoto but also in the way it forced Tenryu to have to pick his moments and really take an ass-kicking in a bid to win. Hashimoto also always using the leg as the base of any attack whether he was on the offensive or defensive also helped keep the limbwork relevant in the grand context of the match, and of course Tenryu sold it like death and really established the physical pain and battle he was in.

Last few minutes are just astonishingly dramatic and electric with very few kickouts. Both men's occasionally sloppy but always destructive looking offence as well as the resultant bumping really make you feel the match could end at any moment, and I loved how both men would use their striking to establish an opening to hit a bigger move: i.e Tenryu using his chops and kicks to ground and weaken Hashimoto long enough to hit the powerbomb. There were a couple of outstanding nearfalls that were sold superbly by both men, and Tenryu's facial expression immediately after the match is over perfectly summarised the preceeding 18 minutes of war he'd just gone though. Tenryu's pained facial expression mid powerbomb due to the strain his injured leg was being put under was also a really bossy little touch that added so much in the grand scheme of things I thought it would be rude not to mention it.



NEW JAPAN VS WAR - WHEN THE TIGERS BROKE FREE. 

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