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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