Last week's matches
Bidoof's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
NJPW, G1 Climax 2004 - August 8, 2004
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV1pz4y1d7h4
I'm sorry in advance for the quality. Get NJPW World if it really bothers you. Heck, just get NJPW World in general.
Watching WALTER/Thatcher is partially the inspiration behind this pick from me. Also, I wanted to recommend something that's VERY different from last week. Instead of graceful, fast-paced junior tag action, I'm giving you a war between two of the hardest-hitting heavyweights in New Japan's history. From the opening staredown, you can feel that this match is going to be special and, by the end, you're going to be feeling it as some of the strikes from these men will be so loud that you might even begin to believe you are there. I hope everyone enjoys this gem from the company's dark ages and I look forward to seeing what Steiner and Iceman suggest this week.
Iceman's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi
NJPW, G1 Climax 25 - July 29, 2015
Match Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Hs411W7UA?from=search&seid=16498732861684611450
NJPW World Link: https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00333_7_07#
I had two matches in consideration for this week, and the other one was posted by Bidoof. Glad to end up with an easy decision after all!
Part of me wanted to stay away from relatively recent NJPW stuff since I figure most everyone has seen it, but 2015 probably predates the point where the company really exploded with wrestling fans enough that I imagine this match is still a fresh one to at least a couple sets of eyes here. Really, it flew a little bit under the radar even when it happened - there was a lot of high-end stuff in G1 25 just like there is every year and neither competitor was ever a threat to win the block.
This is the only singles match these two ever had, and though they couldn't have known that then, they sure worked like they had nothing to leave on the table for the future. It's not long, but they pack a lot in, kicking the absolute hell out of each other in the exact manner you'd expect out of the two. I mentioned in my review of WALTER/Thatcher from Week 1 that Thatcher always seems to have a particular plan. Conversely, this is two guys who never have a plan at all, at least beyond "hit the other guy until they fall down." And that's the kind of thing that makes for an awesome G1 offering.
Anyway, I went 4.75 stars on this when it happened, and I can pinpoint the exact spot that kept me from the full five. I'll be curious to see if anyone else nitpicks the same spot the way I do.
Steiner's Match Recommendation (Week 2)
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NJPW, G1 Climax 23 - August 2, 2013
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7sy1iz
NJPW World: http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00211_1_10
Like everyone else, I did decide to travel back to somewhat before the NJPW boom - not as far as Bidoof, but slightly further than Iceman. And then I have chosen two wrestlers who everyone, by now, is intimately familiar with and expects this sort of performance from in the G1. But, in August 2013, people didn't expect this from Ishii. this is Ishii's first great New Japan match - and set the tone for the rest of the decade for him.
This is a new to NJPW, underestimated, undersized Big Tom vs. Peak Powers, God King Tanahashi. And Tanahashi absolutely plays that up, working as an arrogant dickhead from the outset. Two days later Ishii would go on to have maybe my favourite match of all time , but this is wonderful setup for it that showcases two of the best workers in the G1's history, playing their roles to perfection
Iceman's Match Recommendation (Week 3)
Bryan Danielson vs. Naruki Doi
Dragon Gate USA, Open the Untouchable Gate - September 6, 2009
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av7554969/
A short-lived logistical nightmare and perhaps a little too ahead of its time to be a truly successful venture, DGUSA nonetheless will always be one of my all-time favorite promotions. Dragon Gate, as one of the most consistently great promotions in recent memory, crossed over with the American indies at arguably the height of the output match-wise, all with an inspired Gabe Sapolsky at the helm? It'd be hard to craft a company more perfectly tailored to my particular tastes. Johnny Gargano put himself on the map there. The Young Bucks learned much of what they know there. But before any of that, Daniel Bryan Danielson had one of his last indie matches before reporting to WWE there.
If you're wondering just how beloved American Dragon was in the minds of hardcore wrestling fans around this time, you need look no further than this match. In an age where even the most popular indie stars were relentlessly booed and mocked and had sellout chants directed at them for signing on the dotted line with WWE, Danielson still has the whole crowd behind him here. And I gotta tell ya, I always forget how much I miss indie AmDrag until I watch one of his matches. Everything he does is so purposeful and intense and violent. Just like all of his bouts around this time, it feels about half as long as it actually was because you just get completely sucked in. It's not even that he does anything especially unique; he just does it all so damn well.
But I don't want to undersell his dance partner. When the dust settles on Naruki Doi's career, for a lot of reasons, he'll probably be remembered first and foremost as a tag wrestler. When he found the right opponent for a singles contest, though, he could go with the best of them. Even more so than many of his company contemporaries, he always did a great job of merging the fast-paced Dragon Gate style with the more technical indie style of the time, and that's on full display here. Perfectly placed spots, high-impact moves that always look fantastic, and a lovely job of letting crowd hero Danielson get a lot of babyface shine without being an outright heel.
There's something for everyone here, and it's a real window into what DGUSA could've been had some things broken a different way. Here's the kinda funny part: this isn't even my favorite match on the show - the one that slightly edges it out involves a guy who's already shown up in a prior match for this project, though (and who's likely to show up often in the future if it continues long enough), and I'm trying to spread the wealth a bit. Besides, I'm the minority opinion there, considering a good number of folks would be inclined to call this the best match the company ever put on. Hope y'all have fun with it!
Steiner's Match Recommendation (Week 3)
Steiner's Match Recommendation (Week 3)
Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue
All Japan Pro Wrestling, April 20 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaO3Y1RXofo
I'll start by noting: this match is kind of long. The video is 53 minutes. In my own watchthrough of AJPW in 91, I saw the time on this 6 man tag and strongly considered skipping it. I forgot all about that a few minutes in - forget about how you feel about long wrestling matches in 2020, this is a perfect hour long drama, where each interaction between different pairs of competitors is their own story. I've been excited to recommend this match since I came up with the concept and I'm gonna have to watch it again to be able to discuss it properly here as it's probably about a year since I saw it, but boy am I excited at that prospect. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!
Steiner's Match Recommendation (Week 3)Steiner called this match an "escalating war" in the Discord and I think that's a very apt description. I do really love the progression of intensity in this match where the issues between two guys eventually end up dragging the other four into a battle that's just as fiery.
Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue
All Japan Pro Wrestling, April 20 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaO3Y1RXofo
I'll start by noting: this match is kind of long. The video is 53 minutes. In my own watchthrough of AJPW in 91, I saw the time on this 6 man tag and strongly considered skipping it. I forgot all about that a few minutes in - forget about how you feel about long wrestling matches in 2020, this is a perfect hour long drama, where each interaction between different pairs of competitors is their own story. I've been excited to recommend this match since I came up with the concept and I'm gonna have to watch it again to be able to discuss it properly here as it's probably about a year since I saw it, but boy am I excited at that prospect. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!