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[1992-08-11-NJPW-G1 Climax] Rick Rude vs Kensuke Sasaki


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

This is a much better match, mainly because Sasaki wasn't as good as Hashimoto, so he completely followed Rude's lead and wrestled Rude's style. Better as a comp match to the Pillman and Dustin matches than the Hashimoto match, as they're all Rude vs young guy, and this match is more like those, but honestly, probably better than both. Rude gets the win after two top rope kneedrops, which seems to be the great finisher in the G-1 for Rude.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

I can see the pluses of this match in that Rude got more of his offense in and didn't seem so one sided. Sasaki can be kind of tough to watch in longer singles matches at this point though. Seemed like they were exchanging rest holds at one point. The two knee drops off the top were wicked though especially the second one to the back of the head/neck.

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  • 10 months later...

I actually liked this a whole lot less than the Hashimoto match. This felt like a resthold display with some work on Rude's back and Sasaki's neck mixed in. It also felt unnecessarily long. I like Rude's use of the top rope kneedrop as a finisher in Japan but don't recall him ever using it as a big move in the states.

 

**1/2

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Guest TheGreatPuma

A personal fav of my youth and one of the matches that made me love New Japan Pro Wrestling. They showed this as well as Muto vs Chono which was incredible on the WCW Canadian Power Hour which had its own commentary by Eric and Teddy. I was and and am a big Rude mark even though he went against up one of my top two favs at the time The Ultimate Warrior. I appreciated him being such an awesome opponent for him.

Getting back on track here, I liked both guys in this match and remembering appreciating Rude's fighting spirit when Sasaki was just annihilating his famous weak link the injured back. I always thought it was cool how he switched finishers for Japan. I thought this whole tournament made Rude sooo much more badass and credible with WCW as NJPW had a more realistic and sportish feel than WCW which in turn felt more realistic and sportish than the WWF. I mean he even went further than Sting, the top babyface who could go in a league that was tougher and bigger than WCW. Yeah, I was really into WCW at the time. Great times.

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Guest TheGreatPuma

I think Rude must have used the top rope kneedrop because the neckbreaker wouldn't be credible enough for a finisher over in Japan at the time? It would certainly be a great move to have in a match but if he were just using it as mid range or high range offense instead of a finisher than some of the WCW crowd would've seen and noticed it. Matches were shown on at least some of the WCW programs and highlights were shown and all over and since this was for the NWA belt it was going to be reported on. I'm guessing that's why Rude didn't use it all from what I remember because he didn't want to devalue his finisher/keep kayfabe.

 

Now why didn't he use the top rope kneedrop in the States? I can think of a few things. (Did he use it against Steamboat?) Perhaps he didn't want to take a move that was too similar to Eaton's kneedrop out of respect. Also, there was that top rope rule thing and I think there was even a time -- curse you memory -- that the top rope kneedrop was banned for awhile in WCW. Can't quite remember though.

I would say Rude would love to do the kneedrop but you would have to also think there was the possibility of the knees getting destroyed executing it.

 

Also, because the neckbreaker was sooo over in North America .... well there's a bunch of things to think about there.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This was psychologically okay and I enjoyed Rude heeling it up and turning the crowd against him, but man oh man was it slow. Sasaki has usually been a big bundle of energy but there's not much of that on display here, as he methodically works over Rude's back in a not-all-that-interesting manner before Rude starts his comeback. I wasn't overly impressed by this except for Rude getting a visceral negative reaction from the Japanese crowd.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 1 year later...

This was rest hold city. Sasaki strung three together at one point. There was plenty of comedy but Rude really didn't look good out there. At this point in time Sasaki needed the protection of a tag team environment. They should've kept it short.

 

It was a smart decision not to use the Rude Awakening as a finisher. Neckbreakers were never viewed as big moves in Puro. Any move off the top rope can always be a potential finisher anywhere in the world.

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  • 5 months later...

Sasaki is simply not a guy you want to watch in a long single match in the 90's. 10 minutes of this would probably have been ok, but really, this was cattering to the worst instinct of Rude on offense (aka : restholds) and Sasaki simply kinda sucked in single at this point. Okay beginning and good little strecht at the end, and great dress by Madusa. Les messy that the Hash match, but also much less fun to wach. Not good.

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  • 7 months later...

I don't know what the complaint about restholds is all about. The only hold used that I would term a pure resthold was Rude's nervehold toward the end. All the other chinlocks RUde used were done in self-defense to keep Sasaki off of his back (literally) and all of Sasaki's holds were either straight submission holds or, in the case of the double chinlock, a weardown hold to hurt Rude's back and neck further. There was very little "resting" in those holds.

 

I don't think the Japanese truly appreciated Rude's schtick. Not just the opening spiel and the posing, but the prematch primping with Madusa. American referees know to ignore it, that Rude will do what he needs to and eventually get down to business. The Japanese aren't used to guys who don't lock up right away when the bell rings or within a few seconds of a break. There are times when you can see the referee actively urging the wrestlers to tie up, which American refs do much less often.

 

I think Ssaki was a much better fir for Rude as an opponent; he a non-painted, more talented version of Warrior, a muscleman whose power style allows Rude to bump and pose when he needs to and still have a decent match. I liked how they continued the story of Rude's injured back and made it a focal point. WCW tends to use it mostly to set up Rude not being able to bump and grind; here, it's played much more seriously.

 

Nice to see Dusty and the Cowboy at ringside, but seriously, Bill, a pink shirt?

 

I liked Sasaki pointing to his own bicep after he threw Rude down at the beginning. Proof positive that the Japanese aren't without showmanship as we know it.

 

I don't think this match went too long, either. You could have cut a little of the posing and the prematch falderol, but the body of the bout was just as long as it needed to be. They don't do ten-minute heavyweight sprints in Japan too often.

 

It'll be interesting to see Rude-Chono, but Rude-Muta would have been something to see as well.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1992-08-11-NJPW-G1 Climax] Rick Rude vs Kensuke Sasaki
  • 2 years later...

I liked this a lot more than the Hashimoto match.  Up until the closing stretch Sasaki was all over Rude's back and Rude was trying to protect the back as much as possible.  I thought this was really tight and even Sasaki was doing some good work selling for Rude down the stretch.

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