[1994-08-05-NJPW-G1 Climax] Hiroshi Hase vs Shiro Koshinaka

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

My reaction at this point when I see a Hase giant swing is "No, not again." Totally sick of the move. But also, this is just a bunch of sitting stationary in a hold until the last few minutes when they start popping out nearfalls -- like a really poorly worked juniors match. If Koshinaka had any decent offense, when it was his turn to shine, this could have been really good. I don't really buy all the fatigue at the end. This was paced like a 60-minute draw, despite only going about 20 minutes. It got hot at the end, but everything that preceded it just didn't do very much for me.

[Ditch]

I had a very different reaction. Thought the first two-thirds were solid, and the finishing run was white-hot.

[Kevin Ridge]

I'm probably in the middle of you guys as far as my reaction to this. I did enjoy that the last few minutes stretch with the close pinfall attempts. It was nice to see some back and forth action compared to the other G1 stuff so far which had decisions coming out of nowhere in the matches. It was a pretty good match but it more comes off as the better match so far of a weak looking G1 tourney.

[Exposer]

This started out very slow and just another one of the disappointing G-1 matches. The final minutes were much better and I enjoyed the near falls a good bit. Overall, I'd say this was close to very good but then again I'm comparing it to the previous G-1 matches. Still, this was a good match.

[soup23]

As much as Loss loathes the giant swing, I am the same way on the butt bump. We get four of those in this match. The final stretch was really good and I wish Koshinaka would have been more interesting in selling or applying unique or tight holds in the mat section. Overall good match with really good final 10 minutes.

[PeteF3]

Okay, I thought this was total fucking dogshit. A flashback to those '80s juniors Koshinaka matches, which is absolutely not a compliment. The working of holds sucked and the stretch run starts off pretty hot, but then just went on, and on, and on, with so many kickouts that none of them meant anything. The climactic power bomb felt less like a true climax and more of a...well, a subdued surprise, was my reaction, since I thought this was going to a draw. It sure didn't feel like Kosh was reaching down with a big move to put Hase away, it just felt like an arbitrary finish. Unless Koshinaka is working a heated bloody brawl or multi-man, I have absolutely no time for him. He and Ultimo Dragon need to take a long walk off a short pier together. Good for them for entertaining the crowd, but Tiger Mask did that in a lot of his matches, too. Working to the audience matters but it's not a get out of jail free card either.

[Zenjo]

I'm surprised by the reaction to this as I thought it was comfortably the best match of the G1. I've given Koshinaka a fair amount of stick over the years so I get where people are coming from. The commentator kept mentioning their junior rivalry from the 80's so there was naturally a dynamic to see who had progressed further. Good matwork early on with chain wrestling holds. It was so much better than Mutoh and Chono managed the previous day. Then the pace was stepped up at just the right time. It got really hot with a fully involved crowd. They worked at a furious pace, mixing high flying moves with high powered ones. Some close near falls, which actually had rarity value this tournament. Very good overall.

[DR Ackermann]

I'm with Loss on the giant swing. It's just cute bullshit. In fact I'm there with Hase's whole act. I used to like the guy. I'm tired of his obligatory submission shine sequences. They're dull and there's not much struggle. In New Japan i want to see rugged mat work a la Fujinami and Choshu. They can get basic holds over as important not just boring fluff. Is there a more boring technician whose mat-game is as integral a part of what they do as Hase? Pete is right on the money with Koshinaka. Brawls and multi-mans(Tenryu). Why is he still trying to hit people with his flying butt attack when everyone around him is trying to drop people on their heads?? Again, just cute bullshit, and this isn't the place for that. Hase pulled out a top rope Ura-nage and it wasn't the finish. I hate when wrestlers waste super-powered versions of their finishers. The match was OK but I've liked everything else from the G1 better so far.