[2004-06-05-NJPW-Best of the Super Juniors] Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazayuki Fujita

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Graham Crackers]

This is the second best Tanahashi match I've seen and again it's because of the opponent. Tanahashi trying to survive Fujita's nasty offense is compelling stuff. I think my problem with Tanahashi may be similar to my problem with RVD. He's fine working underneath and taking a beating but he usually ends up with too much time on offense. Of course it's also only compelling when he sells the beating which wasn't as much of a problem here as it has been in other matches. My only real complaint here was Fujita overselling one of Tanahashi's wussy slaps. If this happened a few years earlier there would have been more punches as well and I think that could have helped to push this from really good to great. I guess I'll just have to accept knee lifts and stomps for now.

[Superstar Sleeze]

U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuyuki Fujita - Vacant IWGP Championship 6/5/04

I love polarizing figures so much and I don't think there is a more polarizing figure in wrestling today than Hiroshi Tanahashi. New Japan fans claim he is turning out 5 star classics at a rate that has not been seen since the heyday of All Japan in the 90s. While his detractors assert that the matches are overrated and when they are good he is just being carried like the biggest piece of luggage in the business. I have not really watched a Tanahashi match since about 2010, but I enjoyed his matches with Nagata and Nakamura. That is where the memory ends I just remember liking them, but nothing specific. I look forward to watching Tanahashi progress during this project and once this is done I plan on continuing right through the present day in Japan with a very specific focus on Tanahashi. Here we begin as he returned from being stabbed in real life by ex-girlfriend TV reporter and has been given this vanity title that represents he is best of the youth movement at the time. Bob Sapp (not so surprisingly did not have any nominated matches) was the previous IWGP champion, but lost to Fujita in a shoot fight thus vacated his pro wrestling belt. I love Japan and Inoki. I don't know if there was a tournament or if it was just decided that these two were the top contenders. It makes sense that Fujita would get a crack at the title and Tanahashi as the other heavyweight singles champion makes sense. Fujita, who surprisingly did not have any other nominated matches besides this one, is a legitimate shoot fighter. Like Sakuraba, he is one of the few pro wrestlers to have an above .500 winning percentage in MMA. Thus the match exploits the obvious difference between the two opponents: Fujita the shoot fighter versus Tanahashi the consummate flashy pro wrestler. It is a very similar dynamic to Lesnar/Cena from 2012.

 

After watching a bevy of Kobashi matches, it was nice to watch some New Japan for a change of pace. You could not get much different from a NOAH match than this match. Clocking in at 12 minutes or so with limited suplex and highspots, this felt so refreshing. Fujita was merciless in using his superior amateur skills to quash Tanahashi at every turn and just unloaded with some of the best knee lifts I have ever seen. I have no idea why Tanahashi kept going for double leg takedown when Fujita, a known amateur wrestling expert would just pancake him and go to town. I would not go so far as to say this was a squash like we have seen from Hashimoto in previous matches. They mixed in enough cool spots to show Tanahashi's fighting spirit and his quickness advantage such as Tanahashi almost getting the flash victory at the outset on a roll through on a double leg and catching a kick turning it into a dragon leg screw into a dive. I also liked at the beginning when Fujita just missed a kick to the head and Tanahashi sells the close call. It really put over Fujita as a badass. There is no denying that Tanahashi was very over with the crowd. I thought it was interesting that Fujita donning the "Team Inoki" tights was the clear heel and wrestled very heelish. Inoki strikes me as someone who is very un-self-aware, which part of the charm so it seems weird for him to push his beloved legit shooters as heels. Anyways, that is a tangent to be explored later, since Tanahashi is in a lot of ways the equivalent of a pretty boy babyface like a Martel or Morton, I thought it was very important that he did get moments to stand toe-to-toe with Fujita with a nice elbow and that Fujita at least sold his subpar slaps. The finish sees Tanahashi have one last gasp with the Sling Blade and a running small package, but after that Fujita just saps all his energy with an standing arm triangle choke. After this, he is easy pickings for the smiling, cocky Fujita who kicks his head off and we get the knockout finish tease. Fujita kicks his head off again and this time the ref mercy kills this contest.

 

This match is clearly different from the highly intricate New Japan matches of today as this was a bare bones match with a spunky Tanahashi trying to survive the remorseless shooter, Fujita. Each played their role excellently and sold for each other really well. Fujita is not someone I have ever heard widely praised in a pro wrestling context, but I thought he was really good in this setting. Was this his career performance? It was very good for what it was and will probably be the best match for its short length, but lacks the firepower and extended story of the other excellent matches so it tops out in my book at ***3/4.

[dawho5]

I thought this match was really, really right place, right time, right opponents. I don't parcticularly care for Tanahashi. But against Fujita he shines really brightly. As the never-say-die, sympathetic babyface who is in way over his head, Tanahashi is great. And Fujita as the evil bastard amateur wrestling style shooter badass making fun of his smaller opponent along the way only helps. The knee lifts were all sorts of awesome. Tanahashi's slaps needed to be removed. Tanahashi's late match comeback offense was actually really compelling. Then he gets squashed like a bug again, only to not stay down and need more squashing. This will be around the middle of my ballot. And if you think I believed that would be the case going in, you'd be so very wrong. Also, I think this match was the signal to Inoki that his shooter fetish should stay personal. You have a really good shootstyle guy (Fujita) against a more juniors pro wrestling guy (Tanahashi). The fans very clearly make their choice.

[Childs]

I love oddball match-ups like this and they really carried it off. Fujita was such a bull, and all credit to Tanahashi for taking his ass beating and working around the opponent's strengths. His offense looked just credible enough that he made a compelling underdog. I wish the puro of this era featured more examples of strong, simple work. This was absolutely perfect for the guys involved and will do well for me.

[GOTNW]

I absolutely love this match. A mismatch in styles creates a special type of energy. I can imagine Tanahashi doing something like grabbing his neck in fear after avoiding a kick against Goto/Shibata/Nakamura 5-10 years later but it evokes a much stronger reaction when he's fighting one of PRIDE's top heavyweights and also playing a proper FIP that sells most of the time. Because Fujita is so dominant for so long he can let Tanahashi shine during comebacks without losing credibility, but he's also not going to let Tanahashi pull of twisting nonsense moves on him. Tanahashi's performance here is good-the tackle countered into a flash pin ruled and the rabid suicide dives ruled and even the running small package felt like the appropriate thing to do in the moment. The only thing they have in similar is the amateur background whic they use as a meeting point (as well as the strike exchanges). Fujita brings the violence you'd want out of a badass shooter-his soccer kicks and knee lifts are second to none, and the smug expressions he makes after he bodies Tanahashi are just priceless. ****1/4