[1998-02-03-BJW-Indy Hyper J Tournament] Yoshihiro Taijiri vs Gedo

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[soup23]

Gedo comes in fresh and takes apart Tajiri's arm. This is the crux of the entire match essentially before Tajiri's comeback at the end. I can't say Gedo is the most exciting wrestler in the world and he prevents this match from being great, but he at least was focused. Tajiri's sell job was really great and his big win at the end feels like a big coronation moment a step below a JCup victory. I really like limb work matches that have a payoff, so this was right up my alley from an entertainment perspective even if I would have liked to have seen more variety and hate displayed from Gedo. (***1/4)

[Migs]

They actually have BJ F'n W shirts! Hilarious. Also, the soccer style use of magic spray on Tajiri's shoulder was great.

 

I thought Tajiri was great in this - bringing great energy and hate. Loved the slap across the face of Gedo when he was on top. Great selling, nice finish.

[Zenjo]

Ripping off ECW T-Shirts is real low grade indy. You don't have to be a major promotion to get televised in Japan however. I'd have preferred to see Gedo in one of those aforementioned shirts rather than his Godawful outfit. I thought this was an adequate bout. It featured an extensive amount of shoulder work. Tajiri's selling was so exaggerated and mindful it was almost comical. Grabbing it after every move, desperate to show fans it hadn't been forgotten. It reeked of inexperience. He never got that good either. Not having the grounding of the NJ or AJ Dojo and bouncing from one promotion to another in his formative years.

[Loss]

I think it's interesting how the juniors have taken a more basic approach when given time in 1998 so far. We've seen it with Rey-Juventud, Teioh-Funaki and now here. You'll never see me not like a match focused on body part selling and that definitely rings true here. I always saw Gedo as someone good for solid matches, but because he keeps things so simple, he doesn't quite get to the next level. He comes close here, but he doesn't have the same charisma of other very basic wrestlers like Norio Honaga to offset that either. Still, I could watch matches like this all day and while my universe would still be safely intact, I'd be a happy wrestling fan. It does come across as a bit second rate in comparison to Liger, Kanemoto and Otani, but I don't think that's more on Gedo. Taijiri looks like a guy dangerously close to putting all of the pieces together, but he also would have benefitted from having a long-term rival on his level or better.

[tim]

Tajiri starts off with a hot run of offense before Gedo trips him up on an asai moonsault attempt and goes after the arm. Even during Tajiri's big run of offense during his comeback he keeps selling the arm really well which makes it more meaningful when Gedo goes back to it. Some added intensity here with a bit of crowd brawling and chair shots to Tajiri's arm. Really good homestretch especially the last couple moments where they exchange quick roll-up attempts leading to Tajiri blocking a low-blow and hitting one of his own to set up the dragon suplex in a great ending. I liked this match a lot.

[PeteF3]

Think I liked the Tanaka match a bit more because you got the sense that he was constantly threatening to end it with either the cross armbreaker or a deadly kick, whereas Gedo doesn't have as many weapons. He does nicely focus on Tajiri's arm and shoulder, though, and this is an effective enough, basic heel-face match. It's nothing to change the world but it is an enjoyable fundamentally sound match.

[TravJ1979]

I loved this. I thought it was much better than the Tanaka match. At first, I thought it was going to be completely one sided as the arm work did go a little to long before Tajiri fought back at all, but once he made his comebacks this was tremendous. February MOTY so far.

[Edwin]

Ripping off ECW T-Shirts is real low grade indy. You don't have to be a major promotion to get televised in Japan however. I'd have preferred to see Gedo in one of those aforementioned shirts rather than his Godawful outfit. I thought this was an adequate bout. It featured an extensive amount of shoulder work. Tajiri's selling was so exaggerated and mindful it was almost comical. Grabbing it after every move, desperate to show fans it hadn't been forgotten. It reeked of inexperience. He never got that good either. Not having the grounding of the NJ or AJ Dojo and bouncing from one promotion to another in his formative years.

This seems overly critical and the bolded part in particular is the exact opposite of what I'd expect to read. I'd expect this deal would be more appreciated and less criticized.

 

While I don't buy this as a MOTYC or anything, I think this is really good. Tajiri's selling and Gedo's armwork are quite excellent and it's refreshing to see Jr.'s work this style instead of going balls to the wall.

[Jetlag]

This was like a sleazy little version of Liger/Sano as Gedo immediately pounces on Tajiri's bad arm while every move Tajiri hits is either a kick to the face or some crazy highspots. Really great selling Tajiri performance with the consistent armselling and constantly working to draw the audience in. Gedo's arm work wasn't frantic but he hit some hard dropkicks and stomps and had a few cool holds to torture him. The explosive sequences towards looked great after they had suckered the audience in with a few double counts and I loved that the work on the shoulder would set up the Gedo Clutch as a dangerous move. Smart indy junior match and an early career highlight for Tajiri.