Takeshi Ono

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[Jetlag]

Another matter of how much you value volume. From the 90s footage that is available (often his matches were cut or clipped), Ono looks like he was good from the get go, and pops up occasionally in a big tag, being really good and playing his role to perfection. The early 2000s saw him relegated to undercard matches, showing glimpses of later genius and putting on quality performances in pretty meaningless matches. Then Ono disappears for almost 10 years, pops up again as veteran on Futen cards and has reached unreal levels. Guy with blindingly fast matwork and submissions, throwing a variety of strikes and delivering mark out worthy selling is a great recipe for Battlartsian quasi shootstyle and Ono routinely looked like the best ever at it delivering one great match after another. Also, probably the greatest skinny wrestler ever.

[Jetlag]

I want to summarize Takeshi Ono. It's a little tricky because many of the guys matches aren't on the Best of BattlARTS comp - but that doesn't mean they are bad. In fact scratching together various BattlARTs shows and watching the undercard stuff you get a good picture of the guy. And my picture of Takeshi Ono is that the man could do no wrong. Very good heel working over a guy and acting like a dipshit, great at selling, being sympathetic and a tremendous hot tag, fun when in an experimental mood and crossing his shootstyle with junior influences. He makes 7 minute opening matches must watch because he will always do something great like bust out a unique transition or do an amazing glass eyed sell of a blow to his head. In addition to all this, I dare YOU to name me a contender who had a 10 match streak as epic as Takeshi Ono's from 2009-2012, as demonstrated hereby:

 

Big Ol' Match List:

 

1. Daisuke Ikeda / Takeshi Ono v. Yuki Ishikawa / Naohiro Hoshikawa (10.2.1996)

Ikeda/Ono aka Team Taco is an always reliable heel duo. Ono gets some especially sneaky nasty kicks in during this.

 

2. Daisuke Ikeda / Takeshi Ono v. TAKA Michinoku / Shoichi Funaki (semi-final, 12.4.1996)

Ono vs. TAKA is a match made in heaven. M-Pro guys mix the BattlARTS style up making this feel like a bizarro NJPW/UWF match with strong style vs. lucharesu brawling and the teams match up extremely well.

 

3. Victor Krueger/Carl Greco vs Daisuke Ikeda/Takeshi Ono (12-4-96)

Team Taco advance to the finals and face the beastly gaijins. A chance to see Ono vs. Greco which is just a gem aswell as Victor tossing the tiny dudes around.

 

4. Yuki Ishikawa / Alexander Otsuka v. Daisuke Ikeda / Takeshi Ono (10.30)

A definitive BattlARTS classic, the Ikeda/Ono duo is a fantastic heel tandem here. Ono's heeling and dynamic with Alexander is tremendous.

 

5. Daisuke Ikeda/Alexander Otsuka vs. Takeshi Ono/Katsumi Usuda (BattlARTS 25.12.1996)

A tremendous junior/shootstyle crossed match. Ono and Otsuka put a great finish together.

 

6. Daisuke Ikeda / Katsumi Usuda v. Yuki Ishikawa / Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 1.21.1997)

1997 tag MOTYC, really great Parejas Increibles tag where all the participiants kill it.

 

7. Katsumi Usuda / Takeshi Ono v. Yuki Ishikawa / Tiger Mask 4 (9.24.1997)

TM4 drags this down, but everyone else is game here. Another entry in the collection of very good BattlARTS tags.

 

8. Ikeda/Ono vs. Yone/Orihara (BattlARTS 25.6.1999)

Team Taco delivers another corker. The Tonpachi Machine Guns (Ono and Orihara) explode and we get some exchanges between the two which are japan-sleaze-indieriffic in the best possible way. I mean fuck a Minoru Tanaka this is great juniors wrestling.

 

9. Takeshi Ono/Ikuto Hidaka vs. Ryuji Hijikata/Minoru Fujita (BattlARTS 1/30/2000)

This is a junior's match. Dives, miscommunication spots... Ono is pretty great in this environment as he doesn't do anythig cute and instead kicks and punches fools in the face between flying around.

 

10. Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa, 6/18/2000

Ono gets a chance to take on the boss and gives his all. Ono is world class here just flying around Ishikawa and trying his darndest, pouncing on Ishikawa with stiff knees and punches aswell as looking like a freak on the mat.

 

11. Takeshi Ono vs. Katsumi Usuda, 1/8/2001

A very good B-Rules match showcasing Ono's ability to do slick matwork.

 

12. Takeshi Ono vs. Ryuji Hijikata (BattlARTS 3/14/2001)

A very good example of the tremendously fun matches these guys were having around this time. Tight worked, uncooperative, some neat stuff on the mat aswell as awesome punches to the faces, Ono doing some really nifty transitioning and a great sell of a near KO lariat to his face, all in a 7 minute match.

 

13. Great Sasuke v. Takeshi Ono (NWA Middleweight title, 5.10.2001)

Another juniors match where Ono counters the legend's trademark spots in sometimes nifty and often violent fashion.. Some surprisingly big spots and this ends up being one of the better Sasuke matches of the 2000s.

 

14. Masaru Toi vs. Takeshi Ono (Rainbow 21.3.2003)

This is is from a Fujiwara Gumi vs. W*ING show. Polished shootstylist Ono heels it up on old man Toi and we get a kickass undercard match.

 

15. Ikeda/Ono vs. Suruga/Oba (Futen 26.4.2009)

Team Taco returns! One of the funnest matches of the decade and a great example of the random wrestling greatness generating Bati Bati style . Great mix of comedy and brutal BattlARTS style wrestling. The beginning of Ono's world class run as he tears it up on the mat and throws beautiful combinations.

 

16. Takeshi Ono/Manabu Suruga & Hajime Moriyama vs. Daisuke Ikeda, Brahman Shu, & Brahman Kei (FUTEN, 4/22/2010)

Great trios match. Ono and Ikeda square off in the finish and I kid you not it's as good as the best Ishikawa/Ikeda face offs. And this is just a sign of what was to came later in the year.

 

17. Ono/Takahiro Oba vs. Manabu Suruga & Kengo Mashimo (FUTEN, 5/30/2010)

This is it... this is the stuff. Futen crew blows everyone's minds with this epic shootstyle/junior cross. Takeshi Ono is off the charts here, being a shockingly great sympathetic babyface and delivering an out of this world finish with Suruga.

 

18. Takeshi Ono vs. Mitsuya Nagai (FUTEN, 7/25)

You know you have an amazing worker when he gets a match this epic out of Mitsyua Nagai. Broken down, lousy old Nagai gets to look like a monster. Ono takes a monster beating and once again is a worldclass babyface.

 

19. Takeshi Ono vs. Daisuke Ikeda (FUTEN, 9/26/2010)

Team Taco EXPLODES!!! This is the greatest sub-5 minute match ever. Tremendously hard hitting, high end submission and counter work, and tells a great story aswell. If you want to do a 4 minute presentation on why pro wrestling rules just use this.

 

20. Takeshi Ono vs. Ryuji Hijikata (FUTEN, 10/24/2010)

Ryuji Hijikata left for All Japan and has picked up lots of shitty habits during his time as a junior there. That doesn't stop Ono in the slightest from carrying him to his career match.

 

21. Takeshi Ono vs Katsumi Usuda (Futen 11/24/10)

Another fast paced world class match packed with great energy, sequences and transitions. These guys have unreal chemistry together.

 

22. Takeshi Ono & Yuki Ishikawa vs. Katsumi Usuda & Daisuke Ikeda (Futen 12/19/2010)

BattlARTS/Futen collab continues to rule. And Ono and Usuda continue from their great match the month before and put together one of the best finishing runs I've ever seen.

 

23. Takeshi Ono vs. Hajime Moriyama (FUTEN 1/30/2011)

Total Ono showcase matches as he beats the shit out of lifelong jobber White Moriyama and produces another MOTYC. Ono punches and soccer kicks are a thing of beauty, he comes across as almost Regal-ish here, but what puts this over the top is the fighting over the big throws and build to the finish.

 

24. Takeshi Ono & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Kengo Mashimo & Junji Tanaka (BattlARTS 11/5/2011)

The final BattlARTS show has a real goodie in it's lineup with Ono's return to the promotion. Really fun midcard match where Ono once again looks like the smoothes guy around with his transitioning and punching dudes in their faces.

 

25. Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs Hikaru Sato & Kengo Mashimo (Futen 1/22/2012)

Last Futen show to make tape and they use the opportunity to get up and have one last great tag. Ono/Mashimo exchanges are tremendous once again. Ono retired shortly after, marking the end of this tremendous run.

 

Summary: I'm going to have Ono stupidly high on my list

[KB8]

Ono's a lock for my list. The five minute Ikeda match is an absolute fucking slaughterhouse.

 

Man, I need to go back and re-watch all of that 2010 FUTEN.

[ohtani's jacket]

Man, that was a beautiful post.

[goodhelmet]

With the exception of Ikeda and Ishikawa, I don't have any other BattlArts guys on my list, not because i don't enjoy them but because I haven't gone in depth in exploring them as individuals. These quick reviews make me want to seek these guys out the way I did with Buddy Rose and William Regal.

[Jetlag]

While digging for van Buyten stuff on my hard drive I found a few BattlARTS shows I ripped. Here's some Ono that wasn't on the Best of BattlARTS comp. Take it as an easter present.

 

 

Clips of Takeshi Ono vs. junji.com + Ikeda/Ono vs. Yone/Orihara (BattlARTS 25.6.1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWgkr8x6Usg
 
Takeshi Ono vs. Ryuji Hijikata (12 25 1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KZFD-g9kOE
 
10. Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa, 6/18/2000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIbbKgggsN8
 
Takeshi Ono vs. Ryuji Hijikata (4 17 2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRF-oDPiCtk

[KB8]

I had Ono at 92 in 2016 and I don't know what nonsense I was smoking at the time. Ono is one of my five favourite wrestlers in Japanese wrestling history, but I think that might've worked against him and I may have wound up shafting him in some daft pursuit of objectivity. Battlarts is also pretty niche and so maybe I thought having Ono just outside my top 50 would've been too much of a hipster pick (even though that still would've been about 25 spots too low but whatever). I guess his body of work isn't substantial, so that might've hurt him then as well. That said, and Jetlag basically covered it five years ago anyway, he has a deeper resume than people usually think, and at this point I feel like I have a pretty good handle on that. I guess I'd argue that he had two peaks. The first being in '97-'99 might sound silly considering he only debuted in 1994, but I've watched this stuff and he's looked like one of the best wrestlers alive as early as 1996. He was routinely awesome over the next couple years, not just when he got to be involved in main events (usually with Ikeda), but when he and Orihara were dossing around like a pair of absolute shitheads (though your mileage will very much vary on the latter). He had a frustrating lack of opportunity to showcase how good he was in the early parts of the 00s, but when he did have 10 minutes to stretch out he'd go and have one of the best 10-minute matches ever against Ishikawa just for the fuck of it. His second peak from around 2009-2012 is possibly even better and I think he has a genuine case as the best wrestler in the world in 2010. FUTEN was on a roll and everything he touched turned to gold, including the best 5-minute match in history versus Ikeda, maybe the best match of Mitsuya Nagai's career, the awesome 6-man tag from April, and then the Ono/Ishikawa v Ikeda/Usuda tag to round out the year. FUTEN being FUTEN means we don't get a ton of chances to see him after that, but the Team Taco v Mashimo/Sato tag from 1/22/12 is another absolute corker. Over the course of his career he has the absolute superclassics, the very good midcard stuff, the fun lower card stuff, and way more volume than even I gave him credit for in the past. If you're not too high on the style he works then Takeshi One being a top 25 candidate will seem like sheer lunacy, but to me he's pretty much everything I'd want in that particular style, which happens to possibly be my favourite style of wrestling, period. Incredible striker, brilliant grappler, amazing seller (this idea that he doesn't sell is wild to me), unbelievable bastard when he wanted to be, great at working as bantamweight underdog against the heavyweights, equally great as dominant force showing vulnerability...I don't know, man. He was 92 in 2016 but he'll be at least 60 spots higher in 2026. 

 

TAKESHI ONO YOU SHOULD WATCH:

w/Daisuke Ikeda v Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka (Battlarts, 10/30/96)

w/Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda (Battlarts, 1/21/97)

v Daisuke Ikeda (FUTEN, 9/26/10)

v White Moriyama (FUTEN, 1/30/11)

w/Daisuke Ikeda v Kengo Mashimo & Hikaru Sato (FUTEN, 1/22/12)

[Jetlag]

I already have half the posts in this thread, but might as well finish it off with the Gordy list...

1.    What kind of candidate is this wrestler (Peak vs Longevity,Peak+ Longevity, Big Match Wrestler, Week to Week Performer etc) and what range would you consider ranking them?

He has definitely strong longevity with him being being great as early as 1996 and as late as 2012. He was pretty consistently good although not super outstanding in the 90s, from 2009-2012 he was incredible every single time he made tape though.

2.       What is your elevator pitch for this wrestler to be a Top 100 Wrestler? (Sum up their case in a short paragraph).

Stiff bastard who was fantastic as both a sleazy dick heel and as a respectable veteran worker. At his best just about the most incredible quasi shootstyle worker on the planet giving and taking insane beatings. Great technician, great at filling time, great in tags, great in singles, great in throwaway undercard matches as well as in main events, very unique worker being a skinny ratboy shooter who hangs with big bruisers.

3.        Were they ever the best wrestler in the world? Were they ever the best wrestler in their country? Were they ever the best wrestler in their promotion? Who were some of their competitors for the best wrestler in the world, country, and promotion?

He was probably the best in the world in 2010 head to head with Black Terry, he was definitely the best guy in the world to wrestle twice a year in 2011 and 2012. He was consistently among the best BattlARTS guys although he was probably never quite able to top Yuki Ishikawa, but that was probably due to him getting less main events.

4.       How many years were they a top worker (top worker being a candidate for top 10 wrestler in the world)? Who were some of the other top workers of this era?

I would classify 1996, 1997, 2010 and 2011 as his top years. He also looked like the best in the world the one time he made tape in 2009. For an undercard worker, he was also quite great in 2000 and 2001. 1998 and 1999 he fell of a bit due to working with Masao Orihara a lot/his matches not getting aired.

5.       Were they a great worker before their prime? Were they a great worker after their prime? How great were they (were they a best in the world, country, promotion candidate while before their prime/after their prime)

He was a fun worker before his prime and got great pretty fast (within 2 years). He pretty much retired in his prime and looking like the best guy on earth. Between his two peak periods (1996-1997 and 2009-2012) he still looked great.

6.       Did they have the opportunities to produce a large body of excellent matches?

I'd say yes, even though he was only getting very few main events in BattlARTS, he was still working some great talent and making tape consistently. In FUTEN he also got plenty of long matches. He was still shafted a lot into short undercard matches for such a talented wrestler.

IF YES
6a Do they have a large body of excellent matches?

Yes, absolutely. His top 20 beats the shit out of a lot of very well respected wrestlers.

6b Do they have a large body of excellent matches against a variety of opponents?

Probably not since he only worked other indy shooters, although he looks good working guys who were foreign to shootstyle.

6c Do they have a large body of excellent matches in a variety of settings? (for example singles, tags, gimmicks, no gimmicks, brawls, technical, short matches, long matches etc)

He has excellent singles and tags, but they are pretty much all in hybrid shootstyle. He would do more regular pro style and brawling teaming with Orihara but it was not as good, and he had a great match against Toi in 2002 that involved brawling.

6d How much of those excellent matches were a direct result of their performance?

Pretty much all of them, don't recall any instance where he was carried, and you definitely can't replace him even in multiman tags.
IF NO

7.        Do they have a large body of excellent performances in a variety of roles (heel/face, undercard/midcard/main event, champion/challenger, underdog/favorite, younger/older etc)

Yes, although his main role was acting like a dick, he looked great selling more sympathetic when it was needed. He is also one of the most excellent undercard workers I know, and he is also great both as a youthful punk and as a veteran.

8.        Do they work in a way that is consistent with the way they're booked & presented?

Yes. I guess sometimes he is a bit too brutal for an undercarder. But he looks absolutely credible working slugfest main events despite being skinny.

9.        What are their standout traits? (For example, selling, psychology, offense, character work etc)

Definitely being a skinny bastard with MMA gloves who will kick and punch people in the face and in turn take monster comeuppance beatings. Also really slick matworker with some incredible transitions and moments of selling. His psychology in tags both as a heel as well as building to epic showdowns is top notch, too.

10.   Did they make the people and workers around them better?

Yes, carried a few guys to great matches and feuds, integral to many of the best 90s BattlARTS tags.

11.   Is there any reason to believe that this wrestler was better or worse than they appeared?

He worked a ton of FUTEN shows that haven't shown up yet, which I imagine would really boost his case.

12.   If you had to pick 5-10 matches (Or more) to sell someone on this wrestler what would they be? (Not necessarily the best matches but ones that are best representative of the wrestlers’ GWE case).

 

w Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 10/30/1996)

w Daisuke Ikeda vs. Satoshi Yoneyama & Alexander Otsuka (Inoki Festival 12/1/1996)

w Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda, BattlARTS 1/21/1997

w Daisuke Ikeda vs. Naohiro Hoshikawa & Yuki Ishikawa, BattlARTS 3/14/1997

vs. Ryuji Hijikata, BattlARTS  12/25/1999

vs. Yuki Ishikawa, BattlARTS 6/18/2000

w Hiroyoshi Kotsubo vs. Carl Greco & Super Rider, BattlARTS 8/25/2001

Takeshi Ono & Daisuke Ikeda vs. Manabu Hara & Takahiro Oba, FUTEN 4/26/2009

vs. Daisuke Ikeda, FUTEN 9/26/2010

vs. White Moriyama, Futen 1/30/2011

13.   Feel free to recommend more matches here if you like!

https://reverseviperhold.blogspot.com/2020/12/takeshi-ono-documentation-project.html

14.   Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

Revisiting his career more in depth now I think I had him too low last time.

[elliott]

Fantastic stuff. One question coming out of reading this that I had is from here: 

Quote

 

4.       How many years were they a top worker (top worker being a candidate for top 10 wrestler in the world)? Who were some of the other top workers of this era?

I would classify 1996, 1997, 2010 and 2011 as his top years. He also looked like the best in the world the one time he made tape in 2009. For an undercard worker, he was also quite great in 2000 and 2001. 1998 and 1999 he fell of a bit due to working with Masao Orihara a lot/his matches not getting aired.

 

Is the Orihara team hurt by opportunity/opponents here? That seems like a really cool team on paper and I know you've had really postiive things to say about Orihara in the past 

[Jetlag]

I wouldn't say they were hurt by that. But they were working a style of match that was a little below what Ono is capable of. They just did scuzzy heel stuff instead of quasi shootstyle epics and they were a bit spotty/sloppy here and there. It would be an upside to most wrestlers career but for Ono it's a bit of a step down he didn't work matches like in 1996/1997 that year, although they had a few great matches.

[elliott]

Gotcha! 

[Microstatistics]

I would counteract the well-written praise by stating that I find Ono to be very one-dimensional. Very strong offensive wrestler, both matwork- and strikes-wise, who could be relied upon to deliver on that front in any given match. But that's about it. His other tangibles were average, he lacked the presence or distinctness of his BattlARTs counterparts, and all his best stuff involves Ikeda maintaining the match structure in some capacity. No chance at my Top 100, despite my affinity for the hybrid style and his involvement in some great tag matches (including my 2009 MOTY).