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[2010-01-04-NJPW-Wrestle Kingdom IV] Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Go Shiozaki


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I liked the opening-consisted of basic holds but they worked them well, and Shiozaki bridging out of a hold and then transitioning into a hammerlock looked cool. Tanahashi made Shiozaki use Chops as a means of a comeback instead of just "stuff he does" which was a good call and there was stuff I liked in here-Shiozaki patting Tanahashi's head and playing with his hair, Tanahashi acting like a dick, using Misawa's elbow combinations and attempting a Tiger Driver. Shockingly there was legwork in this match-and it even managed to produce two spots I liked-Tanahashi changing the direction of his Dragon Screw when Shiozaki started fighting out of it and Tanahashi quickly Chop Blocking Shiozaki when he got out of.....whatever move Tanahashi was attempting and was about to go for a rope run. However...........there was a lot of stuff here that I did not like. Most of Tanahashi's legwork was boring and looked weak-I really have no use for watching him dropkick someone in the leg fifteen times, doesn't captivate me whatsoever, doesn't look good, doesn't add anything to what they're going for. Shiozaki didn't even bother selling the leg most of the time except when he Moonsaulted, and lord knowns I've seen enough japanese wrestling I'm not going to lose sleep over it. In fact I'd much rather have that than Shiozaki making cringeworthy faces. The problem there is that it did render huge portions of Tanahashi's runs on offence meaningless and Tanahashi's legwork wasn't engaing on its own. Shiozaki hitting Tanahash with embarrisingly bad kesagiris and punches telegraphed he wasn't actually going to get out of Tanahashi's moves. Tanahashi's Fujinami tribute slaps also looked bad. Shiozaki botched a top rope swinging side slam really bad. Finishing stretch was very reminiscent of what's going on in New Japan these days-lots of jumping around, pop-ups, run the ropes-get countered transitions etc. Tanahashi at least does less Sliding Blades these days-it got really repetitive here. Shiozaki countering Tanahashi's Go Flasher Small Package coutner by just lifting him straight up was neat, but it was too late to suck me back into this. And then there came Tanahashi's questionable set up for the HFF.... **1/4

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  • GSR changed the title to [2010-01-04-NJPW-Wrestle Kingdom IV] Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Go Shiozaki
  • 1 year later...

A typical Tanahashi start to a match. There was a solid exchange on the mat with both ringling around, grabbing limbs and reversing them. Shiozaki fluffed an armdrag sadly but his wicked chops more than made up for it. Loved the transition into Tanahashi attacking the leg with Tanahashi blocking a knee lift attempt and dropping Shiozaki while in the ropes. The usual Tana idiosyncrasies take place - stomps to the knee, the knee bar. Unfortunately Shiozaki blew it off pretty much straight away not showing any signs of Tanahashi’s attacks. The little sequences with the spinning back fist into a superkick leading to the slingblade was really good and sometimes they can come across as contrived but it didn’t here. There was a good near fall by Shiozaki, which is a good accomplishment considering he is facing Tanahashi in the Dome, where he hits some of his biggest bombs followed by a moonsault. The finishing stretch was a bit weak unfortunately. Shiozaki had a big chunk off offence and then Tanahashi made a comeback and that was that. It never felt “earned” to me, although the set up for the Dragon Suplex near fall was slick as hell. I do wish they kept on with the initial leg based offence early on but I think it was probably for the best. The rest of the match was really good. Shiozaki got a bunch on Tanahashi, got some really good nearfalls and looked good for the most part, until the easy loss. Tanahashi did a good job from fighting from beneath. Tana has great comeback offence for the most part but he doesn’t feel go all out for the finish, I feel. Probably indicative of the spot on the card. ***1/2

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  • 6 months later...

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Go Shiozaki - NJPW 1/4/10

This is the end of the NOAH invasion that started last year when Misawa had a match on 1/4/09. Misawa has since passed away which is why Tanahashi attempted the Tiger Driver, but had to settle for the Butterfly Suplex. It has been a while since I watched Shiozaki. I remember thinking he was solid but bland. Oh yes he is a Chopbashi tribute act but looks like he should be in a J-Pop band. Now I remember. His chops are wicked. He turns Tanahashi chest into raw hamburger. I dont think Tanahashi likes being chopped that hard. There are two occasions where Tanahashi pops him pretty uncharacteristically hard with elbow. This is a bit of styles clash. Tanahashi matches are very formulaic. Opening matwork, legwork, big finish. Shiozaki works the late NOAH style which is just stiff the fuck out of each other and throw a ton of bombs down the stretch. Tanahashi's one weakness is that he doesnt work stiff well and Shiozaki cant really work any other style besides the chop-heavy Fighting Spirit style. It is a very good match in spite of itself. It is entertaining because both men dont give a shit about the other so they just start throwing everything at each other. Tanahashi chop blocks Shiozaki before he can run away. Shiozaki says Fuck You and just will keep chopping until Tanahashi's chest is turned purple. Tanahashi gets Sling Blade early but eats Knees on the High Fly Flow. Shiozaki does sell that. Shiozaki takes over. Botches a weird slam from the top but hits a great moonsault from the top for two, which is his big nearfall. Tanahashi starts throwing out his suplexes and Sling Blades. The Go Flasher attempt into the Dragon Suplex was fucking awesome! Best spot in the match. Two High Fly Flows to Shiozaki sitting up were cool. I think I sound more down on this match than I actually felt watching it. It was entertaining but I would have liked if they just picked a direction and stuck with it. ***3/4 

 

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