Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

[1974-10-10-NJPW] Antonio Inoki vs Kintaro Oki


GOTNW

Recommended Posts

This match is a master class in delayed gratification, working and getting over in professional wrestling. Before the bell even rings Inoki potatoes Oki with a punch. They seperate them, and the match starts. They don't just immediately start brawling-there's lots of lock-ups, some of them include hair-brawling, and pretty much all of them ending with the ref coming in between them. You can feel the tension-it legitimately looks like they hate each other but are also simultaneously not trying to lose their temper and get DQed-the wrestling is really good, nifty takedowns, pretty suplexes-but where the match really excells is when all hell breakes loose. Oki hits about Inoki with about a million headbutts-each sold gigantically, knocking Inoki down. Inoki goes down again and again and then fires up. daring Oki to headbutt him some more. His mannerisms are simple and primal which is precisely what makes them so cathartic. When he punches Oki in the comeback for the first time you feel ane explosion of all of the frustation that boiled in you during the FIP section and you remember why people watch so many movies that rely on cliches they're aware of. It's because they work. Inoki Bom-ba-ye. ****1/4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Kino opening here as Oki is busy with his coat (is that a damn mushroom cloud on his back?) and won't shake Inoki's hand, so Inoki floors him with a huge punch. Oki is down, covering his face and officials are swarming on Inoki. This match is ultra heated and really feels like a protoype for the kind of spectacles NJPW would run later on: there are no long headlocks or brainy 70s style hold exchanges here, they just go for broke. They lock up and immediately move into suplex and submission attempts. This is all really gritty hard fought stuff – when Inoki hits a suplex, he goes for another, but Oki reverses with all his might, then a mat scramble ensues with Oki breaking out of Inoki's grip. At one point Inoki just grounds Oki and grinds on his face with his forearm. Finally, Oki has had it and starts using his head as a battering ram and just wastes Inoki. Inoki is bloodied and beaten down and the crowd is roaring. When Inoki lands that punch you really feel why he is who he is. OJ compared this to a prehistoric Ishikawa/Ikeda match and that comparison is right on the money.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was pretty wild. The uncooperative aspect obviously stands out, with the hair grabbing and rough lock-ups and both of them always being on the cusp of dropping any pretense of competition and punching the other guy in the mouth. There were a couple moments where you could see Oki about ready to put a boot in as Inoki's on the mat. Like, you could buy that he was truly itching to. Inoki grinding his forearm across Oki's face might honestly be the nastiest version of that spot I've seen. Then Oki throws the first headbutt and Inoki's sell of it is wonderful. You can tell it hurt him, but he wasn't giving Oki the satisfaction of taking a back step. He sold it like the unexpectedness of it wasn't really enough to jolt him out of his state of adrenaline, like you'd expect in a real fight when someone peppers you with a dirty shot like that. The second one he expected but that only made it sting even worse. The moment where he finally had enough and cracked Oki in the jaw was tremendous. Really cool, unique match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • GSR changed the title to [1974-10-10-NJPW] Antonio Inoki vs Kintaro Oki
  • 3 years later...

For whatever it's worth, this is easily one of my favorite Inoki matches (and I've never really been a fan of his work). I can absolutely see the Ikeda/Ishikawa comparisions. This feels "legit" in a way that Inoki's 'different style' fights the faux MMA stuff he did in the 90's and 00's never did to me. The crowd was hot throughout and when Oki's headbutt busted him open, the phrase "unglued" doesn't even do it justice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...