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[2000-01-30-BattlARTS] Daisuke Ikeda vs Mitsuya Nagai


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I was interested to see Ikeda work with a lower ranked opponent and the match starts perfectly with Nagai getting a big spin kick in the opening seconds and then dominating the early portion. The work on the leg was strong and focused and he mixed that with strikes and highspots. This really had a vibe of a one touchdown underdog team getting out to a really fast start and creating some turnovers to be 21-0. Even when Ikeda would have certain openings like the dragon screw, Nagai was able to come right back with a submission to neutralize him. The leg cranking submission that Nagai puts on next is unique and looks totally brutal. Ikeda has to fight to make the ropes there. Two more huge kicks to the leg and then another sick spin kick that Ikeda sells huge as a knockout blow. That seemed to be the wake up call Ikeda needs as he is able to get another desperate dragon screw and buy a few seconds of time before Nagai comes back with another big barrage. An unfortunate moment happens next with Ikeda getting a glancing kick that Nagai sells. Ikeda covers it well enough with a quick running knee that does land. Ikeda is clearly hurt and just tries to lay on Nagai in a dominant position when he has an opportunity at offense. Nagai senses this and reverses the position and then looks for the cross armbreaker. Nagai gets it and Ikeda is in worse trouble. Nagai takes a risk which was unnecessary in going to the top and he misses a big dive and lands awkwardly and painfully. That didn’t look great aesthetically but kind of works in a kayfabe sense. Ikeda rolls to the outside he is such trouble. Ikeda’s selling here has been tremendous. Once again he is able to catch one of the Nagai kicks and finally gets a submission attempt. Nagai escapes that quickly and swiftly and locks up the ankle again. Ikeda is wincing and screaming in pain. Two hail mary clotheslines from Ikeda give him his biggest advantage of the match so far. A death valley driver gives him more momentum heading into the finish. Ikeda kind of shockingly goes up to the top and does a flipping senton kick move which was really unique and ends up knocking Nagai out. A few execution issues aside, I thought this was splendid and really left Nagai with the out that he was WAY ahead on points here and it was somewhat a combination of luck and happenstance that he lost the match. Splendid way of telling a story. ****

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After two matches in a row that had me thinking BattlARTS was losing what made it special, my faith is restored. This was very much a submission vs striker match. I really liked how they used the teased 10 counts as false finishes. Nagai was elevated in a huge way in losing the match, and actually looks like a player in doing so, since he was so far ahead on points when he lost by KO. Great wrestling and booking makes a great match. Awesome. After a brief detour, I'm back on the BattlARTS train! ****

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  • 2 weeks later...

You'd think I'd be the biggest supporter of a Battlarts match but I was slightly disappointed by this, I like Nagai as I do pretty much every RINGS alumni but he is more of a guy Volk Han had a great match with than a great Volk Han opponent and him dominating Ikeda so much was not exactly the ideal way to lay this out. I didn't really buy into his submissions (neither did the crowd), his knee strikes looked weak and he seemed lost at times (like when clearly evaded an Ikeda high kick but sold it like it hit clear and when he awkwardly pushed Ikeda around the ring and hit him with a weak throw). His kicks were fine but he lacked the presence to really make the most out of the structure, he hit some nice spots like the Powerbomb>Leglock combo and chanelling Maeda and Sayama but nothing that would really make me think more of him as a worker or a potential star. Maybe the "Nagai was ahead on points" narrative would have connected to me if Battlarts actualy had a point system :) It's a little harder to react that way when I've seen Ikeda come back from some downright insane beatings, this was not one of them. ***1/4

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  • 2 weeks later...

I really enjoy this style of wrestling when done right, and in this case it was. Both guys looked strong in this one and looked like they could take it at certain points throughout the match. This match was built up greatly with both guys taking a beating and working up to a point of exhaustion in the ending portion. Unique knockout finish with a top rope senton kick. Ikeda is awesome and Nagai was great in this as well.

 

****

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  • 9 months later...

This was alright. Too much Nagai on top, working whatever leg holds on the mat, but when he was up on his feet, whipping kicks and powerbombs, it was fun and Ikeda always takes a good beating. I liked the opening, with Ikeda taking head kicks but still backdropping him and trying to tap him with an armbar, only to get bamboozled and freak out in Nagai's leglock.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think it's funny Nagai has a ton of worked shoots on his Sherdog Fight Finder as if they were MMA fights... I like him a good deal, but he didn't look particularly great here. I wasn't blown away by his grappling nor was I particularly blown away by his strikes. It seems whenever the match hit the ground and he was on top, he would immediately try and lock in a lazy Americana. I wasn't particularly sold on his two dives off the top.

 

I thought Ikeda's groggy and fatigued selling was neat as was him blastin Nagai with lariats near the end. I would've preferred Ikeda stopping Nagai with one of those lariats instead of that rolling dive.

 

That said, I thought this underwhelming and wasn't sold on this mostly due to Nagai's performance.

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  • 2 months later...

Loved this match, I always like wanted Ikeda matches and Nagai surprised me here. His offense was awesome, I loved his kicks and throwing in a power move every once and a while. I thought Ikeda was going to loose this one which I didn't expect but then the fluke win was a great way to have both men come out of this looking strong.

 

****

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-01-30-BattlARTS] Daisuke Ikeda vs Mitsuya Nagai

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