[2000-08-11-NJPW-G1 Climax] Kendo Kashin & Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinjiro Otani

[soup23]

It is bizarre to see Tana and Shibata in young boys gear. They each had a good showing here especially Shibata. The opening matwork between the two was basic but engaging. Things really open up when Shibata does the face wash to Otani and also slaps him really hard. Otani doesn’t take that very well and lays a beating on the rookie culminating in a victory. Otani and Tanahashi had some nifty tags and continunity. Kashin mostly stayed out of this one but I didn’t think he was actively bad again. Good opener to start the show. *** (6.2)

[AstroBoy]

This was a bizarre sight. I was convinced that wasn't actually Shibata until I really looked. And out of the two of them, I came away from this thinking that Tanahashi looked more natural. At least on the mat. They worked together well and fit in fine within the match and Shibata is more convincing as a striker here, but Tanahashi looked smooth when he was in the match. Ohtani targets Shibata and brings a veteran presence but also a disinterested vibe. This was just kind of there, but Shibata and Tanahashi are clearly hungry and trying to make the most of their opportunity here.

 

**1/4

[ohtani's jacket]

Weird since Tanahashi and Shibata as young lion especially with how built Tanahashi was. They were pretty good by young lion standards, and Ohtani continues to be one of the best workers in Japan. He gets no credit for this period of his career and that's something which needs to be rectified.