[2000-09-13-NJPW-Amazing] Koji Kanemoto vs El Samurai

[soup23]

Not near as epic as their BOSJ 97 finale but a great 10 minute match. This is why I ranked Samurai on my GWE as he has a few of these matches seemingly every year where he gets a chance to showcase himself in a singles encounter and he never disappoints. Kanemoto is really neck and neck with Otani on my year end rankings and I am interested if some of his naysayers like PeteF see his development like me when they get to this point. Overall, this was a standard basic match that was elevated by the stiffness and attention to detail. Samurai is able to remain credible and gunning for an upset with the way he presents himself. ***1/4 (6.6)

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a decent match although there was a lot of downtime for such a short bout. I've probably said this a dozen times but I'm astounded that Kanemoto has become a must-watch worker in 2000. He really is one of the better workers in Japan at this point in time. I'm not entirely sure why that is. Perhaps it was because the juniors style had shifted toward a style more in keeping with his shoot style leanings, or perhaps it was because he had simply matured into more of a veteran role, but whatever the case, I'm buying into it.

[AstroBoy]

This was not paced like a sprint so I was pretty shocked with the sudden tapout finish to end it. Still, this hinged on some great spots including Samurai destroying Kanemoto with a tope. Later, Samurai transitions to offense by catching Kanemoto on the top rope with an avalanche reverse DDT. A good short match but it never felt fully formed or realized.

 

***