[1982-01-28-NJPW] Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This seemed to be a night where everything was working for these two. Much like in music, though, this does feel like a pop artist taking cool stuff from the underground, sanitizing it and getting it over with a bigger audience, even if I'm not sure that works perfectly as an analogy to the Fujinami era of the juniors. Still, this was a very good match and far more grounded than you'd expect. Pretty much everything looked crisp and hit the mark, and it's clear they know their audience. That said, a personal pet peeve of mine is endless sequences that never have a payoff. There were so many exchanges that just went on and on without any type of payoff happening or something decisive coming at the end. I won't fault the match too much for that, but it is the biggest thing keeping this from hitting the next level for me. Dynamite's tombstone was the first time a sequence really ended with a thud and that was in the latter stages of the match. ***1/2

[Superstar Sleeze]

I have had fun ragging on Parv today, but he led me to this match and when the man is right, he is damn right!

 

Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask - NJPW 1/28/82 Vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship

 

Big, dumb fun! I enjoyed this way more than I expected. They don't overstay their welcome. If Fujinami was innovating shoot-style, these two innovated the modern spotfest. This felt like the best possible version of modern WWE workrate. I thought this was even better because there was more of a sense of urgency and missed & blocked spots. It does feel like match where the spots are weirdly laid out. Like why do the violent railing spot only to have a very cool Tiger Mask gymnastics spot after. Save that for later for the heat! I hate when I feel like when I am watch a men's floor routine for a wrestling match, but I gotta admit Tiger Mask was pretty damn fun. I loved him sweeping the leg as a counter. Dynamite took some great nutty bumps to really sell Tiger Mask's offense. I did not think Dynamite was as violent as he was win the Fujinami match. He was more interested in going spot for spot with Tiger Mask like WWF Dynamite Kid would. I have really enjoyed Tiger Mask in Original UWF, he has enough knowledge on the mat to keep this interesting and multi-faceted. I really enjoy how audibly he sells choking. In what I thought may have been spot of the match was his bridge out of a headscissors and in one fluid motion converting to a Texas Cloverleaf. Gorgeous! I loved the leg work by Tiger Mask, but Dynamite totally blows it off immediately using his legs to make a comeback. The selling is a problem much like the modern style, but the match also lacks any sort of progression. They just go and go. It feels like nothing is being advanced. The cool moves at least feel like a part of struggle, but there is no heat is what I am trying to say. There have been Fujinami matches' without a proper heat segment, but this one feels different than those. I feel like this review is all over the place kinda like this match. I am having a hard time remembering, which spot went before which. I think that's really telling. There is no consequence. It is very slapdash, but highly entertaining at the same time and I am a structure mark. It is a spotfest that is really fun because the execution is so good, the spots are actually breath-taking and there are misses (two diving headbutts were huge) and urgency (loved the crazy dive to the floor by Tiger Mask). They went balls out for this match so I am giving this my standard rating for what I consider one of the best spotfests of all time. ****1/4

[soup23]

Tag matches leading into this helped set the stage and they really delivered with an opening stanza that has a scorching speed to it with a good bit of intensity thrown in. The work of TM working on the legs of Dynamite is what fully prevents me from being on board with the match overall as it was apparent they were looking for an action packed match where Dynamite was going to have to blow off the leg work that was built upon the meat of the match. In many ways this was a 1982 version of the problems I have in current day Ibushi matches. The flash is there which I cant deny but the authenticity is lacking to where I can sit at a distance from the match and appreciate the athleticism but my investment wanes. ***3/4 (7.4) 

[G. Badger]

Kid really wants to get his mitts on the feline fan favorite. Lotsa clubbing blows, tosses to the floor, and chokes for good measure. Tiger wants to prove he's no fluke and out wrestles the lad with armbars, leg locks, and headscissors. Of course, Dynamite gets his chance and delivers a cervical vertebra crushing piledriver that looks to have TM beat. An extra exciting finishing segment caps off a great match. 

Comparison to modern stuff is unfounded because this is fundamentally sound. An Ibushi match is where a guy over sells then, forgets it to get to the stunts.  That's most modern stuff.

This has happened for so long that we're probably a bit numb to it. In that regard, I think our minds are trained to patiently wait for the "wrestling" part to be over and get to the good part OR meticulously analyze a guy's selling a hurt limb for the rest of a match and unconsciously measuring to Kawada's best bouts. (Even if you haven't seen those, that's who most people are measuring against).

If we actually enjoy the wrestling and quit measuring every step of the way then, we can see this more for what it is than what it reminds us of...