[2016-10-23-NOAH] Katsuyori Shibata vs Go Shiozaki

[GOTNW]

You can tell by their entrances-how they move, how they look, by their entrance music. You can tell that Shibata is a real wrestler and Go Shiozaki isn't. Shibata represents something-he likes Inoki and Maeda. His favourite wrestler is Hashimoto. That's whose bags he carried. Black shoes, black trunks, has a simple font that says THE WRESTLER for a t-shirt. Go Shiozaki probably only still wrestles because his modelling deal fell through and he needs the cash. These two are modern japanese wrestlers-they will have a modern japanese wrestling match. It probably won't be as good as Hashimoto vs Tenryu and since it's 2016 neither will the heat. But it still managed the work because of the symbolism. Shiozaki's control segments are ok-he does stuff and it looks good. But it doesn't really leave an impression on you while he's doing it most of the time. It's kind of like a headlock in an NWA title match-what happens after matters more for the quality of the match. Shibata gets in his face, trolls him, and it works. He brualizes him, viciously beats the shit out of him with kicks, elbows and uppercuts. There's a control segment early on that's long (for 2016 standards) where Shiozaki is throwing Shibata into the guardrail, trying to convey anger and rampage, but it really doesn't come off that well. And Shibata cuts him off by just kicking him in the head and doing everything Shiozaki did except making it look like Shiozaki would've if he was a great wrestler. You don't think "Go Shiozaki could be a great wrestler" during that control segment or when he's hitting stupid indy moves-you think that when he's desperately chopping Shibata with full force as his only means of comebacks. It doesn't feel like he's angry with Shibata as much as himself for not being as good as he should be. And that's why it left such a strong impression on me. Through the suplex no-sell sequences and the counters I could tell were coming, it felt like Shibata taking a big shit on Go Shiozaki and everything he represents. When Shiozaki would try the Limit Break, a move that was supposed to be his big match finisher (akin to the Bruning Hammer) but failed through like most things in his career, that doesn't look nearly as cool and is too contrived for his own good, Shibata countered it by just kneeing him in the head. And hitting a Sleeper Suplex, Kobashi's move, before finishing Shiozaki off as well as telling him to get the hell out of his ring once the match was over really sent the message across. ****