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[2018-06-04-NJPW-Best of the Super Juniors] Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori


Boss Rock

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Considering this year's Best of the Super Juniors was miles better than last year's, it's only fitting that the finals would not only be a true MOTYC, but a bombfest of epic proportions. The tentative first minute or so really added to the big fight atmosphere: you truly believed these two were the absolute best in the division (aside from Will). Things broke down almost immediately with Taiji and Hiromu brawling into the crowd and we got an awesome shotgun dropkick to Taiji and a scary-looking hurricanrana that sent Hiromu down the stairs. Back in the ring, both guys took turns controlling the pace of the match before everything broke down into absolute chaos. The number of big moves thrown here was truly remarkable but nothing felt cheap or overdone. Even the no-sell reverse rana spot from Hiromu somehow felt more earned than it normally would. With this being a tournament final with a shot at the title on the line, both men's comebacks and ability to dig just a little bit deeper were 100% believable. Another thing I loved about this match was that despite going nearly 35 minutes, no time felt wasted or done just for the sake of doing. The biggest criticism regarding NJPW main events is that the first 10 minutes are usually inconsequential and have no bearing on the finish but that was not the case here. Hiromu and Taiji made the most of everything they were given and knocked it out of the park.

 

Bravo. ****3/4.

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I wasn't feeling this as much as others. It felt too long. There's some great moments here mind, I'm a big fan of the crowd brawling. Himoru's shotgun dropkick and tumble down the stairs was disgustingly brilliant. No can deny that Takahashi is over and that the crowd were completely invested in him as a babyface. I didn't even mind the no selling reverse frakensteiner spots. Ishimori carried himself well too, and he has an insanely brilliant physique. I struggle to find myself buying into 95% of all big submission spots in NJPW main events. They very rarely feel like they will end the match.

 

I just felt bored during portions of this match, although I can see that I'm going to be in minority with this opinion. Still a good match, with a nuclear hot Korakuen Hall crowd.

 

★★★½

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I struggle to find myself buying into 95% of all big submission spots in NJPW main events. They very rarely feel like they will end the match.

 

I don't disagree with this point in general, but I think for this match in particular they did a great job of building up the Triangle for Hiromu and the Crossface for Ishimori. Both guys had been getting wins with those moves throughout the tournament. Just one night previous to this match Ishimori tapped out YOH and Hiromu tapped out KUSHIDA. I think knowledge of that helped me and the crowd buy into those submission spots as potential finishes.

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This had a wonderful start; great pure spotfest action with a fantastic sense of urgency & Hiromu being superb with his explosive offense. Once they got down from the crowd though, the match sadly didn't remain very interesting. I did love the submission drama w/ (especially) the LeBell Lock & the Triangle, but other than that stuff, the match did not grab me at all. I think it was overall definitely a good one w/ some flashes of greatness in it, but unsurprisingly it also was long as a mofo & had lots & lots of dull/meh stuff in there. ***

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I struggle to find myself buying into 95% of all big submission spots in NJPW main events. They very rarely feel like they will end the match.

 

I don't disagree with this point in general, but I think for this match in particular they did a great job of building up the Triangle for Hiromu and the Crossface for Ishimori. Both guys had been getting wins with those moves throughout the tournament. Just one night previous to this match Ishimori tapped out YOH and Hiromu tapped out KUSHIDA. I think knowledge of that helped me and the crowd buy into those submission spots as potential finishes.

 

 

Yeah, I can see that being the case. I didn't watch any of the tournament with the exception of the first night and this match obviously. If I followed the whole thing, I could see myself being able to invest in them more.

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  • 2 weeks later...

An exciting conclusion to a rather alright tournament. First off, yes I am aware the usual building that NJPW uses for the BOSJ finals wasn't available this year, and as much as I respect and adore Korakuen, I think they could've done a bigger venue for this big matchup. Anyways, both guys played their roles perfectly here with Hiromu especially bringing a more calm version of himself to build the seriousness of this important match. New Japan's homegrown star vs the outsider on a tear. A hot start with some great crowd brawling to taking it back to the ring and slowing it down with both guys gaining some momentum to finally a crescendo of bombs and head drops with some great submission work from both guys. In the end, Taiji put up a great fight against the unpredictable Hiromu, but he just couldn't figure out a way to keep the mad man down for the count until his inevitable loss. I disagree with the notion of cutting Taiji's momentum like that, but that's a conversation for another day, ****3/4.

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This one didn't do a lot for me relative to the hype. It featured several cliches that automatically take me out of a match -- the walk-your-opponent through the crowd "brawl," the big fighting spirit exchange and the my-turn, your-turn elbows. None of those is individually disqualifying, but the match also dragged quite a bit in the middle. Both guys came out of it looking good, so I didn't think it was a failure by any means. And some of the individual spots were spectacular/horrifying. It just didn't strike me as a classic cruiserweight match.

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Great match and more than fitting conclusion for the BOSJ. There are few things I love more than a "big fight feel" and this match definitely had this in spades during the entrances. Both men had more or less dominated their blocks (Taiji REALLY should have gone undefeated but Gedo and what have you) and established themselves as the two best Juniors in the world outside of Ospreay. Unlike other NJPW main events where the first 5-10 minutes feel rather inconsequential, they got to work almost immediately. It went from a crowd brawl (Childs' point about the spot seeming contrived isn't without merit even if I didn't have a problem with it) to an absolutely insane bombfest. There was an unbelievable amount of desperation with the submissions, both guys looking close to tapping out at different parts of the match. It also helped that both guys understood their characters which made this for a great clash of styles: Hiromu the unpredictable loose cannon and Taiji the focused weapon of destruction. Some of the fighting spirit spots like the no-sell reverse rana from Hiromu certainly seemed a bit much, but they managed to make it more believable than anyone else would have.

 

Great urgency, fantastic offense, and some absolutely sick-looking spots make this a surefire MOTYC.

 

****3/4.

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  • GSR changed the title to [2018-06-04-NJPW-Best of the Super Juniors] Taiji Ishimori vs Hiromu Takahashi

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