Crusher Takahashi vs. Diablo, Mutoha 2018/4/21
Mutoha normally showcases throwback technical matches, this however was a throwback to the brawls of old, with Crusher Takahashi doing a full on Terry Funk impression, punch combo and everything. Diablo is fun as a guy with a basic toolset of hitting good looking throat thrusts and beating on you with a chain, and this was just a fun little brawl between two old guys punching each other and bleeding in a bar. They briefly go outside to fight in the street, with Crusher making sure to leave a bloodstain on a pipe and taking a bump onto the concrete which was pretty sick for such an old guy. Last few minutes were really good with Crusher hitting awesome punches, teasing a Calf Branding etc. and some cool work around Diablos rope strangulation spot which is a different type of nearfall.
Hiroshi Watanabe & Yasushi Sato & Shigeo Kato vs. Masamune & Hideya Iso & Taro Yamada (Unicorn Style 12/24/2018)
This was pretty phenomenal. Unicorn Style means that you get a 1 vs. 1 pairing for the first fall, then a 2 vs. 2, and if it’s 1:1 after that a 3 vs. 3 pairing for the third fall. Apparently the pairings are decided at random right before the match so there’s no rehearsing and every match has to be done on the spot. I have no idea if that’s true, but everything looked like it was improvised right there, old school style. Running a 60 minute match without any rehearsed sequences or planning is pretty damn radical to do, even more so in 2018.
First match is Watanabe vs. Yamada and it’s really great. Yamadas unorthodox attacks ruled and the matwork was some of the best you’ll ever see in a Japanese non-shootstyle match. Just a ridiculously fun mix of Yamadas llave style and Watanabes persistant old school grappling, built around cool indian deathlocks, leg stretches and pin attempts. Yamada found himself outclassed by Watanabes technical skill, so resorted to all kinds of sneaky moves such a as tying Watanabes leg up in the ropes in painful looking fashion. Match keeps building in nice fashion until Yamada started out bigger bomps while keeping it technical, such as a curb stomp and a big leg breaker where he just dropped Watanabe in a nasty way on his knees. There was a great sequence building to a Robinson backbreaker, and the finish was done super well. Extremely impressive stuff.
The subsequent matchups were really good, too. Sato and Kato started using lots of rough tactics while keeping things mat based, so you would see a guy get taken down with an armlock and then get choked with a shin across the throat etc. Katos technical ratboy style is quite fun. Sato vs. Masamune was a pretty great match up, felt like two guys with excellent legit credentials squaring off and proving their pride. Masamune looks always really good when he does technical stuff, it’s kind of a shame he mostly works as a rudo. Sato was probably the best guy in the second half of the match, hitting the mat, working his awesome Russian Leg Sweep and Cobra Clutch spots, later throwing a great punch combo etc. His suplex comeback ruled, too. Iso was really fun here as a guy just torquing people with armbars. The segment where he was shredding Satos shoulder only to get caught in a unique cradle was great. The third fall amped up the pace after the more deliberate technical stuff of the first 2 and everybody got to shine. Super enjoyable and rewatchable match, the first fall was an amazing match in its own right and the rest of the match brought plenty more to the table and set up the ending. Easily 60 minutes of the best wrestling you’ll see in post-FUTEN Japan, strongly recommended if you’re a fan of MUGA, 70s All Japan and quirky indy wrestlers.
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