More Assorted Japanese Indy Wrestling

 

Diablo vs. Hideaki Sumi, Riki Office 9/26/2010

This was really fucking cool, a karateka vs. a vicious brawler in a chain match. Sumis kicks and punches were great and Diablo was kicking ass here, bloodying his opponent, throwing punches, using chairs and the chain etc. I would have liked to see Sumi kick a bit more ass but for a kind of fast, brief asskicking resulting in blood and mist this was really cool.

 

 

Mentai Kid & Billy Ken Kid vs. Genkai & Ryuta Chikuzen (Kyushu Pro 4/16/2018)

Pretty great match which oddly enough was largely built around the two highflyers doing lots of nasty bodypart work and stiff blows to the grizzled heavyweights. Opening sections were very nice, they kept things simple but worked a scale higher than basic. Match gets really great once BKK hits a double stomp to Chikuzen. They follow up with both Kids unleashing some brutal work on Chikuzens mid section. The whole section was really great and full of nasty stomps, spin kicks, punch combos and excellent cut offs. It’s weird to see a guy like Billy Ken Kid work really stiff and just tag people hard and drop hefty looking bombs but here we are. GENKAI was pretty great in the match too, he largely cut out the WWE spots and was just kicking dudes really hard and hurling them around with hard suplexes. Chikuzen had a Taue-ish vibe, gangly lumbering dude with odd athleticism who will hurl himself at you. GENKAI ended up working overtime to carry his damaged partner through the match and did an amazing job. I dug all the build to the big moves, and that they largely avoided overkill since basic moves like a fallaway slam or hip drop were hitting in brutal fashion. Awesome big match with tremendous heat.

 

Hiroaki Taniguchi vs. Katsumi Oribe, Move-On Pro Wrestling 7/13/2022

 Very cool match which felt a bit like a modern day WAR heavyweight clash. It was a bit slower and not quite as gritty but both guys made full use of the empty arena here leathering the hell out of each other with grimy strikes and slams. Oribe is great, he's a karateka and he throws really beautiful kicks just trying to cave his opponents chest in. Taniguchi is a bit of a slow bloated guy but his slams and lariats were really violent, he also had this really great big splash targetting Oribes back. Some more tricked out sequences than you'd expect, I liked how they didn't just go braindead with endless shoulderblocks and no selling like Japanese heavyweight wrestling often does. I normally dislike the superkick to kneeling opponent but Oribe was hitting them more like thrust kicks and almost taking Taniguchis head off. Good shit.

2023 MOTY Project #1

Genkai vs. Kodai Nozaki, Kyushu Pro 2/5/2023

Odd match which felt a bit like a really good match from WWE syndicated TV circa mid 2000s. But that kind of thing is way more interesting to me than your typical modern Japanese chopfest. Early on Genkai did a good job putting over the physicality of his massive opponent and throwing nice punches. Genkai also had some cool ways to set up his cobra clutch finisher, including an almost Honda-ish choke hold. Middle section was a bit slow but had Genkai hitting a really cool fast dropkick to Genkais head when he went to recuperate outside. The finishing stretch was very good and had some more neat spots including the submission finish which was done awesomely. Most importantly, there was no point where both guys traded mindless elbows and no endless chop trading.

 

 Tajiri vs. Mentai Kid, Kyushu Pro 2/5/2023

Put Tajiri in a big match and he can still deliver. If you squinted this was a bit like a Regal or Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio match. Opening exchanges were nice, and it got good once Tajiri started working Kids arm. Lots of cool reversals and cut offs, and Tajiri still hits his kicks with perfect form. I like Mentai Kid but this wasn't one of his better nights, still he really sold that arm work well and he has a nicely set up comeback and a great dive which Tajiri catches full on. Finishing run had lots of cool Tajiri tricks, and good selling from Kid. The highlight was a nice kimura where Tajiri rolled Kid around the ring trying to dislocate his arm.

Darby Allin vs. KUSHIDA, AEW 1/18

Very good match mostly due to KUSHIDA working like a tenacious 90s NJPW junior and constantly going for the arm, closer to Liger and Otani. I especially liked the dropkick in the ropes. Slick opening grappling and exchanges were nice to see. Darby didn't set my world on fire here, for example I was iffy at him doing a forward roll for some reason into a code red, but largely everything he did was fine and the crazy bump was indeed crazy. There was also some fight present such as Kushida almost hitting Darby back when he was trying to set up a spot outside. I really enjoyed all the arm work and the kimura spot, and the big arm throw from the top was innovative, made sense and looked hurty. I am conditioned to always expect both contenders in a match to get in a ridiculous amount of shit so Darby narrowly winning with a flash pin was surprising but I was fine with it.