KANA & Kenichi Yamamoto vs. Syuri & Daisuke Ikeda (Kana Pro 17-06-2012)

In the first version of this match I watched, a weird little clipped version which minimized Kenichi Yamamoto's presence in the match, this seemed very much to be a situation in which Yamamoto was a sort of fourth wheel to the tricycle of KANA, Syuri, and Daisuke.

MOTY '74, pt. 1: Tokyo Sports (Antonio Inoki vs. Strong Kobayashi 19-03-74)

 

THE TOKYO SPORTS PICK

Finally, in March '74, Antonio Inoki and Strong Kobayashi have a match I can easily watch. So, in '72, Baba and Inoki leave the JWA behind and form their own promotions, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Strong Kobayashi, for his part, was the ace of the IWE before breaking away as a freelancer. This, of course, was Inoki's first title defense during his first NWF title reign. (NJPW's history with that title ends up being kind of weird, right? Eventually, it's retired by Inoki, then resurrected briefly in the 2000s for a storyline, before being unified with the IWGP championship by Shinsuke Nakamura.)

Another really good part about this match is that we're looking at two dudes who are both athletic and have great hair and handsome faces. Race and Dory were not this good-looking, friends, let me tell you. (Dory Funk Jr. was an uglier dude in '73 than he is today.)

Well, the match itself is easily a classic. As an early domestic interpromotional match, there is a lot of heat. There is a minor rush at the beginning, which Kobayashi dodges, and with the first tie up, they put a lot of pressure before breaking it off. One thing that sticks out is the level of tension all the guys in the ring have here. The referee does a lot to sell the action by being almost as intense as the wrestlers.

I think the pace of the match sort of gets set a few moments in when Kobayashi pushes Inoki against the ropes, and Inoki takes advantage of the break to toss Kobayashi down. His opponent is stronger, so evidently Inoki is planning to take advantage of any openings Kobayashi affords him. Kobayashi, for his part, reacts to nearly everything with a large amount of anger.

Plenty of excellent mat work from both guys in this one. In one sequence, Kobayashi lands the arm drag, holds on for a keylock, transitions to an armbar while Inoki is slowly working his way to his feet, finding different ways to shift the leverage around for a better position, before finally reversing for his own arm drag. Inoki likewise holds onto the arm, but applies a crossface and goes for the pin. Right after this, Inoki counters the knuckle lock by going for the leg, and when he breaks Kobayashi down he starts cranking on that foot, eventually pushing Kobayashi until he shows his pain. When Inoki tries to roll him into a pin with a banana split--except for the fact Kobayashi could walk afterwards--the two of them hit the ropes and the break is painstakingly slow because neither guy wants to give an unnecessary advantage.

There's so much fucking struggle in this match, man.

I also think there are a lot of interesting little things to appreciate. Of course, I love Inoki's little handshake reach when he's coming in toward his opponent, but Kobayashi's thick legs give him an incredibly sturdy appearance, and he often jogs around the ring. After the first leg lock is applied, he does a few squats, as if he were trying to get blood flowing through his legs to, I don't know, counteract the damage or something like that. The second time Inoki gets the chance for the leg lock, Kobayashi extends his leg as hard as he can and Inoki has to fight to pull it in. I absolutely love how wide they establish their bases when they apply a hold. Maybe the best part about this match is the struggle for a greater advantage. Each guy's looking for an advantage in whatever way he can.

There are some other particular highlights for me, too.

During one grappling exchange, Kobayashi switches to a hammerlock and he presses Inoki down, slapping two hands on the hand and wrist and cranking it hard. After Inoki tries to get up, Kobayashi throws him back down, stomps his arm, and jumps on the hammerlock again, dropping to the side and doing breakfalls to increase the apparent pressure on the arm.

In one sequence, Inoki rides Kobayashi's back, applying forward pressure to the back of his neck, but Kobayashi stands up. When Inoki goes for the octopus stretch, Kobayashi reverses it and slaps on a very nice leg trap. The next part of the sequence would be considered a botch today, but I love it: after Inoki escapes the leg trap, he's able to escape the hold, but Kobayashi keeps a grip and pulls him into a crucifix pin near the ropes, where his feet briefly hit the ropes. Inoki works a shoulder up across a handful of counts, then forces the rope break.

The reverse figure four headlock Inoki slaps on him is incredible. He cranks Kobayashi's neck pretty hard, and hooks one foot under the arm. The selling from Kobayashi is also very good, and it would have been a believable finish for him to pass out here.

There are some good strikes throughout, my favorite probably being when Kobayashi kicks Inoki out of a tie up, then clobbers Inoki over the back of the neck only to get knocked into next week a moment later by a stiff shot from Inoki. 

The finishing sequence begins when Kobayashi slaps a tight headlock on him, and Inoki finally shoots Kobayashi to the ropes. He tries to slap the Octopus Stretch on his opponent there, but the two of them go tumbling through the ropes. Kobayashi thrashes him on the outside, giving Inoki the opportunity to blade before he struggles to his feet. When he gets on the apron, he's got a red streak down his face, and Kobayashi starts blasting him, infuriating the referee. Inoki struggles back up, eats a brainbuster but kicks out fast, catching Kobayashi with the water wheel suplex. When Kobayashi slaps the headlock on, Inoki destroys him immediately with the backdrop suplex, then hits a german suplex from a crazy low stance for the finish.

MOTY Verdict: Hey, maybe. Over 16k fans, a hot crowd, a sick name ("the Duel on Ganryu-jima"). This is apparently Inoki's personal pick for his best match. It's very serious grappling and fighting throughout, both in the sense of having a serious feeling to it, and in the sense of both guys looking like serious fighters throughout. I have to admit that in terms of my personal taste, I'd have wanted to see Inoki start bleeding much sooner, along with significantly more rough treatment.

November Report (2024)

Everything I got up to in November.