New Japan BOSJ 2010 Pt. 5

AKIRA v. Nobu Yoshihashi 5/30

I liked this a bunch, really basic story with each guy working over his opponents leg. AKIRA was great here, really basic nasty stuff, some of the better stomps to the kneecap I can remember seeing. His selling was also solid, while Yoshihashi would kind of fade in and out. AKIRA just feels like a pro, a guy who has been wrestling for 20+ years and knows all the subtile nuances that kind of experience can give you. It is the same kind of thing you see in this tournament with guys like Gedo, Liger and Kanemoto and the kind of thing visable missing from the younger guys. Finish run paid off pretty well, I loved Yoshihashi sliding forearm smash to the knee, and his final swanton looked rib crushing. Best Yoshihashi has looked in the stuff I have seen.

Jushin Liger v. KUSHIDA 5/30

I would say about 50% of the matches in this tourney are based around guys selling the leg, it is kind of a dumb way to work a juniors match actually, either people can't do their spots or they have to shit on the storyline and no sell. KUSHIDA does the worst job of selling I have seen so far, he goes immediately from agonizing pain to running full speed and doing a dive. Nothing connected the two parts of the match at all, they might as well been a month apart. I liked KUSHIDA's KO kick, and when he caught Liger's shotay only to get shotayed by the other hand, but outside of that this wasn't much

La Sombra v. Tiger Mask IV 5/30

Tiger Mask is a guy who is pretty hated by most US puro fans, I really don't watch current Japanese wrestling, and he was a part of mid 90's MPRO so he has some built up good will from me. I thought this was perfectly fine wrestling, Sombra hit all of his stuff cleanly, and Tiger Mask had some moments where he showed off his speed. I liked both dives. I watched a shit ton of Tiger Mask Sayama in preparation for the NJ 80's set, and he had way worse matches with way better luchadores.

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taiji Ishimori 5/30

This match was worked with both guys countering virtually every move. It isn't my favorite style of wrestling at all, but I thought it was done ok. I liked how both guys landing really awkwardly with their big dives on the knees of their opponents. Taji's springboard backflip spinny elbowdrop is really dumb looking, but it is better when he lands his ribs into a dudes knees. I also kind of liked Taguchi's superplex into rolling vertical suplexes, I have been watching a bunch of WCWSN from 2000 lately (for the upcoming WCW B-Sides comp which is going to be fucking epic) and I this was a fine poor man's Kid Romeo v. Jeremy Lopez.

Fergil Devitt v. Davey Richards 5/30

This was a really terrible poor man's Kid Romeo v. Jeremy Lopez. Richards is the fucking worst, nothing he does looks natural at all, he is so hammy in this, growling, flipping off the crowd, looking surprised, selling pain. It is like watching Eric Roberts at the nadir of his drug abuse chew his way through an erotic thriller. He has some nice athletic spots, but there are parts of this where he is clearly and obviously setting himself up for spots, at one point he gets crotched on the top rope, and he just obviously moves his leg into position for the next move. At no point does he ever allow you suspend disbelief, you are always painfully aware that this is a fake fight. Devitt really made no impression on me at all in this, he had a nice dropkick, but this was Davey at his Daveyest.

Hayato Jr. Fujita v. Koji Kanemoto 5/30

Oddly put together match. Their match last year was one of my favorites and based around Koji Kanemoto, one of the greatest dickish asskickers ever, kicking the ass of Hayato Jr. Fujita who is totally awesome at being a spunky underdog babyface. Classic wrestling story told well. This match had all the cool execution, nifty moves, stiffness and violence of the first match, but the casting was all screwy. Fujita really kicks the shit out of Kanemoto in this match, dominating probably 70%, Fujita is perfectly fine at kicking someones ass, and Kanemoto is pretty good as a Fujiwarish veteran being overwhelmed role, but it still seems upside down. This wasn't the match I expected it to be, but it was still pretty great, nasty toe to toe exchanges, really great kneebar counters. I loved the finish, Fujita cuts off a rare Kanemoto offensive run, and starts hitting him with big shots getting ready to finish him off, Koji however counter the running knee with a nasty kick to the kneecap and sinks in a ankle lock figure four for the tap. It was abrupt, but I kind of liked the out of nowhereness of it.