Top 30 Thursday - NJPW #15. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader, 4/24/89

Two of the greatest bomb throwing wrestlers of all time, throwing bombs. I really loved the late 80s period of the New Japan set. You had a lot of these kind of short violent sprints, with big powerful heavyweights going at each other like rabid bull moose. It is also great to watch Hashimoto and Vader, two of the greatest wrestlers of all time, truly come into their own, as this is one of the first truly legendary matches of both men's careers.

Very simple story worked perfectly. Hashimoto can't stand in front of Vader, too big, too powerful, even for Hashimoto. So he has to try to move to the sides, use angles and target the arm and shoulder. Vader meanwhile is going to throw his heavy hands and drop Hashimoto for good. Every shot in the match sounds like a sledgehammer going into a side of lamb, and is very cool to watch Hashimoto attack and avoid. To make me believe in a kick to the shoulder hurting a beast like Vader, you have to throw it with bad intentions. To make me buy a straight right or clothesline dropping a thick chested Samurai like Hashimoto, it also requires bad intentions. I bought every shot here.

80's Results and Reviews