New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV Episode 6 Workrate Report

1. Karl Anderson vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8/4/13)

Wow, out of all the G1 matches from 2013 they could have shown, they lead with Anderson vs. Tenzan? Mauro assures me that I am seeing the greatest pro wrestling IN THE WORLD. I'm starting to think Mauro is a liar. Tenzan is still pretty much the same guy he was 15 years ago. The Anaconda Vise has always seemed like a pretty easy move in terms of getting to the ropes. Nothing about this was very good, and I'm not sure why Tenzan is the guy they'd want to expose to a national audience. I mean Shibata vs. Ishii from the same show was RIGHT THERE, featuring two far more relevant guys in an actual good match.

2. Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/4/13)

Are they really just showing these two matches because TenKoji was a well regarded tag team when I was still a teenager? DBS always gets put over as a big time catch wrestler but most of the time he just works big man power spots. But hey I ended up enjoying this match. Kojima is still plenty spry and all his clotheslines and elbow strikes looked nice (and you know there are going to be plenty of clotheslines and elbow strikes in a Kojima match). A lot of the blocks and reversals looked real good, especially both men blocking each other's lariats (really loved DBS yakuza kicking Kojima's right arm which made Kojima spin around and blast him with his left) and the timing of everything throughout was real tight. Bullet Club interference can be clunky but here it's minimal with Taka grabbing Kojima as he went to the top, but then taking a great tumbling bump down the apron to the floor after Kojima clocks him. I mentioned DBS is always pushed as a catch wrestler and instead does power stuff, but that isn't a real disappointment as a lot of his power moves look good. He has a nice big boot, hard shoulder blocks, nice brain buster, really nice sit out powerbomb, took a nice fast bump over the top off a clothesline. He's essentially a very good Test. This was fun. Also, if you weren't aware of it before the match, Davey Boy Smith Jr. is the son of Davey Boy Smith, who was in the British Bulldogs with Dynamite Kid, and is also related to Bret Hart. This is information Mauro and Josh were polite enough to tell us about every minute.

They are cruel and have Nakamura before the match talking about what a great match Ishii vs. Shibta was and wondering how he was going to top that. Why would they not just show that match!? Maybe they're showing B block one week and A block the next?

3. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (8/4/13)

This right here is a great GREAT match and easily the best thing they've aired so far, probably the best puro match of 2013. The stretch run of this match holds up as one of the best stretch runs of the decade, but really the whole thing is impeccably laid out. Nakamura was a nasty bully who underestimates a more than game Ibushi, and from there we get both guys just really clicking. All of Nakamura's strikes were brutal in this, with the Boma Ye's in particular just horrific (and Ibushi foolishly leaning way into all of them), and all of Ibushi's comebacks were fun and logical. Ibushi can pull off some spectacular flying spots that look effortless yet impactful. Loved his standing shooting star, immediately rolling through and nailing a springboard moonsault. His strikes also worked plenty well but really Nakamura was the story of this match as before this match happened I know I wasn't expecting much, but this match vaulted Ibushi into a "guy I actively like" status, and Nakamura up to the level of "guy I actively seek out". The way he tears into Ibushi is just epic, with some crazy kicks to the back of the head, a couple awesome running knees in the corner, all the Boma Ye's, a crazy flip out moment where he's just stomping on Ibushi's throat and screaming. He really made it look like this indy punk would upset him and that he had made the pompous mistake of underestimating him, and once he really turned it on he came off like a total sadist. This match also figures probably my favorite kickout ever, when Nakamura blasts Ibushi with a knee and Ibushi kicks out on one, fights to his feet and falls flat on his face, and immediately eats another Boma Ye for the easy 3. That spot could have come off so hack and Ibushi really nailed the mannerisms, with some Kawada level selling using his last bit of strength, really putting over that he kicked out at 1 on pure muscle memory but really had nothing left in the tank and was just a final gasp. Excellent match. I linked it above in case you hadn't ever seen it.