Hey, This Happened: Naoya Ogawa vs. Baby Hashimoto

Naoya Ogawa vs. Daichi Hashimoto IGF 12/31/15

ER: People do weird things in life to honor their fathers. Or avenge their fathers. Or...look, I don't know. Sometimes people follow in the steps of their fathers and sometimes they don't. But Naoya Ogawa has now kicked two different generations of Hashimotos directly in their eye socket. He may be the only person who gets to brag about that. My father and I both have the same middle name, Earl. But so far in our lives we have not been kicked in the eye by the same man. I have never been kicked in the eye, so anybody who has kicked my father in the eye has not yet tracked me down. Daichi Hashimoto is still very young, but probably too old to still have "going through a phase" hair. With his purple bangs you can perfectly visualize the awkward family dinners with his folks asking him how school was and Daichi just sitting there with his arms crossed, asking to be excused without even touching his food that his mother took time to prepare. But he jumps Ogawa before the bell and attacks with slaps and kicks, enough to make Ogawa roll to the floor to put some distance between. But Hash chases and then Ogawa tees right off on him, laying him out with a rough high kick. Daichi crumbles admirably. Back in and Daichi attempts some stuff from a mount but Ogawa wriggles out, punishes him, and then casually walks up behind a kneeling Hashimoto and wraps a kick around his left orbital bone. Done. Ogawa does the airplane taunt over another fallen Hashimoto; Kazuyuki Fujita, looking more and more like George the Animal Steele only with no eyebrows, gets in the ring and tries to start shit; somewhere, someone checks to see if Gary Steele or Dylan Night have children, who he can then book against Colby Corino and Daichi Hashimoto in a 4 way iron man match, to be held at some Allentown, PA Vet's building. Was that person me? Perhaps.

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MLJ: Sombra Spotlight 20: La Sombra vs Psicosis II

2011-03-14 @ Arena Puebla
La Sombra vs Psicosis II

0:10 in

I have a lot of ground to cover still, but this match feels especially notable beacuse it came one night after Sombra's title win over Mephisto and for the most part, it's a very different match with a number of different spots, a different pace, a different layout. There were elements of commonality but I think the differences help to show how he'd come into his own by this point.

Psicosis II is currently Ripper/Reaper and he doesn't have the attitude or flair as his predecessor but he's a perfectly competent rudo flyer. Unlike the title match which started the requisite minutes of matwork, this hit the ground running (soaring). Psicosis ran straight into the ring, was rana'd and tope'd. The cameras missed it as they were getting the opening match graphics out of the way. That's how quick it was. Sombra plancha'ed back in, went for another one off the top, and was hit by a Michinoku Driver off the top for a quick fall.

It was a tradeoff. There was more to the Mephisto match but this was instantly dynamic. Moreover, while that was back and forth throughout, Psicosis catching Sombra here led to the heat segment that would encompass the segunda. Different matches with different builds but neither was one of A or one of b completely.

Sombra sold well in the segunda, including layering in a hope spot or two, which you don't always see in CMLL Singles matches with heat. Psicosis was focused and had some pretty solid offense. This ended with Sombra reversing a whip for a short powerslam and the double moonsault. It was a dumb move, especially in the midst of Sombra's selling but I did like it as yet another move Sombra could take a fall with. He wins just one fall with it, now and again, and it becomes a viable nearfall for the finish of matches, especially in chaotic trios terceras.

The tercera was back and forth with big spots. I like how Psicosis took advantage early by working on the leg. It was entirely to soften Sombra up so he could hit big power moves, which isn't the sort of thing you see too often. Sombra had a mini comeback there too, or at least a chapter break, leading to a flip dive. Despite the short first fall, the exhaustion in selling here felt earned. It allowed for a balance in the kickouts. Psicosis' offense was high end but it never felt outlandish that Sombra was kicking out. It made the near-falls more believable in both aspects of the word.

Good, high-octane match that stayed on the rails, and another solid, yet different, performance for Sombra. They have a title match shortly after this and it's a shame it's not online because I'd like to see it.

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