2016 Ongoing MOTY List: Dick Togo is Back in the GUTS

69. Dick Togo/Masao Orihara/Ryan Upin vs. Mr. Gannosuke//CHANGO/Michio Kageyama GUTS World 12/3/16

PAS: These Togo and Crew trios matches are quickly becoming one of my favorite under the radar things to watch. Gannosuke is old and fat, but still can turn it on when need be, he breaks out a superplex here and has a great spot where he is just throwing rabbit punches at the back of Orihara's head. This was more of an Orihara showcase for the championship team, but Togo did have a couple of awesome runs of offense. Really liked the finish run with Gannosuke's team hitting a bunch of cool double and triple teams only to be foiled by an Orihara kick to the nads.

ER: I am really digging GUTS. Guys are lumpy and the old guys can still go! I like how someone like CHANGO gets crowd chants, just this niche group of Tokyo wrestling fans, who sees CHANGO as their Bruno for whatever reason. Gannosuke was one of my favorite Japanese indy guys SO MANY years ago, and this was the first I've seen him in ages (didn't even know he still worked), and he's still clearly a guy that I dig. He has a great aura and still brings details, like that wrenching chinlock or a little extra pop on a wild superplex. Also amusing that he's teaming with his junior doppelganger Kageyama. But yes this was the Orihara show, and I love that late 40s Orihara has now become my favorite current wrestler in Japan. He looks like a thug, and wrestles like a thug. He doesn't hold back on the littlest things, his stomps and stomach kicks and missed shots always look tighter than anybody else in a match, and he has a surprisingly deep offense arsenal for someone who can come off like a kick/punch guy. I'd love to see this get to a Orihara/Gannosuke singles match, a real battle of scuzzy late 40s dudes. My favorite thing about the match was the waves the match went in and out of. It seemed like the tone shifted several times in the match, which is kind of cool. We start out wild, go into a Team Togo control period, let the legends hit their stuff, go through a long Team CHANGO double team period, just a bunch of shifts and little stories. Orihara hits a beastly chairshot and a straight boot to the balls, and to hammer home how great he is at the little things, look no further than his small package roll up to win. He already punted dude in the balls, and then he breaks out this gorgeous small package, grapevining the loose leg and everything. Beautiful attention to little things from such a dangerous man. What I would do for Finlay to come out of retirement against Orihara.


2016 MOTY MASTER LIST

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE DICK TOGO