2019 Ongoing MOTY List: Hidaka vs. Ito

26. Ikuto Hidaka vs. Takafumi Ito Ikeda 25th Anniversary Show 4/7

PAS: This was really great, basic arm versus leg match, but both guys were super tricky on the mat and found awesome ways to fly into attacks, counters into counters. I loved Hidaka's dragon screw whip with Ito tied into the corner, really looked like it shredded all the tendons in his knee. Ito really grabbed at the arm in nasty ways too, including a victory roll into an armbar. Built nicely from simple grappling into more complex fun stuff, had enough wacky stuff that I wouldn't call it pure shootstyle, but shootstyle adjacent wrestling is having a good year.

ER: This was a fun Batt style match with flat out bizarre commentary. For all I know the two guys weren't even talking about Hidaka or Ito, as they spent literally the entire match laughing their heads off like they were recreating a conversation between Knox Harrington and Maude Lebowski. Ito would be ripping at Hidaka's arm and they would be giggling away. Weird. Ito isn't a guy I've seen a lot, and for an older guy he really hasn't shown up on tape a lot. But I dug him opposite Hidaka, liked the arm vs. leg angle, and loved how it built to a hot finishing stretch that broke away from the grappling. Ito had some nifty counters to established Hidaka offense, done in a way that it wasn't a dancey counter to a counter to a counter; instead we get Hidaka's cool cradle roll up countered into a sick armbar, or Hidaka doing his unique skin the cat only to be met with a hard knee to the gut on his way back in the ring. Hidaka looks and moves the exact same as he did 20 years ago, really dug his attacks on Ito's leg (though I wish both guys had sold their respective arm and leg). The finish stretch had some great throws, a tight and violent Exploder from Ito, a big back suplex from Hidaka and a sick German from Ito (with Hidaka getting his foot gently on the top rope in a nice visual), and that missile dropkick to Ito's knee is such an insane spot. All of this was apparently hilarious, based on our weird commentary crew recorded inside a garbage can.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST