Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi/Osamu Nishimura NJPW 06/05/02
MD: This is an hour draw where we never had the full version until recently. They structure the time extremely well all things considered, with a few major story beats to loop together the characters, the work, and the big moments. The first ten minutes were primarily Nakanashi paired with Tenzan and Nishimura paired with Chono, worked fairly even. They had time to breathe though and that meant a bit more struggle and effort to lock in or escape from every hold. Nakanishi and Tenzan brought little sprinkles of bombast and over the top theatrics and Chono and Nishimura were grounded and focused.
From there, they spent around ten minutes working on Tenzan, leading to a big entry Chono and a little less than twenty minutes working on Nishimura, including some big bits of hope including a superplex/toss off the rope combo. Nishimura was credible enough to stay in it and keep the crowd invested, so they were up and ready when Nakanishi came in like a truck, using feats of (as the commentary put it) "superhuman" strength to fight both off, including lifting both over his head at once. When he went for a German, however, his leg went out, setting up the back two-fifths of the match.
It had seemed like maybe they were going into the finish, but instead Nishimura had to step forth and he did so iconically, taking his boots off and becoming an absolute wrestling machine, switching from one opponent to the other and keeping his head more than above water. Just when it seemed like he was getting swept under, there was Nakanishi, bandaged up for an extended comeback and finishing stretch. The match had one last wrinkle though, one thing to put it over the top and force the champion on their back foot in a very visual way. Nakanishi shot a knee into Tenzan and he bled big. That gave the last ten minutes a bloody, desperate overtone as they rushed on towards the draw. This warranted the time it got, with all of the comebacks and momentum shifts feeling suitably huge and the iconic moments even huger.
PAS: Very cool match that I don't think I had ever watched before. Nishimura has always been one of my guys, but I was lower on Nakanish, Tenzan and 2000s Chono, and I imagine the length kept me from watching it in 2002, and it has never been something I have considered revisiting. Nishimura's passing and the new footage of it all, led me to advocate for this, and I am glad I did.
Just a couple of all-time moments in this match. I loved the idea of Nakanishi on this Incredible hulk run of power spots and the injury being non-contact. If it was a real injury, tremendous improv, if it was part of the match, hell of an idea. Nishimura pulling off his boots is an iconic leading man moment from one of wrestling's great character actors, and instantly became one of my favorite strap drop momentum changes ever.. I did kind of wish that, that moment and the big Nakanish return from the back, led more quickly into the finish, I liked the finish run and the Tenzan blood, but there was some dead time in between the Nakanishi return and the big ending, which felt like it could have been trimmed, still hell of piece of business and a tribute to the greatness of Nishimura.
Osamu Nishimura vs Yugi Nagata - European Rounds NJPW 06/02/05
MD: Ah, a handheld of two guys in black trunks wrestling. That's what you want out of NJPW. This on the fabled Italy tour and was really European rounds. They went five to a draw. I liked it quite a bit actually. Balanced, good work, good anticipation, good story. The first round was mostly even, just feeling out but I liked how they made every touch seem like it could lead to something. Nagata took over with a kick in the ropes (unclean break) and he got carded for it but that was a small price to pay to break the stalemate (or the slight Nishimura advantage) and take over.
He kept control through a roundbreak but one too many kicks led to his doom as Nishimura caught it for a dragon screw. Likewise, he kept control through a ropebreak (charging forth with a leaping kick to ensure he'd keep it right at the start of the round), and pressed the advantage with a figure-four. He couldn't get the win though and they leaned into the last round with some big bombs as they worked towards they draw. This worked for me as something different and they leaned into the gimmick well with Nagata holding his own. They could have gone back to Japan and done these matches for years and told interesting stories with them. We'd probably be in a better pro wrestling world if they did.
Osamu Nishimura vs. GENTARO VKF 11/16/15
MD: Pretty enjoyable 20+ minutes here as they just went hard with one another. For the first half of the match GENTARO would try to press an advantage (anything from a vein-popping headlock to slamming Nishimura's head into the turnbuckles to a headscissors to a bow and arrow) and Nishimura had not just an answer for each but suitable punishment in return, most especially a nasty European Uppercuts.
Midway through, things spilled outside, and Nishimura absolutely cracked GENTARO's knee with a shin breaker on a chair and started dismantling the leg. Sometimes you're watching a match and something takes a turn and even after watching for years and years you still get that feeling in your stomach of "how is this guy ever going to come back from that?" The answer was that Nishimura missed a knee drop off the top and GENTARO was able to slam his knee into the post with a shinbreaker of his own.
From there they were both on one leg and fought hobbled against one another, including a few figure-four attempts by GENTARO, one of which he was finally able to lock on outside the ring, staying in it for almost the entire twenty count. All of this was very good, with lots of struggle to try to prevent the hold and plenty of consequence for being in it. Finish came out of nowhere as GENTARO got it on again only for Nishimura to turn it and almost immediately get the submission. On the one hand, it made sense given the damage to the knee and how hard they were fighting over the hold. On the other, I'm not sure I've ever seen a submission on a turned Figure-Four before.
ER: This was so great. It's Nishimura at his best. He's the same age as I am right now and he looks 60, but moves like a tough 30 year old. He's a rare breed, a Masa Fuchi type who looks like a polite salaryman in his own Japanese Nobody. He has such a dedication to making every step of a match look earned, an honesty that is something became really important to me. He hits guys in slightly different ways and makes simple transitions look like rewarding events. There's so much satisfaction in watching a pro work slowly but effectively through a figure 4 or Indian deathlock. The camera work in VKF is really great and amplifies Nishimura's style.
The ringside camera films inside the ring like they're aiming to show that there are no tricks or illusions in Nishimura's work. It's an honest camera for an honest style. But that close-up realism pays off when the match escalates to hard strikes and real impact. Nishimura had an incredible uppercut sandwich when he went full weight into GENTARO'S neck and jaw, then went low with one into his thigh, then went back to the neck and jaw just as hard as the first. He drove some of the hardest full body downward strike elbows into GENTARO'S quad, escalated things further with a knee breaker on a chair, attacked it in ways I wasn't expecting. When he hits a big kneedrop from the middle rope across the leg, it's the same movement that leads to a miss and transition back to GENTARO later. There's that honesty. I like when GENTARO realized he was losing this fight but looking for ways out, suddenly getting really serious about a Count Out win still being on the table while the ref calmly insisted that Nishimura was clearly on the apron. There are no bad Nishimura finishes, they always feel like one man won with a submission that was well earned, and I love the way Nishimura specifically showed his work while earning those wins. A true craftsman.
Is there a link to the tag match? Would love to give it a watch
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