The work in this was much more spirited and interesting than the work in the first match. They did a lot of the same things, but with more pace, more focus and better selling. I really liked the rope running spots and both guys had some solid counters to each others runs. Sasaki of all people going to the wrist tape choke spot was something to behold. Sasaki in control wasn't outstanding (though he did throw some meaty strikes), but I liked the corner bump from Santana and his big comeback with the diving lariat got over huge. The finish with the ref noticing the salt on Santana and refusing to count the pin for Sasaki was kind of strange, but I didn't hate it. The clip where we missed how Santana went on the defensive hurt this some, but I didn't think it was a fatal blow to the match. Over ten minutes of this were shown, I think it merits consideration.

WWC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ricky Santana © vs. Kensuke Sasaki (February 1989)

 

Maybe this one will be better than the other. Nice start here as both men are movin and groovin but Santana goes back to the armwork like he did the previous match but we have a twist here as the match is clipped from Santana working the arm to Sasaki choking out Santana with a reverse chinlock. This ended up being a better match than the previous one but the clipping hurt the flow. If we miss how someone goes from offense to defense then it's a no go on a nomination.

The jump cuts the transition from offense to defense by Santana and initially that was a very bad thing but then the heat section went on a long time and I put things together and figured very little is missing from this. I've seen plenty of great television matches that miss these transitions. It's bad but not a match killer. The match itself I enjoyed a good bit. Santana's shine was awesome and his rope running and arm drag stuff is really crisp and smooth. The cut happens shortly after this and Sasaki is on offense. Santana really makes the heat section here with his selling and hope spots. I especially liked the missed shoulder tackle in the corner. Sasaki's offense is too light for my taste but Santana made all of it look good. I liked Santana breaking out of the sleeper with a stunner and we get a nice fiery comeback by him. El Profe hands Sasaki salt in the corner and Sasaki throws it in Santana's eyes. He covers him and right before the three the ref feels the salt on his hands and disqualifies Sasaki. It's a silly finish but creative in that I don't think I've ever seen a finish like that before. Overall, this was a strong traditionally worked match that hit all the right notes. The cut hurts it but I'm going to err on the side that the cut couldn't have been very long at all. LOW END nomination.