Talk about it here.

Much more reserved than the Ikeda vs. Ishikawa match. Lots of good matwork and some sense of struggle. Lack of any kind of crowd hurts it. Sometimes it comes off almost as a matwork exhibition. I'll vote for it, but it won't be too high.

Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka - Big Mouth Loud 9/11/05

 

This was not as shoot-style as the competitors listed would led you to believe. Big Mouth Loud used a lot of shoot-stylists and New Japan wrestlers disillusioned with Inokism. It seemed to be closer to the 80s/90s New Japan style than to Shoot-Style. I still had trouble comparing this match to other puroresu. I think it is due to more subtle selling. They register pain, but do not actually sell the pain. It can come off like moves are inconsequential when they are not. I liked Otsuka quite a bit. He was good on the mat constantly outwrestling Ishikawa and getting him in heel hooks. He had some nasty headbutts in this match. Plus he brought out the highspots: Giant Swing, German Suplex and the best, Frakensteiner (as called by announcer) into a triangle choke. I would lose my shit if that ever happened in an MMA match. Ishikawa was his usual badass self. He worked hard and really sold the threat of Otsuka. He had some nasty, nasty punches. I loved his incorporation of throws late by converting a heel gook into a sick, sick, headrop German. Then using a sweet knockout punch into a sleeper for the win. It is an entertaining match that finishes really well, but it is definitely nowhere near Ishikawa/Ikeda or Tamura/Ito. ***

Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka - Big Mouth Loud 9/11/05

 

This was not as shoot-style as the competitors listed would led you to believe. Big Mouth Loud used a lot of shoot-stylists and New Japan wrestlers disillusioned with Inokism. It seemed to be closer to the 80s/90s New Japan style than to Shoot-Style.

Battlarts style is influenced by shoot style and these guys have wrestled some straight up shoot style matches but they aren't strictly shoot style wrestlers. A lot of Battlarts resembles vintage New Japan grappling and there are lots of other pro-style influences, particularly the moves.

 

This match is pretty awesome. Ishikawa vs Otsuka is a competitive feud as opposed to the more spiteful Ishikawa vs Ikeda feud. As a result we get more beautiful matwork and cool throws. Still, this has brutal mounted punches and headbutts and all of that gross Battlarts stuff.

This was beautifu pro-wres. The matwork felt supplementary, but those punches, elbows and headbutts by Ishikawa were violent and really made this. I think the heatless crowd complemented the punches as you could head the thud from them connecting with Otsuka's jaw. I dug Otsuka using the huracanrana and transitioning into a triangle choke afterwards. I prefer that than the guys countering 450 splashes into poorly executed triangle chokes like they do now. Ishikawa's knee capture German suplex was pretty awesome, also. The right hand transition into a read naked choke was a perfect way to finish this. Great stuff.

This was a fun match. It was almost like a minimalist version of BattlARTS that evolved from them getting older. Nowhere near as violent as the Ikeda match, but Ishikawa still got a punch in before the sleeper at the end.