Talk about it here.

Do Fixer vs M2K, trios titles, Toryumon June 29th 2003

 

Background: Genki Horiguchi and his super-effective backslide made waves in the spring. Can such trickery get it done against a tough M2K unit at the biggest show of the year?

 

Why I think it's underrated: The match was well-received at the time but was somewhat forgotten as time passed. Whereas Toryumon is associated with flash and style, this match thrives on old-school tag structure to properly set up the exciting finish.

 

What it deserves: Top 100. This has something for everyone.

This was pretty damn good for a juniors trios tag. Arai getting his hand worked over was great. Horiguchi is one of my favorite of the second generation Toryumon guys. The backslide spot was very big. Arai fighting through the hand injury helps make this memorable finishing run even better. Dragon Kid is kept to a minimum as well. Some really nice dives in the middle too. It will probably make my ballot.

UWA World Trios Champion M2K (Genki Horiguchi, Ryo Saito and Susumu Yokosuka) vs DO Fixer (Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Kenichiro Arai) - Toryumon 6/29/03

 

A year later and once again the complexion of the Toryumon landscape has greatly changed. Plucky upstart Ryo Saito has been seduced by the Dark Side and now rides with M2K. Genki Horiguchi has parlayed his LeBron-esque hairline into a huge heel gimmick as he is quite annoyed the Japanese fans keep heckling him with "Hage" (Bald). In addition, he has developed a new weapon that all have fallen prey to: The Backslide From Heaven. Even though I have not seen Susumu Yokosuka yet, he is quite important as he is a original founder of M2K. In fact, his original last name was Mochizuki, no relation I believe. When Mochizuki turned face, they feuded over the surname ala Booker T and Big T with Mochizuki winning the name and forcing Yokosuka to change his name. Kenichiro Arai is just a longstanding Toryumon babyface. Do Fixer is a babyface stable that was born out of the conclusion of the Dragon Kid/Darkness Dragon feud with Dragon Kid winning Darkness Dragon mask and his respect. The three formed Do Fixer the first permanent babyface faction to my knowledge in Toryumon.

 

Sometimes less is actually more because these six guys rocked it in a way that past nine have not achieved. It was not just telling a more coherent story that helped because it did break down into a spotfest, but there was more rhythm to the spots. It is hard to explain but everything seemed more natural. The beginning was actually some pretty good fundamental wrestling. It did get boring at times, but there was plenty of quality. I really liked them playing up Horiguchi's receding hairline by him selling them yanking his hair so well and begging off. The Arai hand heat segment was really well done. It actually did play a part in the rest of the match. I liked that a simple elbow kicked it off, but if your hand was taped and elbow you would be hurting too. Lots of stomping, taunting, biting and chair slamming always equals great work. Then they ratcheted everything up. I love Mochizuki's axe kick. They did some great work eliminating by attacking his knee. Dragon Kid was really good in this with a spring hurricarana to the floor and his spike one with a nice break up by dropkicking him in the head. Horiguchi was so great at being a heel, violent on offense (especially attacking Arai's hand) and a chump on defense. BACKSLIDE FROM HEAVEN~! Kick out at 2!!!! WHAT!?!??!! Arai is getting his ass kicked. Arai able to get the Double Chickenwing but all focus on the blue briefcase and dropkick by Horiguchi. Mochizuki blasts Horiguchi with blue briefcase and a Arai Tiger Suplex wins the titles!

I loved that the whipping boy of the match was able to get the big win over the main heel. Dragon Kid was great as a spot monkey. Arai was awesome as the face in peril. Mochizuki has a strong leadership quality to him. Ryo Saito was awfully quiet and thought he would deliver more. Susumu did not show much either. Horiguchi was definitely the star of this match and I look forward to more of his matches. ***3/4

Arai is probably my favorite of these Toryumon guys and he's the focus of this match so it's no surprise that I like this better than most of the Toryumon and DGate trios I've seen. I'm still not sure if that's enough to make my top 100.