[2017-06-02-NEW] Akira Jo vs Katsumi Oribe

Akira Jo tells us he's going to show us a new version of himself! I'm not sure exactly what the old version of Akira Jo was, but let's not dwell on that. Apparently he made some changes on his gear and whatnot. In his way stands Katsumi Oribe, a senior wrestler nicknamed "Mr. Karate". You will be shocked to learn Mr. Karate's signature offence includes karate kicks. A fun little match-it's weird some of these NEW matches manage to be eerily similar to modern puro matches but unique in that they get the important stuff right. They do a bunch of elbow exchanges here-and their elbow shots look fine, but it's the way they sell the aggression and dedication that really makes it work, as well as all the other strikes and kicks they throw in to keep it varied. Most of Oribe's kicks looked good, though he couldn't really land the standing high kick properly. The crowd got into Jo's comeback before he was inevitably put away. The post-match handshake turning into a mini brawl was nice, handshake and hugs have plagued everything from indy wrestling to the UFC, there's a lack of post-match hate that I hope NEW can fill. ***