I am ready for Kashin to start sucking at any time now. His offense on the arm of Otani here was varied and well done mixing it up with submissions and even slamming a chair on it when the action goes to the outside. He even does the face wash to Otani in a dickish move. The match really escalates nicely with Otani breathing a bit of a comeback and Kashin going right back to the armbar to regain the advantage. Finish was probably the worst part overall in how abrupt it was as Otani fires off a German and then gets a cross armbreaker of his own to which Kashin taps out immediately. I think this was a few more minutes away from being a great match. I understand the notion that Kashin isn’t as good as a lot of his peers but I still thought he was very good here. Maybe he gets awful the later in his career he gets but between the 1999 and 2000 stuff, he doesn’t deserve the reputation he has as a performer. ***1/4

 

 

 

I thought Otani completely carried Kashin here, and that this was also a profoundly average match despite Otani's efforts. 

**1/2