[2017-07-07-NEW] Shinya Aoki vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa

The build up hypes it as "MMA vs pro wrestling". The idea of Takaiwa trying to bulldoze through Aoki who would in turn try to grab flash submissions sounds great, but it's not exactly what we got here. A promising opening had Takaiwa desperately avoiding Aoki's submission counters and Aoki pinning himself on a sleepr, but the middle of the match wasn't as creative, as it mostly consisted of Aoki grabbing submissions over and over again. He wouldn't lock them in completely and then hold them for two minutes, but it never seemed like he could actualyl win with one of them nor were Takaiwa's escapes especially interesting. Aoki's strikes and kicks were disappointing, and the finishing strech was kickstarted by Takaiwa finally getting some prowres moves in and going for the kill. This created a game in which Takaiwa needs a big move like a Powerbomb or a Death Valley Bomb, while Aoki needs a submission, and both can counter each other. Aoki's last Korauken match had him choke out Funaki while Funaki was trying to deadlift him, so it was a clever thing to build on. ***