[2014-11-08-NJPW-Power Struggle] Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto

NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW Power Struggle 11/8/14

It is funny I cant explain it but Ishii looks like a great midcarder. Like an Arn Anderson. Ishii is going to rock the midcard and give reliable performances. You aren't disappointed when he doesn't crack the main event or loses a big match because he is a compelling midcarder. Yet someone like Hirooki Goto is looked at as a disappointment. Even in this match, I thought Ishii was a definitively better wrestler. Better offense, better selling, better at getting over the bigger moments. But I am not disappointed in Ishii not making the main event. I am disappointed in Goto. It is weird. I cant articulate why that is.

As far as the "let me stand here and let you hit me" matches, this is probably the best of that genre. There is a moment in the beginning where Goto was taking punishment but starts to hulk up and Ishii does a fantastic job getting over the concern that Goto is hulking up and then when Goto blasts him with a chop or lariat (forget which at this point) Ishii sells it so damn well. That's what I meant earlier about Ishii being better at getting over those big moments. Ishii's offense looked damn good. Two of the best superplexes I have ever seen. Just the perfect amount of delay to really make them feel grand. At the end of this was two midcarders doing Hashimoto vs Choshu. Hashimoto and Choshu earn the right to do that match. The defiance, the lariats, machismo. I like watching two dudes hit each other really hard too, but it is disposable if you don't have the gravitas of Hashimoto and Choshu. Those lariats were ferocious. There were some INSANE headbutts. The penultimate lariat Ishii hits should have been the finish. I thought he caved in Goto's chest. BRAINBUSTAHHHH takes it for Ishii. These are big, dumb, fun matches but ultimately they have no staying power and there is nothing wrong with that. That's why the midcard exists. ***3/4