October 10, 200717 yr comment_5422700 The DVD arrived today. I was looking forward to this match, as I don't believe I've seen this one before. It's your basic 1990s New Japan super-heavyweight striker vs. bulked up light-heavyweight grappler scenario. It makes sense that Hase wants to keep things on the ground, but that strategy seems to lead to a lot of relatively aimless hold-exchanging, and it's an effort of will not to reach for the old fast-forward button after a while. Once they move on from the mandatory mat-work, however, things escalate quickly. Hash just absolutely destroys Hase's arm with a SICK top-rope double stomp... but then it's right back to the mat for an extended body scissors work-over. Maybe the stomp was meant to have damaged the ribs. What I am wanting to see is Hase selling for Hash's striking... and when we finally get to that, it's more than worth the wait. Those bits are the most entertaining part of the match, as each guy puts everything into making it work. Sadly, Hase's comeback isn't built to in any kind of sensible storytelling fashion. Rather, he hits the kind of out-of nowhere adrenalin-rush "now it's my turn to hit you" stuff that certain snarky people like to criticize Kobashi for. Once Hase grabs the momentum, though, it's lots of fun as he gets some tight near-falls. Hash smartly regains the upper hand by going after the damaged midsection that Hase has sold brilliantly throughout the match. The great pleasure of the match is watching Hase selling of Hash's crushing power. There's also a very hot crowd, and the whole thing does have a fairly epic feel to it. Also, Hase appears to soil himself slightly from the impact of a Hase senton (or maybe from the big elbow drop). In addition, Kensuke is cornering Hase and staring-down with Hash, and he is sporting his most ridiculous mullet. It's still not my favourite Japanese heavyweight match from 1994 In fact, it's probably my third-favourite Hashimoto singles match from that year. I remember enjoying the Tenryu and Liger matches a wee bit more. In the end, though, this is still a damn good 1990s-NJPW-style heavyweight war.
