Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kantaro Hoshino (8/5/89)

 

Hoshino attacks Liger as soon as he enters the ring and works this like a pissed off old guy against this cat in the stupid ass costume but the problem is Hoshino can’t even get Liger up for a suplex. Hoshino makes up for it with punches and chunking Liger to the floor and just working over Liger like he stole his geritol. Liger then tries to fight back with palm strikes but Hoshino just pops him with punches as the fans go nuts chanting for him. Liger would chunk Hoshino to the floor and eventually hit a running plancha through the ropes that would turn the tide in his favor but to Hoshino’s credit he would hit a snap suplex on the floor then hit a flying plancha off the top rope to the floor!!! Hoshino would then put Liger in an achilles tendon hold a couple of times before Liger wanted to turn this into a palm strike battle that again would go in Hoshino’s favor as he took Liger down and started to unmask him. I loved Hoshino’s fast jabs on Liger as he tried to get back up and it was great watching him control the pace even breaking out a Canadian Backbreaker. Liger then started kicking him but again Hoshino kept going hitting a neckbreaker drop for a very close nearfall. Liger would try for an avalanche-style brainbuster but Hoshino threw him off and hit a diving body press for another very close nearfall followed up by a sitout powerbomb for another very close nearfall. Liger would recover though and got a very quick schoolboy for the win which highly angered Hoshino who clobbered the ref and then started ripping off Liger’s mask before being pulled off by the dojo boys. This match was fucking awesome as Hoshino dominated the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion here and demanded a shot after the match which Liger got on the mic and said something to him that riled the fans up. Hoshino again was fucking choice here and this match is a slam dunk nomination.

YEah, Hoshino was abusing Liger early on, including jumping him before the bell, punching him in the face and throwing him out of the ring. Some of his shots look vicious and Liger sells them like he ahs been shot. LIger turns things around when (in a nice sequence) he throws Hoshino out, baseball slides him and then hits a nasty dive. Looked sweet. Hoshino turns it around again by posting Liger and diving from the top rope to the floor. So far, so good. Inside the ring, Hoshino hooks in a leg lock to keep Liger grounded and Liger sells it like death. Then when Liger regroups, he kicks Hoshino in the face to let him know he can still walk. So Hoshino pops Liger in the face, hooks him a in a camel clutch and starts to unmask him. BADASS. The stretch run was as hot as anything we have seen and Liger survives the match. I agree with the slam dunk.

This will make a really nice sendoff for Hoshino, one of the uexpected stars of the set. I gather this was before his home crowd or something? Boy were they into it when he jumped Liger early and just wouldn't let him up for air. I guess some might complain that Hoshino's offense wasn't dyamic enough to make him a real threat to Liger. But I thought they played off that perfectly, with Hoshino doing all kinds of dirty little shit to keep the advantage. I loved the spot where the ref tried to keep Hoshino from diving to the floor, and the old man just slapped him like he'd been slapping Liger. I also applaud Liger for eschewing a big rally and settling for a bit of a chickenshit win. It fit the story perfectly. Definite yes here.

Yeah this was totally awesome, I loved the crowd heat and the finish. Really awesome star performance by Hoshino he such a beast in this. Man I wonder how many great matches like this were lost because they weren't recorded.