Posted June 18, 200916 yr comment_5440890 #283 1/5/98 2/4/88 Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (Sky A 95) - This was pretty good I guess but it doesn’t stand out in my mind like Yamada-Kosh. There were some cool spots such as Kosh sweeping Takada’s legs out from underneath him and Takada blocking the butt bump and applying a Fujiwara armbar. It was cool to see Koshinaka rolling round trying to escape the armbar. Of course, it picks up late in the match with Takada unloading his kick barrage but then he settles into a submission that he applies entirely way too long killing any momentum the match was gaining. This math felt truly epic but I think there are so many matches from both guys I like so much more. We’ll push it forward but I think I am coming around to Phil’s way of thinking on Takada. Here is a guy who can do some amazingly awesome things but can also kill a match dead by doing something completely uncalled for at the wrong time. 2/4/88 Big Van Vader/Masa Saito vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Osamu Kido/Kazuo Yamazaki (Sky A 95) - Damn, who thought this was a good idea? Poor Yamazaki.
