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Post by jetlag on Jan 7, 2018 11:54:31 GMT -5
tl;dr the 1996 BattlARTS MOTY, a totally violent out of control fast paced shootstyle brawl with great character work. Ikeda and Ono being a badass heel duo, Otsuka tosses everyone around, Ishikawa takes a huge beating then comes back fierce, Ikeda and Ishikawa punch each other in the mouths etc.
full review from WKO:
What an amazing badass violent brawl. I think UWFi did "shoot" tags before this, but I don't remember any of them having this kind of violent, out of control flair. This is really US style tag psychology fused with shootstyle at lucharesu pace. Ikeda and Ono are an awesome pair of bruiser heels. Right at the start they double team Ishikawa pasting him with kicks and cutting off the ring to isolate him while he busts out cool mat counters to defend himself. Otsuka has these really awesome moments of explosive hot tags where he just runs in and dumps somebody on his head right off the bat. Just like the Ishikawa/Ikeda dynamic (who spend most of the early going shoot punching eachother in the mouths) he has this dynamic with Takeshi Ono, who spends most of the fight on the apron waiting to sneak in and kick somebody in the eye to break a submission. At one point, Otsuka is visibly fed up with it an pummels Ono really aggressively into the corner almost like a sumo. He was looking pretty irate and Ono just taunts him even more. When Ono actually was in the ring, we got to see either his slick skinny ratboy grappling or his reckless kicks. We also get to see what Ishikawa is really about as later in the match he gets his comeuppance hooking one nastier and nastier submission on Ikeda. The finish is absolutely picture perfect as Ikeda and Ishikawa go back to the shoot punches while Otsuka finally catches Ono. Perfect introduction to the style, with all the trademark violence, grueling matwork, throws and stylistic experimentation. I've watched some top level 90s AJPW tags in the past weeks and I wouldn't hesitate to put this up there with them.
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Post by bossrock on Jun 23, 2018 16:48:59 GMT -5
Second.
As someone who is not particularly into or knowledgeable about shoot style, I absolutely loved this. Quite possibly one of the best tag matches I've ever seen. Extremely stiff with some great submission exchanges, this really feels like the ultimate battle of attrition and which team is tougher. This makes me long for tag team mma fights.
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Post by microstatistics on Aug 11, 2018 14:16:04 GMT -5
Third. Rewatching this after a few years and it is fantastic and better than I remember but not at the all time level I was hoping for. Way more grapple heavy than I remember, which is an interesting way to approach a tag match. One thing I'll point out is that there is daylight between Ishikawa/Ikeda/Otsuka and Ono in terms of quality (selling specifically) and it shows here.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jan 20, 2019 17:30:56 GMT -5
I think BattlArts is better at tag matches than singles see 2008. I thought this was an excellent hybrid of All Japan and shoot style. One of the 2008 matches will make the list but this has a shot. High energy brawling that is balls to the wall!
Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono - BattlArts 10/30/96
Am I alone in thinking BatBat tags are superior to their singles matches? Everytime I watch a BatBat tag, I am blown away. Immediately, I reminded by this feeling when Ikeda positions Ishikawa towards to Ono who rifles him in the back from the apron. The ref has to keep Otsuka at bay while Ikeda and Ono kick ass on the outside with kicks. I love BatBat tags! You know who is who from the footwear. Ikeda & Ono are the kickboxing specialists with their shoot style boots with kickpads. While Ishikawa & Otsuka are the wrestlers with their short, high-ankle wrestling shoes. We see Ishikawa grab a kick at one point and try to turn it into a heel hook. When Ikeda gets sloppy in a rear naked choke, Ishikawa crosses his ankle to force the break. We see Ishikawa go for a lot of wristlocks as counterholds as he is getting his shit kicked in. A good wrestler can force a stand up specialist to play his game and thats what Ishikawa and Otsuka do early on by closing the gap and forcing a lot of the action on the mat. Dont get me wrong, Ikeda & Ono get their fair share of licks in but they are trying to finish on the mat and thats where Ishikawa & Otsuka can counterwrestle. Ishikawa and Otsuka can also throw a suplex with the best of them. Ishikawa used a Northern Lights Suplex to create enough separation to tag in Otsuka. Otsuka's first order of business drop Ikeda on his head with a suplex. This is very All Japan with liberal saves from their partners in holds. Your partner is in trouble just casually walk in and rifle your opponent with a kick. There was one time Ishikawa came in and kicked the clasp of I think Ikeda so that Otsuka would have a better arm triangle I thought that was cool. One weird thing is Ishikawa and Otsuka were not abiding by normal tagging rules. They basically would rule to their corner and the other would just come in. It didnt seem like Ikeda and Ono were doing the same thing. There was one point where Ono was legal but Ikeda had broken the hold so Ishikawa just treated Ikeda as legal. It was odd to say the least. The big highlights of the match in my eyes were Ishikawa got a series of three big arm-related submissions (two cross-armbreakers & 1 Fujiwara armbar) in very short order. That was quite dramatic. Another moment of high drama was Otsuka gave Ono the biggest, fastest Giant Swing ever and then hurled him. He launched his ass. He then looked to submission finish him but Ikeda saved. Then Ikeda & Ono had Otsuka on the ropes quite literally. Ikeda just BLASTED Otsuka with a wicked forearm. Finally, Ikeda & Ono were playing to their strength late in the match looking for KOs. Otsuka nails a desperation German to get out of the Hell out of Dodge. After Ishikawa was able to rotate in for Otsuka, Ikeda blasted him for a near KO with a wild forearm. Ishikawa gave as good as he got with a wicked straight right. WOW! Ikeda no sold it in the most beautiful way. Ishikawa catches a kick into a heel hook. Ono saves, but Otsuka tackles him and Germans him. Otsuka detains Ono in All Japan style as Ishikawa submits Ikeda with the Fujiwara armbar calling back to the fast & furious arm submissions in the middle.
I thoroughly enjoyed this as an all-action match that dripped with struggle and urgency. The offense was what you expect from BattlArts ultra-violent strikes, head-dropping suplexes and snug submissions. I think tag match allows for more chaos and creates more intra-match stories. One of the best BatBat matches of the 90s I have seen. ****1/2
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Post by mjp7798 on Apr 24, 2021 12:41:03 GMT -5
Man are BattlArts tags the absolute shit or what? Probably the first truly great/MOTYC produced by BatBat and has a real chance at my list. This match is the perfect encapsulation of what Ishikawa was trying to present with BattlArts and each man played their role perfectly. Team Taco were the ultimate dickhead heels per usual as Ono would leather the shit out of someone with a soccer kick to break up a hold only for Otsuka to suplex him to another dimension. Loved their dynamic throughout and of course, Ishikawa and Ikeda are Ishikawa and Ikeda.
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Post by Cap on Oct 24, 2021 17:03:53 GMT -5
Team Taco vs Alexander Otsuka and Yuki Ishikawa (BattlArts – 10/30/1996)
Current Rank: 79
Trending: Even
Andy turned me onto this a while back and it has served as a bit of an intro into shoot tags, particularly battlarts tags. This is why I wanted to give it ONE MORE watch before I submitted this year. I’m far from well versed on this style of multi-man, but I have caught a few more high profile matches and this one still strikes me as the best I have seen. There is something in the way they balance the aggression and chaos of a group fight with the technique you expect out of these guys. I especially love the way Otsuka shoots into things. His explosion adds to the intensity and desperation down the stretch. Ono seems like such a piece of shit in this (and I mean that in the best way possible). He just struts in and kicks people’s heads. He beats Ishikawa and Otsuka to the punch more often than not and you just want him to get what’s coming to him, to have his cocky swagger checked. Aside from a few little moments, that never really happens and the match is probably better for it, bc Otsuka and Ishikawa have to scratch and claw their way to victory, not dominate. Overall, this match just hits hard and brings the drama. I’d say the ebbs and flows of the match fit together really well and, in turn, this stands out as one of this year’s biggest additions to my list.
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Post by andylfc on Oct 25, 2021 12:40:18 GMT -5
I hope everyone has the chance to check out this alternative version. I prefer the camera angle here to the usual version that's been floating about online. Kinda reminds me more of the 2008 BattlArts presentation. www.dailymotion.com/video/x7vob1x |
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Post by elliott on Sept 16, 2023 0:30:36 GMT -5
Awesome match.
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Post by 4pillars on Dec 28, 2023 19:46:13 GMT -5
My favorite BattlARTS tag match ever. The pacing, structure, heat, passion, and drive these four bring out of each other is something special. Otsuka puts on a damn near career performance, throwing people around like they weigh nothing. Perfect display of everything Bati-Bati is all about.
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