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Post by bossrock on Sept 12, 2019 21:02:02 GMT -5
Genichiro Tenryu and Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu and Shinya Hashimoto (WAR - 2/4/1993)
Can't believe this one hasn't been nominated. Just an awesome war (no pun intended) of a tag team match. It only makes sense as Choshu and Hashimoto have historically been two of Tenryu's greatest opponents. Loads of violence and blood, easily my favorite WAR tag team match.
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Post by shodate on Oct 1, 2019 0:00:13 GMT -5
Classic quintessential WAR tag. Starts with Hash and Tenryu just testing and STARING at each other with utter disdain and intensity. Then Tenryu just blasts Hash in the chest with a brutal chop and they went at it, with Hash doing those disgustingly brutal kicks and them getting into an MMAish awesome ground-and-pound, trying to escape and unloading on each other. We get a bunch of awesome early exchanges like Ishikawa crushing Hash's nose with a leg drop and Tenryu chopping Choshu down away, making him back off, etc. Then the bout just escalates with Tenryu and Ishikawa just punting Choshu in the head with PRIDE stomps, kicking his head like a soccer football as if he's a piece of shit. The blood dripping out of Choshu's head and the crowd booing Ishikawa and having a near riot makes the match feel pretty epic. The Hash hot tag was one of the best in history, just disgustingly kicking Tenryu, who sold it like his arm got disenchanted. It just had such urgency and intensity, and really made it seem like he was trying to kill Tenryu. I thought the double teams with Hash assisting Choshu in delivering a lariat that was like a wind taking Ishikawa’s head off was awesome. Also, the backdrop was an awesome transition. The final exchange with WAR guys cheating on Hash, crushing his nose with a top rope elbow, chopping him directly in throat, and viciously stomping him until his nose drew blood was awesome. Also, they build some excellent nearfalls off basic moves like hard lariats, elbows, powerbombs, etc. The finish run with it all breaking down, Choshu going for revenge with stomping the shit outta everyone, the hate escalating, Tenryu's awesome enzugiris, etc. was top notch. The finish itself with Hash just danking Ishikawa with a DDT and Tenryu snapping and being too busy punching the hell outta a bloodied Choshu was epic. Disgustingly great match. The dust settled but the post-match kept reminding you of the pure MALICE you saw. The two NJ guys being bloodied, Tenryu beating the shit outta everyone, a post-match pull apart, and Tenryu just throwing the mic ONTO Riki's fucking face. Classic match. ****5/8
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Post by tetsujin on Aug 7, 2021 16:30:16 GMT -5
I swear to god, Tenryu is the greatest tag team worker ever. The way he elevates a good tag match to make it feel like it's even better amazes me, he does it a lot in tag matches with/against guys I'm not really into (Ishikawa, Kimura, Shiozaki...). And he does it by being super creative while attacking, and it's fun as hell realizing that, decades later, guys like Revival or The Shield were polishing that style of tag team interactions and attacks. Such innovative guy.
It also helps the incredible larger than life aura Tenryu has, as he makes every moment feel as the bigger deal of the match (the initial staredownsw, the early brawls, the enzuigiris, the bladejob, Hashimoto's comeback, etc). At this point Hash wasn't the guy yet, but Tenryu definitely makes him look like it. Obviously Hash doesn't dissapoint either, his performance is pretty great as well, and Choshu also does a great job selling the bladejob and coming back when needed at the end, but to me Tenryu is the one putting together the whole match. He's the one selling Hash as a superstar and a fucking dangerous threat, he's the one constantly elevating the intensity and violence of the match, he's the one guiding Ishikawa in their spots, and he's the focus of that amazing post match when he LITERALLY THROWS A MICROPHONE TO CHOSHU'S BLOODY FACE. Like, the fuck!?
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Post by elliott on Sept 11, 2023 12:00:35 GMT -5
This is the April 2nd match
It's good but it's not my favorite. Some awkward timing on some spots & a little on the sloppy side. Finishing stretch is fun.
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