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Post by jetlag on Jun 9, 2023 5:27:18 GMT -5
HOLY FUCK! This may actually be one of the best matches either guy has had in the 80s. Tremendous heat, several of Kobayashis kicks landed flush in Saitos face, while all of Saitos stuff looks stiff as hell, just leathering Kobayashi with those nasty short kicks. Whenever one guy gets control he goes for floor brawling and chair shots. At one point Kobayashi comes back bleeding from his eye and Saito just absolutely tears him up in really grizzly ways, biting the cut, crushing him with his big senton etc.. Finishing stretch was brief but awesome because the momentum shifts felt epic and there were a couple insane bumps. Completely awesome stuff, exactly what you want to find when digging into random old handhelds.
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Post by fxnj on Jun 11, 2023 18:33:57 GMT -5
How did you watch this?
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Post by jetlag on Jun 12, 2023 5:01:31 GMT -5
I bought the disc from Quebrada |
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Post by fxnj on Jun 12, 2023 15:54:43 GMT -5
Second. Pretty hot start with Saito going after Kobayashi with the chair on the outside, but I felt they didn't really keep up the energy once the match moved to the ring and it kind of settled into some "good but not great" mid-80s AJPW hard hitting action. Then a bit after the 5 minute call Saito takes Kobayashi out near the entrance, does some stuff that we don't see, and Kobayashi comes back busted open. From there, the match gets awesome. Really good staggering selling from Kobayashi and even with the handheld some great visuals shine through of him with his body covered in blood. The way the video bugged out into black and white at one point gave it some of that Atlantis/Satanico horror movie feel. Saito is relentless in punching and biting the cut, and Kobayashi isn't afraid to trade with him. Crowd also gets behind Kobayashi as the underdog, which is pretty cool after they seemed to be strangely pro-Saito at the start. Short but memorable finish stretch as well highlighted by a nutty suicide dive by Kobayashi where he looks to have overshot Saito.
I wonder if there's any undercard gems featuring either of these guys from years after this. They both seem to have been underutilized by the company later on in the Choshu/Tenryu feud.
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Post by elliott on Sept 4, 2023 12:41:18 GMT -5
Terrific match. Cool find.
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