wrestling / Columns
Into the Indies 01.03.12: 7 Matches You Need to See from 2011
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Into the Indies, the column where time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin . . .
This week, we’re taking a bit of a departure. For the past two weeks, we’ve been reviewing Super World of Sports, and I had originally planned to wrap up that review today. However, friend of the column Mathew Sforcina asked me to fill in for him on Ask 411 Wreslting for the next three weeks, so my time this weekend was taken up answering questions for that column as opposed to watching SWS.
I figured that today, since I didn’t have time to finish up the review, I would throw together a quicker version of I2I as opposed to skipping the column altogether. And, when you’re a writer looking for easy-to-produce content on January 3 of any given year, there’s no better option than YEAR IN REVIEW~! content. As such, what I am producing today is something that I like to call “7 Matches You Need to See from 2011.”
I’m aware that there are many people who read this column who either don’t follow Japanese pro wrestling or have only recently gotten into it. That’s why I decided to highlight seven Japanese matches from the past year that I felt, more than any others, were worth hunting down, even if you don’t normally watch puro. These are NOT necessarily the absolute best matches of 2011 from a star rating perspective, they are instead matches that I tried to pick covering a variety of matches and styles that are entertaining for reasons that are not entirely limited to “workrate” or “psychology.” Also, the videos I am posting throughout the column are not the matches themselves, but there should be enough information for you find the majority of them yourself if you’re so inclined.
And, with that introduction, let’s head to the list.
Daichi Hashimoto vs. Masaaki Mochizuki – ZERO1, 5/23/2011
I2I already took a look at rookie Daichi Hashimoto earlier this year. The young son of legend Shinya Hashimoto made his debut to much fanfare in Pro Wrestling ZERO1, the promotion where his father wrestled immediately before his premature death. The younger Hashimoto got to work with virtually every big name of the 1990s during his first year in the business, as all of his dad’s old colleagues wanted to help him learn. In his May 23 match against Dragon Gate wrestler Masaaki Mochizuki, Daichi showed just how much he wants to be in the professional wrestling industry, as he was absolutely BRUTALIZED by Mochizuki’s trademark stiff kicks. It’s not exactly a ***** classic, but it’s interesting to watch puroresu’s “new hope” getting a trial by fire courtesy of DG’s elder statesman.
Danshoku Dino vs. Bob Sapp – DDT, 7/24/2011
One thing that wrestling in the United States has never embraced quite as fully as wrestling in Japan is the comedy match. Yeah, you’ve got guys like Santino who will do a comedic spot here and there, but rarely do you have an entire ten minute bout that’s got the goal of making people laugh. It’s a shame in a way, because, when these matches are done right, they’re ridiculously entertaining. Such was the case when DDT’s resident gay rapist character, Danshoku Dino, somehow got a match against the ridiculously charismatic retired shoot fighter Bob Sapp, who was legitimately one of the biggest box office draws in Japan just ten years ago. Sapp and Dino had surprisingly good chemistry in their battle, which had unique stipulations in that there were alternating rounds, some of which favored Sapp in that they would be under MMA rules and some of which favored Dino in that he would be allowed to . . . umm . . . molest his opponent. You’ll truly never see something like this again.
Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi – New Japan, 6/10/2011
A lot of people talk about the glory days of junior heavyweight professional wrestling in Japan, which is typically considered to be in the early and mid-1990s with names like Liger, Samurai, Benoit, and Guerrero dominating the scene. However, a lot of those people fail to realize that the current junior heavyweight scene is producing a lot of great matches in its own right . . . and Jushin Liger is still there. One of my personal favorite junior matches of this past year pitted New Japan’s Ryusuke Taguchi against visiting DDT wrestler Kota Ibushi. Ibushi was embroiled in a major feud against Taguchi’s regular tag team partner, Prince Devitt, for the majority of 2011, but it was Taguchi and Devitt who actually put on the barnburner of a match, better than anything Devitt and Ibushi did (though their matches were good, too). The Ibushi/Taguchi battle was a little bit on the short side, but, as far as short matches go, you’re not going to see many that are better.
Suwama vs. KENSO – All Japan, 3/21/2011
Sometimes a match is entertaining because it’s good. Sometimes, a match is perversely entertaining because it’s just . . . so . . . BAD. That’s the case with this match, as it’s something worth going out of your way to watch so you can see just how god awful a main event for a world title can be. Don’t get me wrong, Suwama, who was the AJPW Triple Crown Champion headed into this bout, is a hell of a pro wrestler and has been one of the true bright spots of the sport in 2011. However, his opponent, who WWE fans will remember as Kenzo Suzuki, is one of the single worst in-ring performers going today. For some reason, the powers that be in AJPW thought it would be a good idea to book him in a near thirty minute match for the vaunted championship that used to be held by Misawa, Kawada, and Kobashi. It’s a head-scratchingly odd decision, and it’s one that created quite the historical oddity of a match.
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama – Big Japan, 4/28/2011
For my money, one of the best feuds in all of professional wrestling in 2011 pitted the upstart All Japan team of Manabu Soya & Seiya Sanda against the heavyweight, strong style Big Japan duo of Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi. The two teams had numerous matches throughout the year, mostly in All Japan, all of which were of a high caliber. However, for my money, the best match that was produced in this miniature Big Japan vs. All Japan war didn’t involve the normal teams of Soya/Sanada and Sekimoto/Okabayashi. It actually came when Sanada was unavailable for a Big Japan show and AJPW instead sent 400+ pound former sumo wrestler Ryota Hama as a fill-in. It was an interesting dynamic to see the power-based wrestlers Sekimoto and Okabayashi going up against a man so large that much of their power game was neutralized, while Sanada was the glue that held things together thanks to his familiarity with the BJW team. Tag team wrestling may be dead in the mainstream promotions of the United States, but it’s alive and well overseas, and this is a key example.
Suwama vs. Jun Akiyama – All Japan, 10/23/2011
It’s rare that a man can be in a promotion’s best singles match and a promotion’s worst singles match all within the same year, but All Japan’s Suwama pulled it off in 2011. As noted above, he (through no fault of his own) had an embarrassingly bad bout against KENSO in March, but he rebounded in October to have an absolute classic with Jun Akiyama. Akiyama, who is usually part of the Pro Wrestling NOAH roster, made a pit stop in All Japan this year, dominating the roster for about a month en route to earning a match against Suwama for the Triple Crown. This wasn’t just any Triple Crown match, though. The story was that Akiyama, who was on the cusp of earning the legendary title in the late 1990s, had that opportunity stolen away from him when NOAH split off from AJPW at the start of the 21st Century. You could tell that Akiyama was putting something extra into the match because of the historical significance to him, and Suwama, who is one of the best heavyweight wrestlers going today, was right there with him every step of the way. Emotions ran deep in this one, and they provided a little bump that really put the match over the top.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata – New Japan, 4/3/2011
My pick for “Wrestler of the Year” in 2011 is Hiroshi Tanahashi, and I say that with virtually no hesitation. Tanahashi has been the IWPG Heavyweight Champion since January 4, 2011, and virtually every defense of the belt that he’s had has broken the **** in terms of quality. Perhaps the first indication that we got that this title reign for Tanahashi was going to be something special was his April 3 defense against NJPW legend Yuji Nagata. Nagata and Tanahashi have contrasting yet complimentary styles that have allowed them to put on good matches against each other time and time again, but this particular battle had something special that turned it into one of the greatest matches of the entire year, from any promotion in any country. The two men had another match in December that some people argue is even better than their April encounter. I prefer the earlier match, but the mere fact that the duo was able to have two matches that are closely competing against each other in MOTY balloting should give you an indication of just how great they are.
And that does it for the 7 Matches You Need to See from 2011. Be sure to tune in to 411mania tomorrow when yours truly will be covering Ask 411 . . . and I’ll also be right back here in seven days!
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See you all next week!
