RIPPA Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 With Kensuke Sasaki announcing his retirement it is only fitting that we honor him today. I mean I would have loved to have saved him for awesome mullet week but this is wrestling... I won't be short on candidates. Part of me will always hate him for being married to Akira Hokuto but let's be honest - they have been married forever and they are probably the premier power wrestling couple that no one talks about because they aren't American. And I too would have proposed to Hokuto on the first date too. Maybe Meltzer will finally do his HOF writeup now... Oh man... so much to choose from http://youtu.be/ifTysfNiErg http://youtu.be/TEMTuZuZ0qg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 This is surprisingly enjoyable. Saggs works quite well with Sasaki. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0FWJroReF0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Damn. Sasaki / Saito vs. the Southern Posse is gone from the internets again, but Sasaki defending the US title and murdering Bart Sawyer on free television is still with us. Kensuke Sasaki vs. KENTA may be my favorite KENTA match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lobOUHzGV6k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 http://youtu.be/Mcbg37T8fIE http://youtu.be/5KE64rvVf0Y (I apologize for the 2nd video because God do I wish it didn't have any sound...) Thank God for the New Japan/WCW partnership because it allowed me to see some of these guys outside of the Apter mags. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Aw, I just found the Rude / Sasaki match from the G1 Climax... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 So, and I know this is hard to believe, but the Douglas/Steamboat tag is better than the Nasties one. What a fun little match. What a shitty crowd. No wonder Douglas hates Flair. It's kind of surreal how he'd go back and basically conquer Philly a few years later. Douglas/Steamboat were really good with their rapid fire shine offense. Tag team Specialists and all that. Sasaki and Liger just dismantle the knee. Liger popping the crowd with the figure four is kind of hilarious. Steamboat running around pumping up the crowd during the crab was great. Not even this crowd can resist buying into it. Douglas not selling his knee after the suplex before the hot tag is silly. It was a sort of dumb spot to set up the hot tag in general even if it had a snap. A neckbreaker or something would have been better, especially if he wasn't going to sell it well. I did like Sasaki and Liger kicking out the Slaughter cannon to transition into a second FIP. I wouldn't have given Steamboat a hope spot right after the spike piledriver either, but that's just me. I had a schadenfreude moment where I enjoyed Douglas missing his dropkick too much. Liger and Sasaki made one hell of a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 For a long time, i called this "the perfect tag match." http://youtu.be/lc6t3z2J83Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Oh everyone was so young... and not crippled. Sigh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Oh everyone was so young... and not crippled. Sigh... That was my first thought. And "they cut off the entrances, so we don't see mutoh wearing the Cornell t-shirt." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0HdE1KKinU Things in wrestling I like: Buff Bagwell being a massive dick and pissing off the crowd and everyone in the ring with him repeatedly until he finally gets thrashed for his effort. Probably his finest moment past the Blonds tag from 93. In fact, he's really great here. Good timing. Really crisp offense. Super dickish interaction with the crowd. My favorite part is his attempt to do the taunting scream again after his thrashing early on, for the third time, and it being incredibly lame after what just happens, so he just whimpers over the corner to tag Norton. You can play a ridiculing heel that makes light of his opponent, but ONLY if you get your comeuppance. You would think Bagwell might be the sort of guy who wouldn't understand that, but it's absolutely apparent here. Things in wrestling I don't like: Guys standing around and hitting/chopping/clotheslining each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Oh everyone was so young... and not crippled. Sigh... That was my first thought. And "they cut off the entrances, so we don't see mutoh wearing the Cornell t-shirt." But we can still bask in the glow of Hiro Hase's epic adult film star moustache and Chono's magnificent hair.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Damn Yeti Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 That is my jam. I'm so out of the loop with Japan right now, I don't even know if the young guys are still at it, but this match made them seem like can't miss superstars. Also, CHOPS. http://youtu.be/F-7IGJ2G90A 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Yeti posted the two Kensuke Sasaki matches I would have. Sasuke/Nakajima vs. Kobashi/Shiozaki is particularly terrific. My 2005 Match of the Year and might, might get my vote as the best match in the history of NOAH. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T. Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Yes, I will always formally refer to Kensuke Sasaki as Mr. Kesuuke Hokuto. Shit, I'd take her last name too if I were married to Akira Hokuto and I'd even run to the grocery store without even being asked to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Z Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Watch this, if you like the Kobashi/Shiozaki tag. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq-9hqc6cC8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUw06yI_6EU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (Insert mr sparkle reference) http://youtu.be/VPBOFAzqbgw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Hey, Rippa found the handheld I reviewed! Pretty good handheld of Steamboat/Douglas vs. Liger/Sasaki from a Schneider comp was just watched. Crowd is pretty pro-Liger, and whoever was next to the camera is VERY anti-Shane with lots of loud insults (and "WHOOOOO"ing from her as well). Which I can see in a couple years, but here he acquits himself well. Liger and Kensuke were a really cool power guy + high flyer combo, taking out Shane's legs and busting out some great offense. Shane and Steamer took the prize here though with about ten quick tags where each guy would blast Sasaki's arm over the top rope. I'm not a fan of handhelds but this was just peachy. Let us not forget the other great Kawada/Sasaki match. Actually, finding this, there are matches from '05 and '07 between them that I've never seen. Any good? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-YXMtevilU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Not a great match, but definitely a historic one: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Since Phil put up my favorite Sasaki match, I must resort to my second favorite: Do Fixer vs. The Florida Express Also: http://youtu.be/ycuaLTwX6TY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7PnrE-xuuY Ohhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhh. Tenryu vs. Kobashi might be the big story in this one but we also get Sasaki disciplining his adopted son. So much hate. So much stiffness. So damn good. EDIT: Towards the end of this I swear you can see Masa Saito sitting in the front row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tystates Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Always liked Sasaki. I echo the love for Akira Hokuto too. I met Sasaki on my 2nd trip to Japan in 2008 and got an autographed t-shirt. I have a short comp of him in WCW but it might still be on vhs. May have to redo that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cool arrow Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I never even knew this match happened. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x318kk_3-28-2004-iwgp-kensuke-sasaki-vs-bo_sport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 http://youtu.be/F-7IGJ2G90A Kobashi. Sasaki. Chops. And his 2 MMA matches http://youtu.be/Sn-hoMB9iFI http://youtu.be/GKBYTlhHkVU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 http://youtu.be/ICiW5uC9XcE LIFE OR DEATH FIGHT~! Soooooo much hatred and blood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Damn. Sasaki / Saito vs. the Southern Posse is gone from the internets again yeah, surprise surprise that the account that was posting WCW PPV matches got nuked a few weeks before the WWE Network launched. Wouldn't surprise me if they drop a hammer on a few other accounts that post content that'll be on WWEN in a few weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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