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WRESTLER OF THE DAY: ASHURA HARA

RIPPA

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RIPPA

RIPPA

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From the WON

 

 

Ashura Hara, an 80s and 90s star best known for his tag team with Genichiro Tenryu, one of the best teams in wrestling of their era, passed away today.

 
The cause of death is unknown at this time.
 
He was 68.  In the late 80s, Hara & Tenryu were regular rivals of teams like The Funk Brothers, Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka, Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy and Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu.  Hara's departure from All Japan actually led to the first push of Toshiaki Kawada.
RIPPA

RIPPA

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Yeah - and he wasn't even the only guy that age to die yesterday as Rudy Reyna also died (though he was 69).

 

But I knew I would be pushing my luck with an exotico WOTD

Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgzNilicpo4

 

WAR vs. NJ all day every day

 

 

I wonder if this can possibly be as violent as Tenryu vs. Yatsu. Let's see.

 

EDIT: The answer is no. Yatsu went after Tenryu like he owed him money, Hara was probably given the spot because he owed money. Still it is two dudes beating the everloving shit out of each other and Hara's shoulder ends up looking like a raw steak. RIP

Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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http://youtu.be/aSloeXIKyPU

 

Yeah - watch that as those two beat the shit out of each other for 5 minutes

 

 

"HEY! CHOSHU! PIECE OF SHIT!" made me laugh so hard. And then, the temerity of Hara to slap Stan Hansen in the face to start to the match... wow. The balls on this guy. Of course some receipts are given; that bodypress was vicious and the elbow when Hara came off the apron was just rude. I could watch matches like this all day long. 

 

Also, watch Hansen stalk off without even slinging his bullrope at the crowd, probably to go bitch to Baba about the match. 

Phil Schneider

Phil Schneider

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I haven't been able to find either of these online, but Hara and Takashi Ishikawa had this amazingly violent two match series in WAR, which has to be one of the great under the radar series in wrestling history. People have been going nuts over all the Ishii potato fests in NJ but these matches made them look like an Al Snow v. Shawn Michaels punch out. Here are my reviews from Segunda Caiada

 

WAR 7/14/92

 

Takashi Ishikawa v. Ashura Hara

ER: YEAH! Two fat former sumos and former 80s AJ guys just smacking each other in the face and leaning HARD into shoulderblocks and pretty much everything. Hara was one of my fave 80s AJ guys (as of like one month ago) and here he's fatter, but with no mullet and a classier mustache. He's like Fujiwara +100 lb. 

All the old sumo guys "collide" spots are great. None of them puss out on shoulderblocks or clotheslines or chops or forearms. They're always game and they always hurt each other something fierce. They smack each other around and then Hara bails to the floor, and Ishikawa teases a pescada. Hara runs out of the way, but Ishikawa fakes him out and blindsides him with one anyway. The OH SHIT look on Hara's face as tubby Ishikawa is crashing down on him was classic.

Hara has no problem taking a bunch of crazy suplex bumps in this one, taking a few back suplexes on his shoulders and neck. This is just totally great. I can see a bunch of you guys not liking it, though. The only people I could see liking this are people that like two fat dudes giving each other tons of great clotheslines and kicks to the face and chest and spine and just stomping the shit out of each other. It's not for everybody, admittedly.

PAS: Man alive did this rule, Ishikawa has been the total discovery of this WAR project, I honestly had zero memory of his existence before this and he has been a total superstar. Both guys come off as total bad asses, they both level epic beatings on each other to start up the match, but Ishikawa gets the upper hand. The finish run of the match was so great, Ishikawa is relentless, crushing with suplexes and kicks to back, Hara keeps getting up but Ishikawa keeps knocking him down. Finally Ishikawa just starts punting him in the kidneys until the ref just calls the match. Ishikawa then just chucks Hara out of the ring throws him into a table and slaps the fuck out of Fuyuki for no reason. Totally awesome, Ishikawa comes off as a wrecking machine and Hara comes off as a tough motherfucker for being able to withstand the beating.

 

WAR 2/10/93

 

Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa

These guys had an awesome brutal battle on the debut show, and their rematch lives up to it. This starts a little slower, as both guys work holds for a bit at the beginning. These are guys who can put on a headlock, as they look like they are fresh squeezing grapefruit juice. When they start pounding each other it is as violent and awesome as you expect. Ishikawa's stomps to the head and Hara's headbutts were the highlights, and both guys threw cringing lariats. Ishikawa has some pretty impressive agility for a tubby dude, he gets wasted off the apron by a Hara lariat and takes a big bump to the floor. In addition he hits a really pretty pescada. 2010 Puro has a bunch of really stiff wrestling, the thing that makes this so much better is that these guys are really great at selling fatigue and brutality. This isn't two guys exchanging shots with no long term impact, every shot takes the kind of toll you would expect it to, and at the end they look like they crawled through land mines. 

Pete

Pete

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SOMEONE PUT THESE ON YOUTUBE. PLEASE. TAKE THE DAMN MONEY!

 

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And while they're at it, restore the Tenryu/Hara vs Onita/Tarzan match too.

DEAN

DEAN

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So apparently you stumbled upon it a day later than Curt

Dementia.

Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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 the Tenryu/Hara vs Onita/Tarzan match

 

On Phil Comp. #26 along with both of those Hara/Ishikawa matches. Worth the shekels if you haven't seen any of them, hit up Goodhelmet if you haven't yet everyone. 

Phil Schneider

Phil Schneider

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Hey, I stumble across the Hashimoto tag match against Hara in WAR.  The hand is held.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgzNilicpo4

Here is my SC review of that match

 

Tremendous match, another real hidden gem of this WAR project. The whole show had been building to a New Japan v. WAR explosion and we get it here. Fuyuki comes in and cheap shots Hash at the bell, and we get some wild exchanges early. Then Hara and Fuyuki isolate and brutalize Ohara, they rip his bandage off and just spill his blood all over the ring. Hara is such a fucker in this landing nasty clotheslines, vicious headbuts and swaggering taunting. There is a moment where Ohara gets some separation, he is crawling on his hands and knees to the corner, and Hara just casually walks up and kicks him right in the forehead. Hashimoto is one of the great hot tags in wrestling history, and the whole match builds to the moment where he finally gets in and he explodes, finishing off Hara with a enzgiri which looked like it squirted Hara's brains out of his nose. Pretty much a master class on how to work this kind of tag match. I would have liked to see maybe two more minutes of Hashimoto at the end, but it is minor quibble. WAR v. NJ has to be one of the greatest in ring feuds in wrestling history. 

Pete

Pete

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Posted

the Tenryu/Hara vs Onita/Tarzan match

 

On Phil Comp. #26 along with both of those Hara/Ishikawa matches. Worth the shekels if you haven't seen any of them, hit up Goodhelmet if you haven't yet everyone.

Oh, I've seen it and it's fabulous. Onita and Goto working a million miles an hour filled with hatred. Just annoyed I couldn't do the instant gratification thing and immediately share the wealth on the board here.

Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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Posted

 

Hey, I stumble across the Hashimoto tag match against Hara in WAR.  The hand is held.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgzNilicpo4

Here is my SC review of that match

 

Tremendous match, another real hidden gem of this WAR project. The whole show had been building to a New Japan v. WAR explosion and we get it here. Fuyuki comes in and cheap shots Hash at the bell, and we get some wild exchanges early. Then Hara and Fuyuki isolate and brutalize Ohara, they rip his bandage off and just spill his blood all over the ring. Hara is such a fucker in this landing nasty clotheslines, vicious headbuts and swaggering taunting. There is a moment where Ohara gets some separation, he is crawling on his hands and knees to the corner, and Hara just casually walks up and kicks him right in the forehead. Hashimoto is one of the great hot tags in wrestling history, and the whole match builds to the moment where he finally gets in and he explodes, finishing off Hara with a enzgiri which looked like it squirted Hara's brains out of his nose. Pretty much a master class on how to work this kind of tag match. I would have liked to see maybe two more minutes of Hashimoto at the end, but it is minor quibble. WAR v. NJ has to be one of the greatest in ring feuds in wrestling history. 

 

 

Watching this again was so cool. The crowd is so divided, there are NJ partisans behind the camera but WAR, who kind of came off as heels in the feud just because Tenryu didn't give a fuck and Fuyuki is too sleazy to cheer, still had support. And after all was said and done I was watching Fuyuki and Hash about to come to blows again at the end of the match and remembered, "Hash had a tribute match in exploding barbed wire for that guy after he died of cancer". Wrestling, and life, are pretty crazy.

Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

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Good lord I watched the Hara/Ishikawa matches again and those are about as brutal as you can get without blood. Every single lariat or shoulderblock is like two Mack trucks colliding because these guys have clearly spent their careers indulging in late-night yakitori and sake as well as the heavy training every Japanese wrestler has been through. There isn't a pile of psychology but who cares. One thing that is really great is Hara's selling because even though he no-sells initially you can sense his fatigue as both matches go on. There are some near-Kawada moments here where he will hit a comeback headbutt or something and then just collapse and it's awesome. Ishikawa has more expressive selling but is a straight wrecking ball just like Hara. After watching both matches I wanted the end of the second to be Ishikawa just kicking Hara in the nuts and there to be some angry promos and a rubber match in a cage. 

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