How Great is Sasuke? (part three of more than three)

Magnum TOKYO vs. Great Sasuke, Toryumon, February 17th 1999

A widely lauded match, but one that surprised me a lot. The opening ten minutes is very mat-based, more so than anything I've seen Sasuke in before, and a lot moreso than I would expect from anyone in Toryumon. I guess Michinoku Pro were working with BattlArts at the time, so maybe that explains it. I liked the mat work - it was the more realistic looking sort with lots of struggle, rather than the more graceful lucha variety. Sasuke appears to be bleeding from the lip or nose, which only emphasises how tough the grappling was. He also has a couple of submissions he keeps attempting to work in, but Magnum blocks the jujigatame successfully. This doesn't feel like juniors killing time in the same way as it often does - predominantly because of the struggle between holds and the sense that the two are really jostling for position. I'd rather that the armbar became important later, but not massively so.

The second half of this is driven by highspots. Tokyo ends the mat section, where he was predominantly on the losing end, with a tope followed by an spectacular top rope quebrada. These high spots were well paced, with plenty of downtown and recovery to make them seem important. Sasuke responds later - first with suplex onto a table from the apron, then a somersault senton over the top rope to Tokyo who is lying on the table. While this was both crazy and beautiful, the follow up top rope springboard dropkick to Tokyo standing on the table was utter madness, as after making contact Sasuke had a huge drop, hitting the table on the way down.

I'm a fan of huge highspots when treated with enough respect in the aftermath. Sasuke, rightly, seemed just as badly damaged by the last one as Tokyo, if not more so. This leads into the final finishers stretch, with Sasuke bringing out all his big moves to finish off his opponent. I was starting to feel that the end was too long and a little meaningless, until the finish, which was brilliant and very unexpected. Tokyo comes back with some of his big moves, cumulating with his shooting star press. However, the moment of impact is sold as the final straw on his back, which was worn down with those table spots, and he rolls off Sasuke before he can make a pin, visibly pained. Sasuke then capitalises, first with a senton atomico to the back for a great near fall, and then a thunder firebomb for the three count.

Overall, a really excellent match. A satisfying finish like that will do a lot to raise my opinion of a match. Add that to in the well executed mat work and the breathtaking highspots before it, and there's no scope for anything but little complaints. Sasuke, I'm starting to think, really was at his best in more indy-ish settings. His matches in M-Pro or here in Toryumon seem a little more unconstrained and less formulaic than something he might have done during his New Japan appearances, and this can produce some spectacular results.

Great Sasuke vs. Yuhi Sano, Super J Cup 2000, April 9th 2000

I think the version I saw of this is clipped, as the match is pretty much all highspots. Sano has a great tope, Sasuke throws in a Space Flying Tiger Drop, Sano suplexes Sasuke over the top to the apron. The match was pretty even until the end, which is both great and not a little lunatic. Sasuke takes a top rope German, a dragon suplex and a roundhouse kick. I loved that they did a shoot-style KO finish for this, and Sasuke’s failed attempts to stand up and beat the count were great. There isn’t much transition into the last few killer moves, it feels almost like Sano decided that he was done with niceties. Actually, I think I like that – the top rope German is opportunism, and essentially decided the match, and the two moves that followed just capitalised on a near-dead Sasuke.

Sasuke, Liger, Ibushi and Tiger Mask vs. Taguchi, Togo, Kanemoto and TAKA, New Japan, August 30th 2009

This had fun moments, and not surprisingly, mainly from the veterans. I enjoyed first Togo and then Kanemoto controlling the match against Liger – Togo throws some great punches, a beautiful dropkick and looks slick on the mat too, whilst Kanemoto is entertaining striking Liger and taunting his team mates in between. Togo is probably the most impressive in this. He even manages to land squarely on his feet flipping out of a german suplex in a flash of improbable athleticism. There’s a couple of nice Sasuke touches – his sell of the facewash is very over-the-top, and after a cool spot where Taguchi pulls Tiger Mask in the way of Liger’s Shotei thrust, Sasuke’s little “what are you doing?” reaction was delightful. The last few minutes were pretty exciting, especially Sasuke’s missed apron senton, followed by Togo’s somersault tope.