Big Japan: 1st February 2009

Aww, Big Japan in the littlest venue in Japan. Probably. I don't watch Ice Ribbon. Watching the pre-show footage, I'm kind of fascinated with Big Japan audiences. In the US, hardcore wrestling feds are almost entirely male, and a certain sort of male at that. The amount of Japanese couples that seem to be at these shows, like its a place to go for a date, blows me away. And then there's groups of respectable looking girls there together,. How has that happened? (and how can we make it happen everywhere?). I should say that I got this DVD (and all of these 2009 Big Japan DVDs) from Ultimo the Great. I won't link his site, because officially he doesn't sell the DVDs on it, and I don't want to ruin his elaborate ruse.

Kasai and Numazawa on double duty tonight, for some reason. The opening six man is fun silliness. Abby seemed to be being particularly absurd here, lots of hammy overacting and ridiculous facials. I'm not sure at what point the continual assault with a broom to (and indeed in) a man's posterior stops being pro wrestling, but I suspect the middle section of this match certainly flirted with that boundary. Funniest moment was between Abby and MEN's, with Abby on the top wanting MEN's to come closer for his mongolian chop, and the two of them arguing about it back and forth. Fine for what it wanted to be.

The middle two tags were clipped, but I didn't get anything in particular out of what was shown. The show was really about the main event six man match. This was a barbed wire match. I can't remember the last time I saw a good barbed wire match. (Wait, yes I can, Big Japan had one nearer the end of last year. That may have been an eight-man or more). This managed the (presumably simple) task of feeling quite brutal. There was plenty of skin stuck to wire to get the point across - MASADA's arm seemed quite cut up. They through in some other stuff as well with tubes and ladders. Kasai's reaction to the punted lighttube in his back was great. It may have lost it's way a little in the middle, after they'd already broken half of the wire from various bumps, but it finished strong, with MASADA destroying Kodaka. The powerbomb was really nasty and unprotected for a bump onto glass, and the texas cloverleaf sat right on the wire was suitably evil.

MASADA was really great in this throughout - he must have gone through the wire at least four times, and his sections on attack were exciting - I've spoken before how he works at a quick pace in this sorts of matches, really piling the offence on. The best example here was wear he downed all three opponents with chair shots, did his wooden needle thing, cut some wire off with clippers, and piledrove Miyamoto into it, all in quick succession. No sense dragging these things out.

Am I the only guy on the internet who sings the praises of MASADA of all people? Should that be telling me something? Answers to these question and more besides on the next exciting installment of "MASADA and me".