How Great is Sasuke? (part five of some matches from 2009)

Aside from the final M-Pro show of the year, the TAKA title match and some tag from Osaka Pro, I think I've managed to track down all the 2009 taped Sasuke. Will accept corrections on that point, of course. Stick through the first few matches, there is "gold" (really great wrestling) in them "hills" (list of wrestling matches)

Great Sasuke and Bambi vs. Handsome JOE and Yuu Yamagata, K-Dojo, April 12th 2009

Six minute match clipped down to a bunch of Sasuke mashochism comedy spots. Given those parameters, this was fine, and completely missable.

Great Sasuke vs. Toshiaki Kawada, HUSTLE, May 4th 2009

Mostly, this match is a squash, but kind of a fun one, as Kawada kicks Sasuke around and Sasuke looks anguished in his mouth and eyes. Would have been better had he not botched his comeback, falling off the rope on a handspring elbow, meaning he never really had a hot minute or so of offence. Still, this was less than six minutes and did not feature a particularly motivated Kawada, so I recommend taking enjoyment from the little things, such as the pervasive thought, “how bizarre a match up is this?”

Sasuke vs. Ultimo Dragon vs. Super Crazy, NOSAWA Produce, July 9th

Not much to say for this. The most entertaining thing they did was the spot where every time Ultimo held Super Crazy, Sasuke hit Super Crazy, but Sasuke held Super Crazy, he ducked so Ultimo hit Sasuke instead. In fact, the match seemed to be built around the flaky alliance of Sasuke and Ultimo, leading to some mask ripping and talk afterwards of a mask match, though I think we can safely say that will never happen. Maybe they could have a match where the loser has to have their photo taken, in a mask, in public?

Great Sasuke vs. Fujita "Jr" Hayato, M-Pro, November 8th

This is the decider is a best of seven series between the heel Kowloon stable, and the M-Pro Seikigun, and it is definitely one of my favourite matches of the year, as well as a match that cement both mens’ places in my top 20 workers for 2009. This is worked a lot more evenly than the June match, which was more dominant champion vs. veteran underdog. First of all, this match is a reminder that Sasuke is really good on the mat. The opening section was a lengthy exchange of well worked holds with really believeable transitions between them, and there’s also a bit in the middle where Sasuke goes from one arm submission to another as Hayato escapes each one. There’s some other really nice spots, like the capture suplex with Hayato’s leg fully extended on Sasukes shoulder, or his pinpoint accurate top rope dropkick to Hayato’s head as he lay on the mat.

It’s also a showcase of great Sasuke selling – there are parts of this where he actually seems to be holding his myriad injured bodyparts together with his hands. Hayato is no slouch with the selling, of course. Even as a youthful junior, his transitions to offence never feel like a guy who has decided its now his turn – there’s pause after a surprise counter attack. Also, having watched a bunch of Sasuke matches where his opponents barely move from Sasuke’s forearms and elbows, it is gratifying to see someone make them look really good.

They build to the inevitable Sasuke highspots, while Hayato steps up the stiffness of his kicks and knees. I really felt myself getting into the nearfalls at the end, which is curious given the relative unimportance of a victory. The nearfalls never even approached overkill, which is remarkable for a 30 minute match. Instead, the match has a natural buildup to the biggest moves, and a pacing that suggested the right level of physical toll. Finish is simple, and really vicious, with Hayato again capitalising on a missed highspot, and launching into a series of big kicks and running knees. In a year where junior epics have lost all sense of proportion, Michinoku Pro have produced several long matches done absolutely the right way.

Minoru Suzuki and Super Tiger II vs. Great Sasuke and Kuniyoshi Wada, Real Japan, December 10th

Super Tiger II is by far my least favourite of the wrestlers who are liked or have been liked by people in the parts of the wrestling internet fandom I frequent. He’s someone that gain attention in some of the better Battlarts matches in 2008, but the more I see him since then, the more I think he gets exposed. His kicks, which were clearly his biggest selling point, have been weak and aimless in a lot of what I’ve seen him in. There’s plenty in this match to distract me as well, an awful elbow drop, a terrible posting bump that misses by inches, and a general inability to even flinch when hit. There’s a point in the middle where Wada is chopping Tiger, and Sasuke is being chopped by Suzuki, and the camera changes between the two, showing two completely different approaches to selling.

Aside from this, this match wasn’t very good. Sasuke is at a point in his career where he does not have the hardest strikes by quite some measure, and when up against two guys that really aren’t interested giving much, it really doesn’t look all that impressive. Suzuki especially, the disrespectful jerk character he works often comes off as more than just a gimmick, like he’s completely aloof to the idea of wrestling as a contrived performance. His idea of eating offence is more like something to tolerate before he can have another go. Even at the end, he makes every effort to show he has not participated in a physical contest recently. I scowl and curse at him, safe in the knowledge that the distance between us is how ever far it is from my flat to the road outside, and then from the road to Japan.