Pro Wrestling Chronicle

2.21.08 Morishima/Marufuji/Sugiura vs Kobashi/Honda/Taguchi

Right off the bat the crowd is chanting “Ko-bash-i”. I believe this is his hometown, and his first match in it since the cancer comeback. So what does Sugiura do? He tries to get the jump on the old man. The old man? Kobashi chops and suplexes and then brawls this big kid to death. The crowd delights as they take it in the aforementioned public. Taniguchi, who plays the young lion role, shows fire in an elbow war with Marufuji. Honda in, but Marufuji takes a shot at Kobashi. That’ll come back on him. He does it again.

Morishima gets tagged in against Honda. He takes a forearm to Kobashi, who sells the disbelief and slight pain well. He does very little. Everyone just works a lock up and hold/reversal pattern hear. Early building blocks are Morishima/Marufuji cheap shots and Kobashi still being bad ass.

Marufuji is smooth as hell in there. Kobashi chops his head off on the outside the minute he can, which is roughly 9 minutes in. Pay back dished out, and Kobashi’s team takes control. Kobashi does come in for some high impact chop-n-knee action. Very nice. He also throws in a Texas Cloverleaf submission. I’m impressed and miss Dean Malenko.

Marufuji hope spot chop battle. You know Kobashi’s winning that one. It’s true he is now “Chop-Bashi” but Hogan only has the leg drop, right? Kobashi does what he does well. Some comedy is mixed in at about 15 minutes, but it turns serious again. Maru fights out of Taniguchi, challenges Kobashi with a chop, and gets bowled down. He keeps fighting Kobashi on the apron, but he’s not winning the battle.

18 minutes in Morishima becomes a force. He’s sick of waiting for a tag, so he comes in and takes Kobashi outside. He beats up Kobashi while flattening Honda and Taguchi too. Violent intense scene.
Kobashi sells for a minute then does the slow John Wayne not gonna take that-up. Sugiura ends the rally with a nice spear. A minute later the guys trapped and in a Taguchi submission. What can I tell ya. Kobashi is good an the passionate mentor, yelling at Taguchi to tighten the hold.

Morishima is a great big man, but he’s not Gordy. He shows off here, and I worry he needs to drop weight to survive in wrestling this style.

Holy crap! Sugiura takes out Kobashi with a serious Yakuza kick. We’re 22 minutes in. More heeling by the Morishima team. Taguchi is the face-in-peril. He tries a comeback that ends in a snap suplex on him and a second Suguira Yakuza kick to Kobashi. He wants in the ring so bad but the ref holds him out.

Now it’s on. Morishima is in but the hot tag is to Kobashi. This should be good. Kobashi does his chopfest in the corner which begins to look silly after 20 chops, but Morishima turns him around and unloads punching forarm strikes. Kobashi comes back to win by, you guessed it, chopping.

Morishima hits a great drop kick and then a back drop driver for a nearfall. Big lariat for a nearfall. Tease a second back drop but Kobashi gets out with a desperate lariat. Sugiura in with a awesome spear and overhead suplex on a fresh Honda. Delayed overhead suplex by Honda and both men get a twenty count. Kobashi is selling on the outside.

32 minutes gone and Marufuji and Taguchi are the fresh men in the ring. The cavalry arrives and Marufuji gets hit with 3 finishers, but his partners bail him out at the cover. The tide turns and Taniguchi takes the beating. Kobashi and Morishima on the outside beat the crap out of each other. This isn’t top level but it’s a good story.

Finish is Marufuji with some sorta of Michinoku driver on Taguchi about 35 minutes in. Good story and sets up Kobashi-Morishima and other storylines down the road. 3 ¾ to 4 stars.