Animal Hamaguchi, Isamu Teranishi, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Riki Choshu vs Antonio Inoki, Kengo Kimura, Nobuhiko Takada, Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Fujiwara (NJPW) 4/19/1984
This is a phenomenal gauntlet match. Probably the best gauntlet match of all time, which is not saying much. It is an hour and fifteen minutes long but none of this match feels long mainly due to the layout and execution of it. Each (we’ll call them) fall contributed something to the match while at the same time is able to stand on its own. The flow of the match was outstanding. Each fall directly led into the other. The finishes all made sense to the big picture. The performances of the wrestlers were outstanding. Everyone played their part to perfection. The crowd was hot throughout the entire thing. There was not one moment of silence in this match. It had a big fight atmosphere. Antonio Inoki’s team (Seiki Gundan) and Riki Choshu’s army (Ishin Gundan) were in a hot feud at the time and this was the culmination.
We start with Kuniaki Kobayashi and Tatsumi Fujinami. The first thing I notice about this match is the incredible atmosphere. It really does give this match an aura of high importance. The fans are rabid for this first fall. Kobayashi rushes Fujinami at the bell and we get the match on the way. Fujinami slows him down with some perfectly executed mat work. The hate between the two teams becomes apparent in the first sequences of the match when Fujinami does not do a clean break when Kobayashi gets a rope break. The work here is really good. Kobayashi begins to work on Fujinami’s arm which is something that affects the match later on. This portion finishes off hot with Fujinami putting him away with a german suplex. In a vacuum this is a good little seven minute match but as a building block for a larger match it falls just short of brilliant.
There is a lot happening in this next fall. Two separate stories are being told at the same time. Isamu Teranishi is next up for Ishin Gundan. He starts the match by targeting Fujinami’s arm. His work on the arm is very creative. One example of that is when Fujinami has him in an abdominal stretch he grabs his arm and puts him in a sort of arm lock while still in position of the hold. Teranishi effortlessly transitions from hold to hold in order to damage Fujinami’s arm. It was some excellent submission wrestling. Also the intensity in which he attacked the arm underlined the animosity between both teams which is a recurring theme throughout the match. Teranishi makes a great first impression on me since it’s my first time seeing him wrestle. His work here highlights his strongest characteristics: his focus and his intensity. Fujinami’s performance in this fall is also genius. He does a great job selling his pain and the work being done on his arm. His facial expressions paint the picture for the viewer of the pain he is experiencing. There is one point where he goes for the german suplex but his arm gives out and can’t hold onto Teranishi. This reinforces Teranishi’s arm work by showing that it is affecting Fujinami’s performance. Fujinami’s selling does double duty as it also exemplifies his own resilience. He is able to withstand the pain and still be able to find a different way to win the fall. He puts on a sharpshooter and Teranishi has no choice but to give up. Two different stories were told here by the same match but it was the individual performances that distinguished them.
Yoshiaki Yatsu was next in the gauntlet. I also really like this fall for what it was. It was short but accomplished what it needed to in order to keep the flow of the match running smoothly. Yatsu immediately attacks Fujinami’s injured arm which demonstrates great psychology and reincorporates the arm work. Yatsu wins by count out when he ties Fujinami up in the ropes by his foot while the rest of his body is outside of the ropes. This also was brilliant because the only way Fujinami could escape was to use his arms but one of those arms was badly damaged thus his failure to escape. What was a simple little spot reinforces all of the work done earlier on the arm that led to Fujinami finally being eliminated.
Next up was Nobuhiko Takada. This was another fall where if it was a standalone match it would be great. Being placed after the quick decision in the previous fall was perfect. Fujinami being eliminated brought down the mood but Takada’s flurry of offense was a jolt of energy that reinvigorated the intensity of the match. The two had an amazing back and forth battle here. Yatsu hit some great suplexes on Takada. The action was impactful. These sequences elevated the match to a different level. It was an effective transition to this next part of the match. There is a sense of desperation from Yatsu due to the fact that his team was down one guy. Takada on the other hand was at an advantage and wanted to rush Yatsu and get him on the ropes. We get a deeper look at Takada as he shows his passion and fire but still has to learn to focus his attacks. Yatsu was able to take advantage of his ambition and put Takada away with the lariat. This fall recharged the pace of the match and also helped maintain the momentum.
Kengo Kimura is up next for Seiki Gundan. Not much happened in this fall but the fact that it was short and compact makes it fine. Kimura wore down Yatsu after his previous battle against Takada. The action towards the end of the fall was great. Yatsu had some great comebacks and Kimura’s offense was very good. Kimura’s composure here is reflective of his team’s status throughout the match. Seiki Gundan is either one wrestler ahead or has the fresher man in the match. Kimura’s work displays his team's position in the match. He puts Yatsu away with a leg lariat.
Animal Hamaguchi comes out next. Hamaguchi plays the psychological game with Kimura. He taunts him and avoids him which enrages Kimura. Kimura loses composure and Hamaguchi goes to work on him. Hamaguchi unleashes some powerful offense on Kimura to wear him down including some nasty headbutts and a flurry of dropping elbows. Kimura has some hot comebacks. He gets in some great looking leg lariats, suplexes and piledrivers. This fall is a turning point in the match for Choshu’s army. Before it was Seiki Gundan who were the more calm and focused group. Not only does this fall put both teams on equal standing on the scoreboard, it puts them on equal footing in terms of mentality, which is apparent immediately in the next fall.
Yoshiaki Fujiwara comes out next and just begins to unload on Hamaguchi. This demonstrates the new dynamic of the match. It also shows how big of a threat Hamaguchi is when the team that was level headed throughout most of the match was now the desperate one. This gets really heated. Both men absolutely batter each other. Fujiwara attempts to give Hamaguchi headbutts of his own but it backfires. Hamaguchi showed some solid psychology by targeting Fujiwara’s forehead cut. Fujiwara did everything to slow down Hamaguchi including an attempt at the armbar which got a big pop. The fight spilled to the outside and Fujiwara switched his gameplan on the fly by going for the countout win. This reinforces the new mentality of Seiki Gundan and Hamaguchi’s danger. Fujiwara would rather get counted out with Hamaguchi than to let Inoki wrestle two more wrestlers. Fujiwara’s satisfactory expression after they both get counted out supports this. His sacrifice has a great effect on the rest of the match.
With both wrestlers in the previous fall counted out Antonio Inoki and Riki Choshu both came out fresh. It starts out hot with Choshu going right after Inoki. Inoki takes the match to the mat after that. He does some good mat work that wears down Choshu and affects the finish of the match. Choshu has some great comebacks including a lariat and a scorpion deathlock for a near finish. Inoki responds with a flurry of big moves and puts Choshu in the octopus stretch for the ref stoppage. This was a great way to finish this match. Fujiwara’s sacrifice earlier is validated here. Inoki gets the chance to prove his skill without having either he or Choshu go through another wrestler to fight. Choshu showed great fire in his comebacks and escape attempts. Inoki demonstrated his dominance through his mat work. It was a great way to cap off this match.
This match was perfect. Everything that was done was done for a reason. There was no down time. The mat wrestling elevated the match and the wrestlers. Everything played off of each other and made sense to the grand scheme. The crowd and atmosphere was amazing and the wrestlers did an excellent job in each of their roles.
Final Rating - *****
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