Introduction
Over at the NJPW subreddit, there is a spreadsheet of recommended matches from New Japan's history. I thought it could be fun to go through the 'highly recommended' ones and write about them. This will increase my knowledge and enjoyment of New Japan Pro Wrestling, and my skill in writing about wrestling, as well as hopefully entertaining others.
When I watch the match, I have a pad and pen and write down anything that I find interests me. Perhaps a high impact move, perhaps an exchange, perhaps a bit of character work. I'll write these out in bullet point form, then write my overall thoughts and give a personal rating out of 10.
This is my first Inoki match against someone of similar size. This is my first time seeing Robinson. As a fan of Zach Sabre Jr, I could easily see how he was heavily influenced by Robinson's style. The smoothness of hold transitions, bending the fingers, etc.
This match is for the NWF Title and is held in Kuramae Kokugikan.
Moments
- A lot of this match was hold vs hold, punctuated by impressive moves. It created a nice flow to the match of peaks and valleys.
- Saito suplex by Robinson after a long stalemate.
- Robinson cartwheels out of a hold attempt.
- Inoki has Robinson in a headlock. Robinson picks Inoki up and bodyslams him. Inoki rolls through and keeps the headlock applied.
- Inoki springboard dropkicks out of a hammerlock.
- I was very impressed by how smoothly Robinson transitions into holds, from hold to hold, and from hold to pin. Especially for a man of his bulk.
- After a tense exchange, both men rise to their feet and Robinson slaps Inoki. The crowd gasp and Inoki looks pissed.
- The two shove each other. This leads to a forearm exchange on the ropes. Robinson grabs Inoki and saito suplexes him over the ropes while holding onto him. Both tumble to the outside.
- I'm unsure of what this hold is called (if you know, please tell me in the comments) but Inoki puts Robinson is what looks like a reverse figure-four around one leg. He then stands up and slams his back into the mat causing Robinson to cry out in pain.
- Robinson lifts Inoki up to chokeslam height and brings him crashing down over his knee in a thunderous backbreaker.
- Inoki uses his head to power out of a Boston crab, shoving Robinson off his feet.
- Inoki has Robinson trapped in a head-scissors. Robinson uses every trick in the book to try and escape but Inoki's legs are too strong. Eventually Robinson rolls Inoki onto his back for some pin attempts, but Inoki rolls him back. Finally after 5 whole minutes (it seemed a lot longer than it was), Robinson squirms out to applause.
- Beautiful combo of moves by Robinson. Dropkick, snap mare, knee drop on the throat and a pin attempt. Inoki jumps to his feet and shows Robinson what a proper dropkick looks like. Then a second one! This one sends Robinson into the ropes. They shake hands after this exchange.
- Robinson has Inoki in a sitting position with his head pressed down. Robinson jumps and brings his knee down on the back of Inoki's neck.
- In a scuffle, Inoki throws a wild elbow. Robinson's demeanour instantly changes. He looks like he's saying "Oh, so you want a fight do you?"
- Piledriver by Robinson
- Legbreaker by Robinson
First Fall (around 43 minutes): Robinson catches Inoki in a backslide for the 3 count.
- The instant the second fall starts, Robinson goes for a backslide again, but only gets a two count.
- A back elbow from Inoki sends Robinson over the ropes to the outside.
- Vertical suplex from Inoki.
- Inoki tosses Robinson halfway across the ring.
- A sickening back body drop to Robinson by Inoki.
- Inoki has turned into a monster.
- Bow & arrow on Robinson (I think it's the bow & arrow. Inoki is on his back and has Robinson stretched perpendicularly across, knees in the back).
- Robinson looks exhausted and outclassed by this point. Sweat is dripping off him. Right after this fatigued look though, he delivers a flurry of European uppercuts to Inoki!
- Butterfly suplex by Robinson!
- German suplex by Robinson. 2 count. Multiple pinning attempts to no avail.
- Inoki with a bridge to stop Robinson pinning him. Robinson jumps up and slams his weight down on the bridged body of Inoki, but he does not crumble. Robinson tries this a couple more times before giving up, letting Inoki get to his feet. I recently saw this spot with the young lion Ren Narita vs Marty Scrull at Honor Rising.
- Robinson keeps backing away from Inoki, goading him. Inoki steps up and slaps Robinson. Inoki traps Robinson in the corner and starts unloading vicious slaps on his head.
- Two armdrags and a standing dropkick by Inoki, followed by a second standing dropkick.
Second Fall (around 16 minutes): Inoki puts the octopus hold on Robinson in the middle of the ring. Robinson taps.
- The instant the third fall starts, Inoki delivers a standing dropkick to Robinson. Then 2 more!
- Stiff elbow exchange in the corner between the two.
Finish (around 1 minute): As the two are grappling, the bell for the hour time limit sounds. Both men are angry, wanting to continue the bout, wanting a definitive winner. In the end, Inoki keeps his title, and Robinson gets the trophy.
Thoughts
This match was fantastic. I'm unused to such a long match, with so much of it dedicated to holds and counter holds (you know, classic wrestling), but not only was there drama in these exchanges, writing down my notes there was a lot more strikes and big moves than I remember. It speaks to the quality of the pacing. If anything let the match down, it's that there was no definitive winner at the end. I wanted to see these two continue the match. I was very impressed with the ability of both men. Robinson had great charisma and when Inoki turned into a maniac in the second fall, I bought it.
Like the previous review with Andre vs Inoki, I would love to see another match between Inoki and Robinson.
Rating: 8/10
If you have access to NJPW World, the match can be found here. If not, I imagine the match is not hard to find.
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