I don't watch Tiger Mask W, I don't know what the "W" stands for, but I do know that Kota Ibushi personifies him. I also know he's wearing a much better mask than the plush cosplay version. Viewed within an animesque bubble, I had a blast watching this match. The age-old story of the young punk ass Tiger Mask trying to keep pace with the big money champ was well told and I love that Tiger Mask W is basically Kota Ibushi playing a fiery Satoru Sayama. The hiccups occur when they try to overdo it with some elaborate spot and it comes off looking awkward and out-of-place. But the basic execution is great and a big part of the visual presentation is Ibushi's bumping. This match also made me excited to see Okada in 10 years.
A simple start to the story, with TMW showing he can keep pace with the champion, boosting his confidence a little until Okada shuts him down. Okada's flying crossbody over the guardrail was a thing and beauty and he starts building that ace swagger as he slingshots in across TMW with the senton. When Tiger starts to heat up and show off, Okada cools him back down. I liked his neckbreaker counter to the first Tiger Driver attempt but when he tries to put him away early with a Rainmaker, Ibushi fires back on offense. He tries for a tiger suplex but the champ fights out, in turn looking for a tombstone, but Ibushi slips out and cracks Okada upside his head with the high kick!
Pissy ace Okada is terrific and Tiger Mask's heelish response to the bullying is with the closed-fists and pesky kicks to the face while the referee is admonishing him. When Tiger counters the Rainmaker with his Rainmaker-style high kick, I'm now in favor of Tiger Mask actually defeating the champ and challenging him for the title in this weird parallel NJPW universe. Love his Super Tiger Sayama attitude as he puts the boots to Okada's arm to set-up the Last Ride or the knee response to Okada trying to fight out of the tiger driver. That corner spot was an absolute mess and nearly killed the match, with Okada corpsing as he re-positions Ibushi. Personally, I thought Tiger beating Okada in a non-title match with that Super Tiger Driver would have been a great route to go, with TMW emerging as a star and the two building to a title match down the road. But Okada hits his trio of Rainmakers to trounce Tiger's chances this time around. Despite some of the miscommunications, I thought Okada and Ibushi had really good chemistry and I'd love to see a title match in the future, even if it's inside the same anime bubbleverse.
No comments:
Post a Comment