Incredible performances from both men in a no-nonsense contest that really played to their individual strengths. Minoru Suzuki was at his most callous without the Suzuki-goons bringing him down, and Hirooki Goto did a fantastic job of selling that classic Suzuki sadism. In a night that was mostly about trying to outdo the overdone, this was simple, brutal, and under twenty minutes. My kind of my match. Immediately, they stagger each other with hard slaps to the face before Suzuki grabs the sleeper and hangs Goto from the turnbuckle with it -- the visual of Goto's body going limp in the corner and lying motionless on the mat was unbelievable. Suzuki doesn't let up, throwing Goto out of the ring, cracking him with a chair, then swatting him in the face while he's down. Goto tries fighting back but Suzuki only cackles and levels him with an elbow. I loved how the sleeper hold > Gotch piledriver set-up played into the match, and Suzuki connects with one of the most awesome dropkicks I've seen in quite some time. The way he unloads on poor Goto with that never-ending combination of slaps and jabs, busting open his lip...so so good. Goto is finally able to build some momentum heading into the finishing stretch, reversing the top rope sleeper into a super Ushigoroshi. He hammers Suzuki with elbows, stopping him mid-swing with a lunging headbutt, before putting him down for the count with the GTR. My current 2018 MOTY, kiddos.
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