This may be my favorite match of the series...but we'll re-evaluate that when we get to 1999. This is, by far, the most brutal of their match-ups chronologically. Yuki Ishikawa is in no mood to play Daisuke Ikeda's game and immediately drops to the mat, beckoning Ikeda to grapplefuck, only to headbutt him, which takes as much out of Ishikawa as it does Ikeda. Again, this is a match where neither man can keep the advantage for very long, and any minor mistake can be costly, as seen when Ikeda grabs the surprise armbar when Ishikawa leaves his arm open for too long. Ishikawa will play Ikeda's striking game long enough to grab a submission, while Ikeda will manage to find a submission of his own through a little hustle and grind.
When Ikeda bails to the outside following Ishikawa's armbar, it's like he came back into the ring trying to appease his demon, because he becomes a real dirty daddy, batting Ishikawa around with forearms, straight punting him in the head, and then hitting one of the meanest lariats I've seen in awhile. He beats the shit out of Ishikawa, who sells the beating quite convincingly, to the point where he looks completely out of it. Then Ikeda suddenly runs into a whopper punch to the face and Ishikawa heats up, snapping him over with a backdrop, connecting with the enziguri to set-up the octopus in his best Inoki impression. But in the end, the submissions ain’t cutting the mustard for Ishikawa, and after Ikeda spin kicks him in the fucking face, he gets KO’d by a head kick. Awesome match/battle/asskicking.
No comments:
Post a Comment