Koji Kanemoto vs. Osamu Nishimura

[9.0] "A great clash of styles. The grappler vs. the striker dynamic works beautifully, as Nishimura desperately tries to keep the fight on the mat while Kanemoto constantly creates openings with explosive offense & gradually turns Nishimura's leg into a glaring weakness. Nishimura, meanwhile, always finds a way to pull another rabbit out of the hat. ****"

[9.0] "Kanemoto is a great cocky dickhead here as he controls the early stages of the match, using his striking/shooty background to badger and keep Nishimura consistently on the backend. We get some solid grappling here as the two battle over holds, with Nishimura trying to catch his opponent out in a couple of cool traps like a early Cobra Twist that Kanemoto just about wiggles out of as soon as it starts to happen. Crowd goes apeshit for Kanemoto catching the guy in a side headscissors because they know where it leads; namely into the epic Nishimura handstand escape which is masterfully milked for all its worth by both men. Kanemoto sells the pain and frustration well by immediately conceding the grappling aspect and going back to his comfort zone with strikes, something that he knows Nishimura is much worse in, and thus stays to that plan for more or less the entire middle half as we get that paired with awesome spots like a leaping dropkick over the ref and a dive to the outside. Nishimura does a incredible job escalating the selling here as the damage on his face mounts up from both facewashes and a particularly nasty rolling senton that lands on the side of it; he afterwards rolls around like he'd been burnt there; before managing to just about try for a Cobra Twist that is quickly countered and turned into a 2-count School Boy. Very heavily established here is that Kanemoto's quick speed and technical ability allows him a elite edge here that lets him counter Nishimura's own usually snappy moves. For instance, his sunset flip is turned into a heel hook which then completely demolishes his opponent's leg and forces him to limp for the proceeding minutes which is a GREAT move here since the guy is so well adept at selling body parts in particular, so you have him stumbling around after a Irish Whip attempt a-la Kawada style or having to hug the ropes while getting kicked to death. We get more awesome counter-to-counter exchanges as Kanemoto escapes a backslide into a head kick and forces further damage by snapping on an ankle lock. There's some good tension building with Nishimura struggling for the ropes, afterwards Kanemoto being cocky by taking his sweet time landing a moonsault. This would typically lead to a counter + comeback, but they play around with audience expectations by having him land it clean for a near fall. Kanemoto plays into the Nishimura chants a little too much before going for a running corner knee, leading to a epic finish where we get a counter to the Cobra Twist by Kanemoto into an ankle lock before Nishimura applies the same rolling clutch he was trying to do near the start successfully for the flash pinfall victory. This was a great G1 showing that went just long enough to get the opposing dynamics between the two over while not going overboard with the length. Nishimura has a masterclass showing in pacing here as he manages to slowly get over his counters and sheer struggle until it hits a breaking point. Kanemoto similarly follows through with some great work on top with convincing strikes and cocky antics that eventually went sour for the guy at the very end. Absolutely a must-watch for the pair."

[10.0] "Really neat old school vs new school stylistic clash. Nishimura puts in a particularly great selling performance here and makes Kanemoto look every bit like the absolute demon he was. That ending with Nishimura rolling the heel hook into a surprise pin was super sick"

[9.0] "Great stuff. Possibly Kanemoto's best match ever, and I don't say that lightly. Nishimura is kind of a forgotten guy nowadays but he is one of the MVPs of the era"

[9.0] "Nishimura vs Kanenmoto sounds like a dream match that I never knew I wanted. And it delivered! Kanemoto was great here, bring the crowd alive with his charisma and mannerisms. He did some nasty, vicious leg work on Nishimura, kicking it and tying it up in holds w/ Nishimura blocking well and selling excellently too. Nishimura in the beginning doing a head stand sent the crowd into a frenzy which sums up the match perfectly. ****1/4"