NJPW G1 Climax Special (Hashimoto wins the IWGP Title & Hase vs Tenryu). Plus NJPW Super Grade Tag League III

NJPW G1 Climax Special 1993

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Great Muta (c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW G1 Climax Special 1993 Day 1 20/09/1993

Hashimoto winning his first IWGP Heavyweight title is a big achievement. I’m still not too into Muta matches but I liked this for the most part. Hashimoto carried the mat-work into something compelling and interesting to watch. Muta was forced to wrestle more instead of doing his usual routine. Hashimoto’s strikes towards the end were awesome too. Just a good match and a good title win for Hashimoto. ***1/4

Hiroshi Hase vs. Genichiro Tenryu - NJPW G1 Climax Special 1993 Day 3 23/09/1993

Hase continues his strong form from the Summer against his fellow contender for WOTY, Genichiro Tenryu. These two have a truly great match together apart from the finish which came off weird with Tenryu hitting a bunch of enziguris which Hase sells by staggering followed up by a powerbomb. Another day, this would’ve come off very dramatic but it was flat in this instance. The rest of the match brought it though. Hase’s timing and selling was excellent as well as his fire which Tenryu matched of course. This was violent with hard strikes and great submission attempts. ****

Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Hase - NJPW G1 Climax Special 1993 Day 4 24/09/1993

This struggled to connect with me. I’m not sure if it was Muto not being the most interesting of guys on the roster as far as I’m concerned or Hase’s work on the leg but I found this kinda boring. Hase’s work on the leg was decent and consistent throughout. I dug Hase’s different version of the Muta Lock with the arm hooks. Muto, to his credit, was able to milk the drama and create a great atmosphere to work off. I liked his brief comebacks, including a wicked judo throw but his selling of the leg was missing. There is a ton to like but I wasn’t fully into it. **1/2 

NJPW Super Grade Tag League III 1993

Super Grade Tag League III Match: Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto vs. Masahiro Chono & Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW Super Grade Tag League III - Day 23 04/11/1993

This may just be the Chono mark in me but I love his finishing stretches. The constant barrage of Yakuza kicks either climaxes with an emphatic finish or a great transition. It works every time for me and when Muto caught that dropkick on the Kick attempt, the match felt over instantly. The rest of the match was brilliant. Muto and Hase worked great as a team both in the match and in general. Muto was always ready to make the save while Hase was in danger but Hase’s selling gave the match some epic drama. Hashimoto was great when matched with Hase. He beat the heck out of Hase with kicks and knees but he took some ridiculous bumps like the Shawn Michaels-esc bump over the top rope for a missed spin kick. Great match. ****1/4

Super Grade Tag League III Final Match: Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto vs. The Jurassic Powers (Hercules Hernandez & Scott Norton) - NJPW Super Grade Tag League III - Day 23 04/11/1993

This was surprisingly alright. I’m not a big Hercules guy and these Jurassic Powers matches look really unappealing but they came off well in this match. Perhaps thanks to Hase and Muto but I think they earned some merit. ***