NJPW Hyper Battle 1996: Otani Duo Title Matches & UWFI host IWGP Heavyweight Title Match

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IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Nobuhiko Takada (c) vs. Shiro Koshinaka - UWF-I High Tension 01/03/1996
Say what you want about Takada but he's perfect for these matches against pro-style wrestlers. He's willing to sell for things like a hip attack but in a way where it works for a shoot-style setting. He and Koshinaka have always had tremendous chemistry going back to their junior days so this pairing most likely came naturally now I'm thinking about it. The crowd is electric for Koshinaka and he makes the most of it with his charisma and charm. Takada’s aforementioned selling allows for maximum effect. He knew who the fans wanted on offence, even if it's UWF-I territory so he took a backseat and picked his spots wisely before winning. ***1/2

NJPW Hyper Battle 1996

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. Shinjiro Otani - NJPW Hyper Battle 1996 - Day 7 - 17/03/1996
It’s too funny how similar the Junior Heavyweight matches of the 90s are to the 2010s New Japan main events in terms of their structure and how they build to their closing stretches. I’ve long not been too impressed with the style itself but Otani makes it work better than most have, including Liger. Something about his infectious passion and amazing ability to make it seem so real to him is the key to it all. Solid as you can get grappling that turns into an amazing series of false finishes and high risk spots with the main story being Otani being so close to achieving greatness only to close it at the final hurdle due to his own mistake. ****

WCW World Cruiserweight Title Match (vacant): Wild Pegasus vs. Shinjiro Otani - NJPW Hyper Battle 1996 - Day 9 - 20/03/1996
I love Benoit’s wrestling and Otani is on a wild streak, and I love how Otani finally got the win, but the match didn’t land with me as it should. It followed the same formula as the Liger match did with some good grappling bookend by a hot closing stretch, except it was more of a warm one with a few hints of a hot crowd that cared more about a good kick out than Otani winning. Not a bad match but I didn’t feel a dramatic win in this. ***

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