Defrost Reviews – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata

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When the idea for DRS2EBRaSAGG was birthed it was conceived with two sets of matches in mind. One was Bret Hart vs Diesel which became the first ever edition of DRS2EBRaSAGG. The other was Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata in 2007. So that was always in the queue of reviews here at DRS2EBRaSAGG. It has grown over time. Most of these just involve matches that are already on the DRS2EBRaSAGG HQ super computer and need an excuse to be watched. There are five matches reviewed here that sat on that computer for a long time. They got watch. Now read as they get reviewed.

10 matches. There can be a lot of variation over 10 matches. However, the strategy of Yuji Nagata is uniform over all of these matches. His strategy is simple. He is going to grab that fucker Tanahashi’s arm and try and twist it off. This makes sense since one of Nagata’s finishers is the Nagata Lock II. The Nagata Lock II may be more familiar to some as the Crippler Crossface. All of the matches start in one of two ways. One way is that Nagata and Tanahashi start of with arm ringers until one flips around and kicks the other guy off. The interesting thing about that is that at the beginning of the series Nagata gets the best of the that and kicks Tanahashi off him while later matches those roles would be reversed as Tanahashi worked his way up the card.

The other way the matches would start was with a series of standing switches that would always end with Nagata grabbing an arm bar. In the first match this strategy pays off in the most obvious way given that Nagata forced Tanahashi to tap out to a cross armbreaker. In the later matches that Nagata won by dropping Tanahashi on the top of his head with either a backdrop suplex or a wrist clutch exploder. Again the arm worked over and Tanahashi worn down for those to work. The Nagata Lock II works the arm and the neck so a head dropping suplex its perfectly into Nagata’s plan of attack.

Speaking of Tanahashi’s neck in the best match of this series, the October 2007 Match at Explosion, featured Tanahashi overcoming a lot of damage to his neck to regain the IWGP Title. Nagata began the match predictably going after Tanahashi’s arm. After going back and forth a bit they find themselves outside the ring. Rewinding back all the way to their 2005 New Japan Cup match you come to the first time Nagata hit a brainbuster on the floor. In their very next match in Sumo Hall in February 2006 Nagata takes Tanahashi to the outside and exposes the concrete before delivering another brainbuster. However, this stopped working once they got to their famous 2007 series.

In their first match at NJPW Brave where Nagata won the title Nagata tried it again, but Tanahashi blocked it and hit a demon neck screw instead. It was the same story at the G1 Climax final that year. For the third match in their 2007 trilogy Nagata softens Tanahashi up first. Tanahashi gets whipped into the guardrail and then Nagata follows up with a running knee to the chin. The kind of running knee that CM Punk does in the corner. Nagata peels the mats away and nails the brainbuster on the cement. He leaves Tanahashi out on the floor looking for the countout, but Tanahashi makes it in at 19. In Japan a countout is at 20 not 10.

Nagata immediately picks Tanahashi up and drills a beautiful jumping piledriver dead in the center of the ring. After working over the neck with some stiff clubbing blows Nagata gets Tanahashi into the Nagata Lock II. A move he used to defeat Tanahashi’s mentor Keiji Mutoh in the final of the 2001 G1 Final. Tanahashi managed to survive, but heavy blows from Nagata in a slap battle left him vulnerable and Nagata upped the ante by hitting an Exploder off the top rope further damaging Tanahashi’s neck.

After an exchange of enziguris that Nagata got the best of due to Tanahashi’s damaged neck he hit the move that felled Tanahashi in the 2006 New Japan Cup Semi Final, the wrist clutch exploder. However, Tanahashi showing fighting spirit kicked out at the count of 1. Tanahashi would use that fighting spirit and leg work, more on fighting spirit and strategy in regard to Tanahashi later, to win this match. This match is incredible. It is a top 5 all time match for both guys and was even better than their previous two matches that year which were top ten matches of 2007.

Tanahashi and Nagata’s selling and execution were flawless. Tanahashi’s neck, and Nagata’s leg selling, especially at the finish, told a great story. There is nothing that we here at DRS2EBRaSAGG can think of that would have made this a better match. What is scary is Tanahashi would have an even better match in Sumo Hall a month later with Hirooki Goto. What is even scarier is that neither the Nagata nor Goto match is my 2007 MOTY.

We have taken a close look at Nagata’s strategy, especially how he worked it in the October 2007 IWGP Title match. Now it is time to take a close look at Hiroshi Tanahashi. Over the course of these matches we see Tanahashi grow up. Nagata is already a wizened veteran by the time of their first encounter. Tanahashi barely had 2 years in the business while Nagata was 2 months away from winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Nagata had won the previous year’s G1 Climax and had main evented the last two New Japan Tokyo Dome shows. He was a ten year veteran and he even had a run in WCW. Tanahashi was barely out of his Young lion black trunks and was just starting to tag with Kenzo Suzuki of all people. Hell, he hadn’t even been stabbed yet. He looks like he was separated at birth with current day Tetsuya Naito as a matter of fact.

The basic idea here is the veteran gives most of the match to the young guy to make him look good before he beats him. Tanahashi’s offense is of real interest here. Something that stood out early on was Tanahashi mimicking Nagata. Nagata would turn a wristlock into a half nelson pin and Tanahashi immediately reversed and did the same. Nagata did a forearm/enziguri/german suplex combo and Tanahashi made a comeback doing the exact same thing. There are some good near falls here with Tanahashi using the half hatch suplex and a series of bridging Germans.

In the most surprising spot of the match Tanahashi is whipped into the corner and stops himself by jumping onto the second rope with Nagata coming in behind him for the running boot. This is a spot Tanahashi does all the time where he jumps to the second rope with his opponent coming in room behind and coming off with the crossbody. So that was the spot we, the royal we, were expecting. Instead he comes flying out of the corner with a Lionsault. Can’t remember moonsaults being in Tanahashi’s arsenal outside of a really ugly one at NOAH Destiny.

The last point to mention here is Tanahashi working it Strong Style. He goes back to the well of the cross armbreaker over and over. He gets into Nagata’s guard and goes into a ground and pound. Then there is the first of many slap fights you get in these matches. They unload on each other during these things where Tanahashi gets the better of it most of the time leading to a Nagata Flop. Their first match here was a very good young vs old 10 minute match. A good beginning to the watching.

The next four matches reviewed here come at the time Tanahashi was beginning a push from the lower midcard to the main event. He was in the midst of a long reign with the U-30 Title a title created for him. 3 weeks before the first of this set of four Tanahashi had reached the final of the G1 Climax pinning IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki in the process. Later that year Tanahashi would team with Shinsuke Nakamura to win the IWGP Tag Titles beating Kensuke and Minoru Suzuki. A month later Tanahashi and Nakamura faced in the 1/4 Tokyo Dome Main event. Now the problem was that New Japan was horribly booked basically from 2001 until the middle of 2006.

It is actually hard to compare the bad booking to a TNA or WCW. It was more insane than stupid. Pushing MMA guys in wrestling matches. Putting Yuji Nagata in shoot fights with Cro Cop and Fedor. Having Tanahashi lose on 1/4/06 to Shibata, a guy who didn’t work there, then beginning a push to the title for Tanahashi right after which included a loss to Yuji Nagata in the 2006 New Japan Cup. Meanwhile guys like Kaz Fujita, Bob Sapp, and Brock Lesnar were champion and business was tanking. These four matches take place in this climate. Which explains the insane ending to the 2005 New Japan Cup match where Nagata goes insane and gets DQed. Nothing came of it. Why would it? Why make sense Inoki?

Anyway the actual match content. For whatever reason it seems part of Nagata’s gimmick was to have a short fuse. In the 2004 match Tanahashi slaps Nagata and Nagata goes off including tossing the ref and beating Tanahashi down with a chair. Similar actions would get him DQed in their 2005 New Japan Cup match. What is interesting is seeing what is new from 2002 with Tanahashi and what has stuck around in his repertoire. For instance Tanahashi’s jumping elbow drop and sommersault splash are there in 2004. In this entire period his finisher was either the Dragon Suplex or Dragon Sleeper. He still uses the Dragon Suplex, but the Dragon Sleeper is not used often at all. By the Sumo Hall 2006 match the Sling Blade one of Tanahashi’s trademark moves makes its first appearance in this series.

These four matches are good, but nowhere near the level of what would come after. Tanahashi just wasn’t there yet. He did some great stuff. The New Japan Cup 2005 match brings back the mimicry with Tanahashi using the Nagata Lock II and Nagata using the Dragon Suplex on Tanahashi. The brightest spot in these matches has to be headbutt battles from their two 2006 matches. The best of their first five matches is the fifth one and their struggle bashing each other’s skull into the other is a major reason. Just a great spectacle full of drama.

Now we get to the meat of the sandwich. Their epic 2007 trilogy. Tanahashi has grown into a main eventer as Champion. He was not accepted at first. New Japan was at its all time low following the Lesnar debacle, and Tanahashi was seen as a pretty boy who didn’t deserve to be champion. It was 2007 that changed that. Even starting with the match where he dropped the title to Nagata there is less than a half house. It would be optimistic to say there were 3000 people in the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium .

To put it in perspective, a Tanahashi title defense in that same building three months ago sold that building out. Tanahashi was far more polished in these matches, and Nagata was not burdened with whatever the latest insanity was. Tanahashi was great working the leg and rolling with however the crowd was reacting. If the crowd was chanting for Nagata then he’d take his leg and post it for instance. Tanahashi busts out some moves not seen before or since, with the Sambo Suplex and Capture Suplex.

The first match sees Nagata move out of the way of the Suicide Dive which Tanahashi had used in their 2006 matches. So Tanahashi would go with the running apron hilo in the next match. That match, the G1 Final, also saw Tanahashi do his new finish the High Fly Flow, frog splash, with Nagata on the floor. That was insane and Tanahashi heavily bled from his elbow the rest of the match. Other great touches was in the first match when Tanahashi reversed the corner knee into a powerbomb so from that point on Nagata would grab Tanahashi by the throat and throw him into the corner first. The finishing stretches of all these matches were amazing.

In the first match there are so many great near falls. Like the Octopus Rollup, or the straight jacket German. Or the first of the many reverses of the Sling Blade into a Backdrop Suplex. Or Nagata getting his knees up on the High Fly Flow and getting a close two on a small package. A spot repeated in the second match. However, part of the brilliance already gone on about of the October 2007 match is the finish. Tanahashi has thrashed Nagata’s leg as badly as Nagata as thrashed Tanahashi’s neck. So when Nagata gets the knees up he is hurt worse than Tanahashi. So Tanahashi is able to go back to the top and hit his finisher. Which only gets 2. Then after all the epic headbutt and slap fights they have one on the top rope which Nagata loses. A second High Fly Flow finishes. Just beautiful storytelling.

We said we’d get back to the issue of Fighting Spirit. In their early matches after taking an Exploder Suplex off the top rope Tanahashi would pop right up and attack Nagata no selling it to show fighting spirit. Sometimes it would go well and he’d hit Nagata with, say, a Shining Wizard. Sometimes it would go badly and he’d get Nagata’s boot in his face. Once you get to the 2007 matches that no longer happens. Now a trick used to get guys over is to have them kick out at one or no sell when up against a tougher opponent to show their inner desire to win and whatnot.

In the 2007 matches Tanahashi does not show fighting spirit after taking the Super Exploder. Tanahashi was a main event guy so he did not need such things since Fighting Spirit spots were not part of New Japan’s Main Event style. Other places such as NOAH the Fighting Spirit spots are a mainstay in the main event. So instead of popping back up Tanahashi eats a Shining Wizard. So maybe he should of just popped up. Then you get to the much talked up in this review October 2007. Tanahashi takes the wrist clutch exploder and kicks out at 1 and goes on to regain the title.

Then we come to the matches from 2011. Tanahashi is the man at this point. He is the 100% Ace of the Universe. A moniker given to him after defeating Keiji Mutoh, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Kurt Angle in early 2009. Tanahashi is the #1 wrestler in Japan bar none. He is so comfortable in the role that it was sorta jarring seeing his post match interview after the amazing October 2007 match where he regained the title. He is stiff and seems nervous whereas now he is amazing in post match interviews and even performs air guitar concerts.

Both men go into their 2011 title match using the strategies that worked in the past. Tanahashi works over Nagata’s leg with Dragon Screws, a Figure Four, and his awesome looking Texas Cloverleaf. Nagata goes to work on the arm including an amazing counter of the Sling Blade into the Nagata Lock II. Tanahashi blocks the Super Exploder, but that just means Nagata nails a really violent looking overhead Belly to Belly off the top. It is a great match in front of a super hot crowd. The crowds in Korakuen Hall are the best in the world. Tanahashi got the win there after a long back and forth finally countering a backdop suplex off the top and hitting his finish.

The 2011 G1 match is really good, but more of a greatest hits deal. The most interesting part of it was that going into the G1 Nagata had won the other two big Heavyweight Tournaments in Japan the New Japan Cup, which is how he got the aforementioned title shot, and All Japan’s Champion’s Carnival.

Here are some random thoughts: sad that we shoot past the at Tanahashi era here, however it will be covered in a later review of the time that Tanahashi and Nagata invaded NOAH. Tanahashi wearing trunks is weird. Tanahashi has the worst cauliflower ears ever. God, was New Japan in a bad way in the middle of the decade.

We leave New Japan and return to the World Wrestling Federation in our next edition. You may have noticed a pattern at this point. We take a look at a far more famous feud of former Tag Team Champions. Next Time: Shawn Michaels vs Marty Jannetty.

COME DISCUSS THIS FEATURE IN IT’S OFFICIAL THREAD ON THE RAJAH FORUMS!