Naito vs Tsuji at Sakura Genesis, when I watched it live was kind of a dissappointment for me.
Too long, too slow, never kicked into high gear.
However, after seeing some comments and a discussion with a friend, I decided to give it a rewatch.
This time though, the match started clicking a lot more because I noticed the tremendous storytelling in the match more clearly.
A consistent part of Tsuji’s matches so far were that they usually don’t go any longer than around 22 minutes. That is also usually were Tsuji hits a critical point and the match either slows down a lot (see the Hair vs Hair match vs Uemura) or the match is decided by this point. SANADA and Ospreay were able to win their matches in around those times which is how Tsuji’s fatal flaw which is his lack of stamina didn’t exactly show (though even at the end of his match against Ospreay, you can tell he ran out of options).
This is what went into how the story of this particular match. Tsuji dominating early on, with a lot of flash offense showing off before Naito can even fight back.
But then around 16-17 minutes, the momentum starts completely shifting. Tsuji’s offense dies down almost completely, and a lot of this offense he can’t properly complete. His combo which ends with a curbstomped looked really week, his offense has a lot of gaping holes and he can not follow up on pin attempts, complete with a failed Spanish Fly from the top rope (the japanese commentary hinted that he was trying that before he did an Avalance Brainbuster instead).
It’s only near the end Tsuji can finally get some momentum but his damaged neck and drained stamina make it impossible for him to finish Naito off.
And when you look at Tsuji’s face expressions.. it really just pays off. You can really see how worn out he is, yet still able to deliver full force offense once in a while. I think this match proofed once again, just good of a Wrestler Tsuji and that once he becomes a more permanent Main Eventer, he will be one of NJPW’s best.
Of course, this could all just be copium from me. With 2 of my NJPW favorites, I expected a high octane matched and kinda refused to believe this match would be anything other than that. When that didn’t happen, I ended up dissappointed while watching live…
It’s not a MOTYC for me (Miyu Yamashita vs Miu Watanabe at Wrestle Princess 2024 is my current MOTY so far), but it was a lot better than I gave it credit for initially.
Addendum: This was also Tsuji’s first 30+ minute match.
by MrEinFan
