I guess it's easy to draw parallels because Ishikawa is a Fujiwara trainee, so when you already know that you're looking for moments where Fujiwara would do something similar against a big stiff like Krueger, but even still this felt very much like a Yoshiaki Fujiwara performance against a big stiff. Actually "big stiff" might be a touch unfair because Kreuger is maybe sort of okay, but the general point remains the same. Ishikawa had to try a few different strategies, regroup and re-plan, approach the problem from different angles, while Kreuger - an enormous bastard - would not be moved and tried to brute force his way to victory. Not all of his stuff looks great but when it does land it lands with a thud, which of course Ishikawa sells great. This may be the best Krueger singles match I've seen so that's pretty cool, I guess.
Daisuke Ikeda & Shoichi Funaki v Yuki Ishikawa & Naohiro Hoshikawa (Battlarts, 3/13/97)
This was decent when Funaki and Hoshikawa were in together, really good when either of them were in with one of the Godkings, and transcendent when the Godkings were in with each other. Ikeda was amazing here. He's legendary as a brutal mauler but this showed how good he could be as a wounded animal. His ribs were taped up and he had a few incredible moments of selling, like when Hoshikawa just punched him in the kidneys and Ikeda buckled over like he'd been shot. Ishikawa didn't outright target them, but in true Ishikawa fashion he did full force punt him in the ribs a few times. In true Ikeda fashion he responded by hitting a lariat straight to Ishikawa's ear.
Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono v Yuki Ishikawa & Naohiro Hoshikawa (Battlarts, 3/14/97)
Just Ikeda and Ishikawa plastering each other about the head for the second night in a row like a couple of nutcases. Very normal behaviour, practically a monkey show. This was an upgrade on the previous night's match, though I suppose it would be impossible for Funaki to Ono not to be an upgrade. As always Team Taco were absurd in their pin and submission break-ups, both of them sauntering into the ring to thump someone in the chest or head or neck, almost irrespective of how much danger their partner happened to be in at the time. Hoshikawa played more of an outright face in peril here and I liked the structure that gave the match. It's hard not to draw at least some sympathy when Ikeda and Ono are obliterating you so it was good stuff. Then Ikeda's taped up ribs came into play again, and late in the match it was him who wound up being isolated for a spell. Hoshikawa nailed him with what was basically a top rope shining wizard, then Ikeda paid him back tenfold with an absolute motherfucker of a lariat. This about took Hoshikawa out his boots such was the TRUCULENCE of it and whenever you get to use the word truculence in a match review you know you're in seven star territory.
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