Featured image by The Ringside Perspective
Writing about matches like this isn’t really my strong suit. Shoot style’s a major blind side in my pro wrestling viewing so people like Ishikawa & Ikeda exist to me only as wrestlers that others say are all time greats. I have no reason to dispute that opinion but I just haven’t been exposed to their work to have any real connection to them.
Makabe, however, is someone I’m a big fan of as anyone who follows this blog or my Twitter will know. Makabe has gone on record as citing guys like Ishikawa as a major influence on his style and it’s clear from the go that it means a lot to him to be working this match. It’s a narrative worked into the text of the match itself as the commentators emphasize how much respect and reverence both Makabe & Ridgeway have for their competitors.
The wrestling itself is tight, precise, snug, and full of struggle especially when Makabe’s in there tying it up with Ishikiawa & Ikeda. Ridgeway focuses more on the standing game, throwing some nice looking elbows and kicks which both Ishikawa & Ikeda return in kind. Even though I’m not someone who can read the kind of shoot style wrestling that Ishikawa and Ikeda have mastered, watching them perform still instills a certain sense of awe. I don’t always know what’s happening but I’m entirely certain that Ishikiwa & Ikeda know exactly what they’re doing and that they’re doing it well.
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