This review was commissioned by Grappleholics over on my Ko-fi account.
Exactly the kind of freakshow Inokiism ass match that I want out of pro wrestling. Here we get Deathmatch Jesus, as he’s announced at the venue, Necro Butcher taking on MMA fighter turned pro wrestler Minowaman under the Antonio Inoki banner, and the mental image one gets is exactly what they deliver on. In one of the most styles-make-fights matches possible, this one’s all about the contrast between Necro Butcher’s grimy street brawling against Minowaman’s more disciplined MMA approach.
And really, what a whopper of a Necro Butcher performance here. He’s incredible at combining being an extremely sick guy with actually working heel in the moment. All his best offense feels underhanded while also coming across extremely gross. It’s a lot of biting and struggling against the ropes combined with the occasional stalling out on the floor to allow him to bring the fight to an environment more attuned to his style. He really threads the needle here of being both cheap and cowardly without diluting the better parts of his offensive barrages.
Necro also adds the most color to this, literally. He takes a full Nigel into the corner ringpost—paying for dragging the fight out there to begin with, mind you—and busts himself open on the steel. It’s a great wound, literally pouring all over both himself and Minowaman up to the end of the match. Necro adds so much physicality to it outside of that though, with a real staggered, punch drunk selling when the action comes back into the ring. He’s still crazy enough to throw a few great headbutts, but he eventually pays for it all in the end. Trying to stand toe to toe in a strike exchange, Necro has enough crazy in his body to fight back but Minowaman eventually wins the duel and comes out victorious with a leg submission in the end.
A real great example of what Necro Butcher really adds to a match, in a setting that isn’t strictly in his favor. Out here in Japan, against a shoot-esque worker, Necro brings a lot of classic American buffoonery and grittiness to create something truly special. It’s a lot of blood and selling, but at the core of it, it’s just good ass pro wrestling. Necro proving that pro wrestling is the strongest style, if not on the books, then certainly in spirit.
Rating: ****
