Joseph and Colette Discuss Shinya Hashimoto vs. Nobuhiko Takada

BIG EGG EXPLODES as Joseph and Colette fight it out over which wrestling style, and which wrestler, reigns supreme.

NJPW

I’ve seen it said somewhere that if two people are within half a star or so of each other in their estimation of a match, they basically agree. Well if you look at Joseph’s **** & 1/4 star review of the dramatic conclusion to the NJPW/UWFi interpromotional war between Shinya Hashimoto and Nobuhiko Takada and my *** & 3/4 star review of the same match, you will see that that statement simply is not true. See, Joseph and I are genetic freaks, and we’re not normal Let this conversation between the two of us serve as something of a preview for what will happen when I join Joseph on his Twitch channel to sort out the BIG EGG MASTERLIST, coming soon!

Up Next: Another ungrateful NJPW exile returns home, and to the Tokyo Dome, with something to prove, and a stalwart loyalist opposing him. It’s Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yuji Nagata in a bloodbath for the ages — fire up those 17-year-old MVs, baby!

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Joseph Montecillo
A large part of New Japan's history, especially in the 80s and 90s, is built on interpromotional warfare. At this point in history, they've already taken on the original UWF, WAR, and now UWFi. Takada's the invader got the belt going into this Dome show and Hash is the home hero that's trying to bring it back. Where do you have this bout against other interpromotional bouts in wrestling?

Shinya Hashimoto Proves that Pro Wrestling is the Strongest

Colette Arrand
Here’s where I have to admit to a lack of familiarity with NJPW’s other interpromotional affairs, aside from their series against WCW. The idea of an interpromotional rivalry leaves me cold more often than not — maybe it’s the WWF InVasion angle, maybe it’s the politics that are otherwise at play, but it tends to feel like one side is conceding too much to make the whole thing run at all. A major exception to this within the realm of joshi wrestling. Dream Slam, baby! This one certainly has a more magisterial feel than most, a sense that the battlefield was a philosophical one, not merely a mutually agreed-upon business arrangement. It’s probably pretty high up the list!

Nobuhiko Takada Bets It All Against Shinya Hashimoto at the Dome and Loses

Joseph Montecillo
I will say I've only really dipped my toes into New Japan's other interpromotional stuff. Specifically, I've somehow only seen the early stages of both the original UWF and the WAR feuds. To your point, it's almost certainly true that UWFi gave up way too much ground here which is probably just New Japan's modus operandi when it comes to these kind of things. So ingrained in their DNA they did basically the same thing to NOAH in the last couple of years.