ZERO1
Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)
The first match of 2014 for the also-ran-promotion known as ZERO1, features two guys hitting each other really hard.
Daichi does not look much like his late father. If you are like me, then when Daichi first debut several years ago you imagined a fat guy with Elvis side burns and baggy pants kicking guys hard. Daichi, of course, looks nothing like his father. The weight difference is the most notable and there are no sideburns or baggy pants. Where he does resemble his father is in his tendency to throw a lot of hard strikes.
Going up against the larger and more veteran Kohei Sato, Hashimoto peppers in a bunch of forearms in the early-going to little success. Sato reacts to the forearm smashes as if a gnat flew into his face – they are nothing more than an annoyance. With Sato not giving much and Hashimoto’s offense looking ineffectual as a result, the match almost stalls before it even gets starter. Than one – or likely a series – of Hashimoto blows causes a giant welt smack-dab in the middle of Sato’s forehead. It’s a sign – perhaps an unnecessary one – that Hashimoto’s striking can do damage even if Sato appears on the surface to be unaffected by it.
From that point on, the match picks up. Sato continues to thwart Hashimoto’s forearms for the most part, but the young Hashimoto peppers in some kicks as well which slowly but surely do some damage. Daichi – like father like son – throws a really nice, stiff kick. Sato eventually has enough and throws together a few power moves – including a brutal looking piledriver – to put Hashimoto away.
In terms of stiffness and brutality, this one is up there. If two guys beating the hell out of each other for ten minutes is your thing than this match will not disappoint.
Stiff| Watchable | Quality
