MOTW 65: Astronauts vs Crazy Lovers
“M.O.T.W. #65: 'Astronauts' (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura) vs. 'Crazy Lovers' (Masashi Takeda & Takumi Tsukamoto)" - ink & digital illustration
Hi friends! Hope everyone had a bloody lovely Chrissy & are enjoying some well-deserved chill-time. I’ve had a fair bit on lately, but never enough to stop our ‘Match of the Week’ illustration series! I watched this one on my train ride up to the new property on Christmas Eve - so I guess you can consider this our slightly late ‘Christmas edition’ of the series.
This super-interesting, super-unique bout took place back on Feb 8th, 2023 - the semi final of last years’ BJW Saikyou Tag League at the Cult-Wrestling hub that is Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo.
I’d had this match on my computer for ages & for whatever reason, in my state of complete exhaustion after a massive Oddities & Curiosities weekend in Sydney (& a lovely little 15 hr train ride home thereafter) I decided this was the perfect time! …& man I was so happy that I did!
This match was such a breath of fresh air. A way-intriguing melding of styles & wrasslin' ideologies. Shoot-style vs Deathmatch Wrestling with just so much heart from start to finish. I loved the dynamic of the cocky, young Astronaut-punks to the highly decorated Deathmatch-duo of the lovers. This initially got on my watch-list as from the little of the Astronauts I’ve seen so far, I’ve LOVED them (both great singles wrestlers as well). I’m also a big fan of Takeda’s - with his Shoot-style background in addition to his legendary Deathmatch work. After watching this, I was also highly impressed by Tsukamoto!
I really loved every moment - especially the crazy level of intensity from the opening bell. I’d highly recommend this one to all (even if Hardcore Wrestling is not necessarily your cup of tea). It’s up free on Big Japan’s YouTube channel.
ENJOY!
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