Hell yes.
Outside of AIW commentary real unfortunately repeatedly seeming to refer to Shigehiro Irie as “Shinjiro”, this is the exact match one would conjure up between these two on this stage. To a t. Not the most dramatic or wildest match that wrestlers like these two could have, it’s hardly a KO-D Title match or a Grand Championship match, these stages on which these two have done some of their largest scale work, but it is an absolutely delightful sort of AIW match.
From the start, Irie is in the role he fits best, the brick wall for Our Hero to struggle with and eventually chop down.
Kingston, as always, is one of the best wrestlers ever at conveying struggle. It’s not quite the best or deepest work of his career like that, but he’s just so great at communicating this concept of something he’s not ready for or that he has issues moving past. Irie isn’t mean, he’s not domineering, but he’s such a good obstacle. In terms of being someone who it is very easy to root for in a struggle against the larger Irie, Eddie Kingston is the American HARASHIMA (perhaps the greatest joy this match offers up is allowing me to type “Eddie Kingston is the American HARASHIMA”). We see the way he fights, we see the gears turning and the adjustments he makes, and in the end, he makes it such a fun and feel-good victory when he’s able to move past it.
Irie headbutts his way through two earlier tries at the Backfist to the Future (yes, I loved Eddie’s hand selling after this. is there a reason you’re asking?), so later on, Eddie catches him moving up with it instead of straight on in an obvious way the tank can see coming. His hand’s still hurt and so Irie wobbles instead of collapsing, forcing King to double up with a Half Nelson Suplex for the win.
Yet another great match like this from the sorts of guys who always wind up having great matches like this. Simple wrestling, but with enough heart and guts to always make it worth the watch. Eddie’s struggle here isn’t the most monumental one in the world, but slowly finding ways to shut down someone who he couldn’t for the first half of the match still has a way of landing right in that special sweet spot.
Lower stakes sort of dudes rock wrestling, but a match that offers all of those same thrills nonetheless.
HANDWERK 