by Daniel Johnson
Riki Choshu vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Here is a nifty exhibition from yesteryear. In this case the yesteryear of 2007 is not that long ago though this clip features current 61 year old grappler, Riki Choshu. He is in his mid fifties here, but aside from the gut he barely looks it. The action is methodical with not a lot of fast paced action, but plenty of Choshu and Ishii feeling each other out.
Choshu gains the early advantage by pushing Ishii to the ground with a shoulder block. Ishii’s first successful offense is pretty weak as he performs a light chopfest in the corner. Tomohiro then adds insult to injury by placing Choshu in a sharpshooter, which of course Choshu helped innovate in the East. From there Ishii gets Riki back in the corner and this time comes alive with his blows. He must have thought of Kenta Kobashi because the forearms and Kenta-esque chops he lays in are vicious!
All these attacks eventually cause Choshu’s temper to go off. Choshu begins his comeback after Ishii fails to deliver a top rope move and instead gets punched to the mat by the wily veteran. From there Choshu wallops Ishii with not one, not two, but three lariats! The last of these moves looks like they nearly take Ishii’s head off! After the bout Choshu no doubt celebrated his spot as one of the cornerstones of modern Japanese wrestling and also as master of the Asian shake weight.
Categories: Wrestling Clips
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