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Ryuji Hijikata vs. Yuki Ishikawa (AJPW Only My Royal Road 2004)

Oh shoot, they're SHOOTING.

The more I consume pro wrestling, the more I'm scared by the fact the matches that I like the most are the ones that feel insecure and unhealthy. The kind of matches that I wouldn't subject myself to do in any scenario. Gritty, dangerous matches that just feel illegal to watch have been my most profound pleasure in the last stage of my wrestling consumption, because watching a 480p bloodbath fills you with much more adrenaline than anything you would imagine.

I learned to love the chaotic nature of a match that obviously is not cooperative in any way, shape or form, because in it lies somewhat of a sincerity that I would love to see explored in the modern age. Of course, its sincerity exists as a reminder that the best wrestling comes from people that legitimately HATE each other, because hate is the universal and prime feeling any human can understand.

Through the magic of violence we can learn a lot about these two wrestlers, but the thing that helps you *get* this match is definitely the fact that this is, indeed, a shoot. It's 2004, and Keiji Muto continues to run AJPW. At this point, Muto's booking is definitely weird and spontaneous because he's just booking a guy to appear and do something. The quality of that "something" is mysterious yet intriguing. This is an example, because this is Muto booking two guys that DESPISE each other for the sake of it.

Well...not for the sake of it, these two have a long history together, because Yuki Ishikawa, who ran BATTLARTS from 1996 to 2001 at that point in time was facing Ryuji Hijikata, a former BATTLARTS trainee who saw comfort in Muto's All Japan. Hijikata left BATTLARTS in 2001, a year when the company was struggling and slowing down. So, in the year 2004, Ishikawa sends All Japan a fax detailing he wants to beat the shit out of that bitch Hijikata for leaving his holy ground.

That's how we got here. And that's how you can understand why a sub-five minute match is SO cool, because yes, that's the word you should use to refer to this. Even in the nature of a shoot, there are fundamentals being shown here. There's an interest in showing urgency and drive because while this is two guys beating the shit out of each other, it's more about Hijikata standing up against Ishikawa because he *knows* he deserves this beating. Therefore, he tries to gain the advantage at the beginning, kicking and throwing Ishikawa over the guardrail. Although Hijikata starts the match great, he just lost it because of his audacity.

Ishikawa gets up and starts responding. He throws Hijikata into the stands of Korakuen Hall and then gives him closed fists while grabbing a facelock. When the poor boy tries to get inside the ring, he's received by an insane Gamengiri that just takes him out for good, and busts his orbital bone. Blood starts gushing all over Hijikata's face, and from this moment on he fights with nothing but a glimpse of the boy he was three minutes ago. There's fire in his strikes and slaps, but Ishikawa is a gritty bastard and meets him with something better in every occasion. He pulls up multiple Gamengiris, and an insane amount of punches that just work to open that wound Hijikata has. The boy is no longer efficient in his offense, and Ishikawa just enjoys himself because this is a beating he was waiting for years to give. It's the weird yet interesting setting in which morality actually plays a part in building a story for a match, and for everything that it is worth, it's one of the best examples of it.

Hijikata deserves everything Ishikawa throws at him, but at the same time, the fact this match ends like it does open the door for several scenarios in which both participants have their little and petty victories. Hijikata can say he was not beaten by Ishikawa, but Ishikawa can say he beat Hijikata so hard and in so short time, the referee didn't allow him to continue doing this match. It doesn't matter in which side you are in this one, because you're technically winning at the end of the day, but my correct assumption would be you're on Ishikawa's side, because Ishikawa is fucking cool and so is this match.

#yuki ishikawa #ryuji hijikata #BATTLARTS #all japan pro wrestling #ajpw #AJPW 2004