Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa

[Guest permagrinning]

I just rented a tape that had like four matches highlight their feud. It ended with a tag match, which I don't understand. What I wanted to know though, because I don't know how to speak or read any type of japanese, what was the story here?

 

Hashimoto is a NJPW boy as far as I know, but Ogawa looks like a shoot fighter. Is this correct? If they're from differnt rings, how did the feud start, and more importantly, how did it end?

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Rolling German's has a nice little over-view of the feud in his review of the 1/4/02 dome show (which featured that tag you were talking about).

 

Because it doesn't mention it on there, the feud ended with Ogawa beathing Hash for the third straight time, with Hash then leaving NJPW and forming Zero One.

[Guest permagrinning]

damn, being able to know what's going on adds a lot to the matches. You get to pick up on the little things. Sweet fued though, and thank you for the help out.

[Guest Vyce]

Poor Hash.

 

To his credit, he did make the career of Ogawa.

 

To his disservice, he did make the career of Ogawa.

[Guest permagrinning]

Ogwa not really bloom into much after getting pushed so hard?

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Ogawa never really had anything to develope on, as he was never really a pro wrestler. He was a judo silver medalist that Inoki saw marketability in, and he was able to deliver strong TV numbers, so he got pushed. Of course, this was at the expense of Hash and everyone else, as he rairly, if ever, lost after the feud intensifified.

 

Then there's the infamous tag where he and Murakami refused to cooperate with Chosyu and Sasaki, embarising them and NJPW. Of course, they were just doing what they were instructed to by Inoki, and Chosyu had behaved unprofesionally numerous times over the course of his career, but Ogawa got heat for it, regardless. That's the thing with Ogawa: he's viewed as Inoki's puppet so all hate directed at Inoki is also directed to him by association. Because Ogawa has been kept away from New Japan and mainly out of the spotlight for some time, he hasn't been discussed much, but if he happens to become part of the current NJ/Inoki army feud, expect such hatefull discusion to resume.