Tamon Honda vs Hayato Mashita-Fortune Dream 8.6.2014.

Apparently this Mashita guy worked Battlarts and Real Japan, it still doesn't ring a bell, I don't remember ever hearing about him. He's basically a poor man's Munenori Sawa here-nothing bad, but nothing especially good either-he throws some kicks and that's about it. Honda is still a joy to watch-the way he grinds a Headlock is a thing of beauty so watching this goof try to escape it over and over again and constantly failing was quite fun. Honda busts some of his signature submissions and pins, not many as the briefness of the match didn't allow him to. A fun and easy watch if you have four minutes to kill. ***

Gary Albright vs Tamon Honda-AJPW 12.9.1995.

Such a neat match. They're both former amateur wrestlers and that's what the match is focused on, you see a lot of mirror spots and one-upmanship. Mostly it's Albright throwing Honda around, since he's the bigger man, but Honda gets some stuff in too and the crowd goes wild when he does, and it's beliavable enough since he's a pretty big man himself and they didn't go all the way with it. Honda would try to German Supley Albright, but instead be forced to go for a takedown or switch it into another Suplex since it was just too ambitious. Albright's Suplexes (and offencein general) are beautiful, but it's really Honda who carries the match-milking the most out of submissions and giving everything urgency. The way he desperately fights off a Dragon Suplex and tries to roll out of the ring are reminiscent of the classic he had with Kobashi. There is some repetition, in that they go for Armbars a lot, and Honda relies on the Headbutt, but both of those are given satisfying pay-offs, akin to a long headlock in a Thesz match-there's something special about going "really, another Armbar? I think they're going overboard" and just as you're processing that thought Albright escapes the hold and punches Honda straight in the face. ***3/4