Welcome to another edition of #FinisherFriday! This is Wreddit_Regal highlighting one AJPW native's quick but deadly finisher.
What happens when a practiced judoka steps into the world of professional wrestling? A Japanese slam machine happens, chap. The independent circuit and AJPW mainstay Koji Iwamoto has been driving many a wrestler into the mat for about nine years, and to stellar results. As a junior heavyweight, he won the Jr. Battle of Glory two times and the AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship a record three times. He also takes pride in his cooperative nature, bagging the All Asia Tag Team Championship two times (alongside Jake Lee).
Every time he has a match, he delivers his arsenal of judo throws, holds, and counters in such a way that would make our resident judo practitioner George proud:
His finisher is nothing short of explosive, which he calls Koko no Geijutsu:
This has parallels to the judo move called the harai goshi:
One important facet of moves that the Japanese pro wrestling hasn't forgotten is that the end result means everything: they don't care if it doesn't look as flashy as its Western counterparts; if it's easy to use and can incapacitate the opponent long enough for a three-count, then it's good as a finisher. That's why you see lots of German suplex and lariat variations used as finishers in puroresu (which I definitely like, thank you very much).
Using my Regal Rating, I would give the move a:
8/10 for aesthetics. Most of the time it's very crisp, but then you have matches where he pulls it off like this one (which kinda kills off the vibe):
9/10 for damage. Like most judo throws, it utilizes the opponent's momentum and uses it against them, while adding some of their own weight on top of the opponent's body weight. This leads to a throw that concentrates on the opponent's thoracic spine and lungs, which can definitely knock the wind out of them.
And that's it chaps, my short presentation of the Koko no Geijutsu! Do you have finishers in mind that you would like to be featured here? Let us know in the comment section below!
Wreddit_Regal is the resident sports kinesiologist of Reddit's wrestling forum, r/squaredcircle. From the most basic of punches to the most intricate double-team maneuvers, he can explain them within the realm of human anatomy and physics, because when doing absolutely nothing wrestling-related, he also happens to work as an operating room nurse.
: Koko no Geijutsu){kind=link}