We’re going back to March 2005 as Yoshinari Ogawa’s only trip to wXw makes the best of 2005 list.
Andy Jackson’s here to give some backstory – continuing the “elevation to a new level” story as this was the same show that Misawa was on. There’s mention of some behind-the-scenes issues with Bosporus that ultimately led to wXw severing ties with him in 2007… but they don’t go into detail as Andy just pitches to the match.
Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Murat Bosporus
Having watched Ogawa in 2021, I have no problem believing that he’s still wearing the same trunks to this very day…
We get going with some lock-ups that end in the ropes, before some headscissors on the mat were escaped by Bosporus. Murat takes down Ogawa for an armbar, but they go back-and-forth, with Ogawa’s side headlock getting countered into a hammerlock before they broke in the ropes. Ogawa stings Bosporus with a chop, then got one in return… so he paintbrushes Bosporus with some more chops before Murat dragged him down to the mat in a front chancery. An armbar followed, then an overhead wristlock on the mat, before Ogawa pulled Bosporus to the outside, fighting below the balcony where the hard camera was positioned.
Back inside, Ogawa begins to chop away on Bosporus some more, with Murat firing back in kind, forcing Ogawa to roll onto the apron for some respite. Resetting, Ogawa drops Bosporus with a couple of chinbreakers, then ran him between the corners before tripping him to the mat for a leglock. Bosporus manages to get free… but that left leg’s got a target on it as Ogawa works over it. Bosporus fights back by taking Ogawa into the corner for some chops, getting a two-count out of it, before a suplex drew another two-count. A slam and an elbow drop gets Murat another two-count, before he went back into the corner for some chops.
We cross the ten minute mark as Ogawa looked to go for a suplex, but Bosporus pulled him down into a Fujiwara-ish armbar, but Ogawa’s able to get to the ropes. Clotheslines keep Ogawa at bay, with Bosporus taking him from corner to corner ahead of a belly-to-belly suplex, before a bridging German suplex almost got the win.
Another slam dumps Ogawa, with Murat threading up top for a nice frog splash… but it’s still not enough! So Bosporus goes back up, and misses a second splash off the top, which deflated the crowd. From there, Ogawa gets back up to crack Bosporus with an enziguiri, before Murat POWERED out of a cover from a back suplex. Think “Yokozuna eliminating Macho Man at the Rumble” for the air he got there…
Ogawa is quickly back with punches, before he sidestepped a charge from Bosporus in the corner and put him away with a schoolboy roll-up. Loved that finishing stretch, with Bosporus’ perhaps being on too much of a tear to control himself, and ended up coming out with the loser’s share of the purse here.
Result: Yoshinari Ogawa pinned Murat Bosporus in 13:08 (***¾)