(NOAH) Akitoshi Saito's N-1 evaluation: Masato Tanaka

1st August 2022

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He has travelled through various promotions and done various styles of match formats. No matter who is strong and fast in auto racing, the driver and the car will change depending on whether the environment is set up just for driving on the circuit or off road. It would be surprising if there was both a driver and a car, who could run on both of these conditions at the top. This is wrestler Masato Tanaka, who has done everything from normal style to deathmatches.

Considering how he has been driving so far, I think of a rally like that of a suburban mountain pass with little traffic, a rally that runs of forest roads, farm roads and an access road on private lands. In the rally competition, in addition to the driver, there is a person who gets into the passenger seat who is called the navigator, who uses a built in wired communication machine in the helmet, which helps the driver by communicating, so he can concentrate on driving both physically and mentally. But in his case, he does not have a navigator, and went on alone. It may be better to say that that samurai on horseback of medieval times, gathered in castles when war started from various places. 

Since I like cars, I have likened his story to a car, but even in pro wrestling the normal way of fighting and way of fighting in a death match are conditions which are too different, and the choices made to win the match are quite different. But either way you can rely on Tanaka, he has the "Sliding D". Speaking of strikes, the fist is used for punching, elbows, knees, shins used for kicks (including feet and ankles) and headbutts etc. Mainly he uses the hard part of the body and small number of component parts are exposed, if there are big joints and he can damage the opponent with less load of himself, a head butt, an elbow or a knee may be given. Out of all of these, the elbow has the most accurate motion. He slides while running at an opponent from the front, who is in a state where it is difficult to escape the impact as they are sitting down...the elbow is hit hard...impact on the jaw...that is the Sliding D. 

"Rough Road" Tanaka has been running not only on rough grasslands, gravel and sand, but also on muddy and rocky areas where it is difficult for people to walk, but where wheeled vehicles can enter. The Bullet Elbow drives "D", Tanaka is the "Initial D".

Translated from Noah.Note.Co.Jp

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