| Simon Watches NOAH - 2000s | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 24 2013, 02:30 PM (5,312 Views) | |
| Big Tuna | Mar 9 2014, 04:22 AM Post #21 |
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The Master and Ruler Of The World
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KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi, 3/1/2003 On NOAH's biggest ever show, the junior division gets around 15-20 minutes to shine, and they knock it out of the park. Marufuji and KENTA's actual tag team debuts here, and they have incredible chemistry. KENTA and Kanemaru began with an incredibly heated war for the first two or three minutes, and while it settled down, they never really got anything with as much heat or fire as that part. Good control stuff on KENTA from the Sternness pair, and Marufuji's hot tag and the finishing run were great. Marufuji and Hashi have some great counters and Marufuji gets a roll up to win! ***1/2 Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito vs. Tamon Honda/Takashi Sugiura, 3/1/2003 This is more of an angle than a match at only 7 minutes, but it's a great angle and it's these great turns away from puro norms that are making NOAH into THE company in 2003 at this point. Honda as Kobashi's #2 makes a much more threatening pair than Kobashi/Shiga, so with Kobashi busy, STERNNESS IMMEDIATELY TRIES TO TAKE OUT HONDA HOLY SHIT. A fake Akiyama comes out to distract the other team, AND AKIYAMA COMES FROM THE CROWD. SPIKE PILEDRIVER TO HONDA ON THE FLOOR! WHOA! He survives it in the ring, and Sugiura also got knocked down by something. They move to Honda's heavily taped up knee and get super vicious there. Sugi briefly gets in to save, but is overmatched and tags Honda back in. Akiyama hits a Flying Knee to Honda's outstretched knee held by Saito and puts on a Half Crab. The ref stops the match. **1/2 Mitsuharu Misawa [c] vs. Kenta Kobashi [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 3/1/2003 The passing of the torch. It's one of those matches that inspire a more bomb and head drop heavy style of epic, but at the same time, they build up to everything so well. The best way to put it is that they earned their epic stature before they started to unload the heavy stuff. They get bigger and bigger all the time, but they build things up throughout the match and tease and block and reverse lots of things, so it never feels like it's peaked before the end and they sell the exhaustion and cumulative damage more and more. It's not their best match together, because it's not better than 1/20/97 and it might not be better than the October 97 match either, but it's a classic, unlike their last few ones in AJPW. Kobashi uses the Burning Hammer to finally beat Misawa for a top singles title and to become the GHC Champion, which is VERY important in the puro history of the 2000s. Misawa has now passed the torch and Kobashi is definitively the Ace. ****1/4 Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Jun Izumida vs. Takeshi Rikio/Takeshi Morishima/Daisuke Ikeda, 3/16/2003 This is a step down from the last one, but it does some good stuff. Sternness vs. Morishima/Marufuji is being built up as a Tag Title match for April, so Mori spends a lot of this going after the champions. Ikeda will hit a motherfucker SUPER hard, so him vs. Akiyama is good. This is my first time seeing Izumida in the review, and he's alright. WILD 2 JUMPS AKIYAMA TO START AND IT TURNS INTO A FULL ARENA BRAWL?! WHAT THE FUCK? I FUCKING LOVE NOAH 2003! IKEDA GETS INTO A CONCESSION STAND BRAWL WITH AKIYAMA! They settle back into a nice normal slugfest in the ring and Rikio and Izumida have a shockingly great fat man hate fight. Rikio wins with a Lariat! ***1/4 Akitoshi Saito vs. Tamon Honda [#1 Contender's Match], 3/30/2003 I wish there was more hate here after the events of March 1st, but with the prize being a title shot, I get it. Honda is a career midcarder now starting to break out after he's built an arsenal of big finishers, so he's not going to try anything risky here, and Saito has never had a title shot. Saito eventually targets the knee but he uses it more to put Honda off balance, since he's not a big submission guy. Honda sells really well though! He doesn't need his leg for his Rolling Olympic Hells though, which is a series of different rolling submission holds. The main one involves an Arm Triangle. Saito keeps going to the knee to escape it, so Honda puts on a reverse Arm Triangle from behind and Saito passes out. *** Jun Akiyama/Makoto Hashi vs. Takeshi Morishima/Naomichi Marufuji, 3/30/2003 More tag match build! The obvious result is Hashi getting beaten by the #1 Contender team to build the title match, but Hashi also knows this and fights like hell to not let his mentor and hero Akiyama down AGAIN. This is what I fucking love about NOAH in 2003, it seems like everyone has some kind of story. Akiyama is clearly the #1 heel in the company right now, but his sidekick is a lovable guy like Hashi, so it's not just a cut and dry thing. Hashi gets in over his head and is overexcited and gets pummelled by Morishima. SO AKIYAMA STEPS IN TO DEFEND HIS LITTLE BUDDY FUCK YEAH!?! They get into kind of an amazing brawl before a great control segment on Hashi. Akiyama has enough and finally gets involved to isolate Marufuji, but looks annoyed at having to do so and makes Hashi get right back in. Akiyama gets a Rear Chinlock on that makes the peak 2004 level Ortonlock look like child's play. Awesome finishing run, as Marufuji throws shit against the wall. He can't beat Akiyama yet, but he CAN distract him long enough for Morishima to wreck Hashi, which is what happens. After a Backdrop Driver, Maru gets back in and Mori keeps Akiyama at bay as Marufuji hits Hashi with the Shiranui to win. ***3/4 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 10 2014, 12:07 AM Post #22 |
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Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Takuma Sano vs. Yoshihiro Takayama/Daisuke Ikeda/Takashi Sugiura, 4/5/2003 ALL DIS STIFFNESS. It takes a while to get going because they didn't need 30 minutes AT ALL, but once they get going with the punishment, it's fantastic. Kobashi vs. Takayama rules, Kikuchi is still a very good face in peril, etc. Sugi continues to show flashes, but isn't quite there yet, so this is best when it's Kobashi vs. Takayama or Ikeda. Kikuchi ends up getting beaten by Ikeda with a Death Valley Driver. *** Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito [c] vs. Takeshi Morishima/Naomichi Marufuji [GHC Tag Team Championship], 4/5/2003 This is on that same kind of level where it has some great great parts, but kind of falls down in the middle because they didn't need 20+ minutes for this. I say that especially regarding Morishima, who lacks the stamina of the veterans at this point or interesting moveset of Marufuji to kill time. Akiyama/Marufuji shows itself as an incredible match up, and the finishing run is awesome. Marufuji leads the way with some great nearfalls, but Saito's power and experience is too much for him. Steiner Screwdriver puts down the young junior overachiever. *** Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Takashi Sugiura vs. KENTA/Kotaro Suzuki, 4/13/2003 This ruled once it got going. KENTA's shouler and bicep were taped up, and Kanemaru and Young Sugi went after it. Kataro had a hot tag that was like 75% good, and KENTA got back in. He sold the arm really well for some great nearfalls, and KENTA vs. Sugiura was wonderful. Suzuki gets back in at the end so somebody can lose the match and Sugiura beats him with the Ankle Lock. *** Yoshihiro Takayama [c] vs. Takeshi Rikio [NWF Heavyweight Championship], 4/13/2003 Takayama drags Rikio to greatness! The NWF title is a belt from the 70s and 80s that was largely the predecessor to the IWGP Title. Inoki brought it back and put it on Takayama in NJPW at this time. This match is Takayama doing Takayama things, so he hits really fucking hard and motivates Rikio to be a man and hit him hard back for 15 minutes. It takes a while to get going because Rikio REALLY has to be dragged to it, but Takayama has his way. Everest German gets him the win. *** Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Tamon Honda [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 4/13/2003 A GOD DAMNED CLASSIC! Kobashi starts a GOAT level title reign with a trademark of a GOAT champion, elevating a career midcarder in the span of one match. Honda lacks the strength or firepower of a Kobashi, but Kobashi has a taped up elbow and Honda's only hope is on the mat. He keeps it there and excels, but Kobashi starts to target the neck with big stuff. Honda very carefully negotiates it though, AND HITS A GERMAN SUPLEX ON THE WOOD RAMP! YEAH! Where as Kobashi wanted to focus on the neck so that he could distract Honda and hit big moves, Honda hit a big move so Kobashi would be too hurt to stop him when he went for the arm this time. A wonderful reversal there. Kobashi's selling on the comeback was awesome, and they had a surprising amount of effective nearfalls. Kobashi cuts off an arm thing with a Sleeper Suplex and then hits the Burning Lariat to win. ****1/4 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 12 2014, 01:05 AM Post #23 |
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Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA vs. Yoshihiro Takayama/Daisuke Ikeda/Takashi Sugiura, 5/9/2003 This is great! Takayama has just won the IWGP Heavyweight Title, so this is a first to get the IWGP and GHC Champions in the same ring fighting each other. And yeah, there's also the whole KENTA/Sugiura issue there in the background. You hear the word "methodical" a lot to cover for stuff being needlessly slow, but this was methodical done right. They built interest in the main stuff early and then slowed down with some great feeling out stuff on the mat. Honda gets torn up because he's older and dumpy and KENTA rushes in and gets beat up, so there's a great minor story of Kobashi getting slowly stuck by himself. Kobashi realizes it and tries to start a brawl on the floor to give his guys a shot, BUT TAKAYAMA OVERPOWERS HIM?! HOLY SHIT. HE TAKES KOBASHI OUT BRIEFLY, AND SUGI AND IKEDA HIT A SPIKE PILEDRIVER TO KENTA ON THE STAGE AND WHIP HONDA INTO A ROW OF CHAIRS! They isolate the boy KENTA back inside and he shows a ton of fight. Kobashi briefly gets in, but KENTA tags himself back in because he's pissed off. Good finishing run, and Honda makes Sugi tap to the Olympic Hell. ***1/4 KENTA/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi/Takashi Sugiura, 5/11/2003 YEAH MORE JUNIORS STUFF! KENTA hates everybody. Kotaro is hungry. Kikiuchi sort of is dragged into this as KENTA's stablemate and doesn't have a ton of problems with them. Kikuchi gets his cheek split open and gets ALL fired up so now he cares about this. KENTA beats the faces in on all the heels. ANOTHER CROWD BRAWL YEAH! KIKUCHI IS THROWN THROUGH A FUCKING WALL! They get back inside to isolate Kotaro and have a nice little finishing run for the talent they have in here. Kotaro is super inexperienced, Sugi isn't there yet, Kikuchi is starting to lose it, so that's half the match that shouldn't be having matches that are great, but hey. Hashi beats Kotaro with sort of a proto-Here It Is Driver. *** In the next match, we get the debut of Kobashi's "BLAZIN" theme song that he had during his title run. It's a G.O.A.T. level theme, both ridiculous and super Japanese and then victorious sounding and super catchy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w29QjvGg3U4 Tamon Honda (c)/Kenta Kobashi/KENTA/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Akitoshi Saito (c)/Jun Akiyama/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi [Captains Fall Elimination Match], 5/14/2003] YEAH LONG STUFF AGAIN! This goes like 40 minutes like an elimination match should, and this time we get all of it! The #2 guys are the captains to change some stuff up here and during the intros, a crawl on the screen (I'm assuming) announces the June 6th tag title match between Akiyama/Saito and Kobashi/Honda. It starts off with a huge brawl, and as Kobashi is busy on the floor, Hashi rolls up Kikuchi in under 5 minutes to win! Burning beats up Hashi next, and they get nice and violent. The match opens up into an outstanding KENTA/Hashi nearfall run, and KENTA uses the Busaiku Knee as a finisher for the first time to even it up at 3v3 and eliminate Hashi. They basically restart it now with Kobashi and Akiyama having another fantastic showdown. Honda gets in, but Akiyama targets his bad leg. KENTA gets targeted after that, and it's all really fast and different stuff each time. Shockingly, a Honda/Saito run happens around 40 minutes in, and the match ends with only three eliminations when Saito hits his Sickle of Death enzuiguri for the win. ***1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 13 2014, 01:13 PM Post #24 |
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Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi [Best of Three Falls], 6/1/2003 Another long one, as they work the gimmick right. I haven't seen a lot of these less famous matches before, but 2003 NOAH is appealing to my fringe wrestling tastes more than any promotion I've watched since late 2000s CHIKARA, but in a whole different way. That appealed to the love of insane comedy and long running feuds, but this has lots of crowd brawling, hard striking, storytelling and feud advancement through tags, AND insane match stipulations like this. They start hot with Kobashi/Akiyama and KENTA/Kanemaru before it slows down with Honda/Saito. I feel like I'm being a little unfair to Honda and Saito because they're really great wrestlers and have awesome match resumes, but they're not dynamic like Kobashi, Akiyama, KENTA, or Hashi at this point, so it always feels like a lesser pairing. Hashi is a lunatic and hits like 30-50 headbutts in a row on Kobashi to finally stop an offensive. Former headbutt king Kikuchi responds with the mother of the SUPER stiff indy headbutts we saw from 2005-2009 or so. It opens up a little more, and Akiyama beats Kikuchi with the Exploder to go 1-0. They have another good Kobashi/Akiyama restart showdown. This match is a really great example of how to go long here as there's constantly GOOD stuff, but they don't start with big moves or constant big exchanges for a while. KENTA is a wonderful FIP again. There's some awesome nearfalls off of Sternness teamwork since it's nearing 40 minutes and you can buy a 2-0 win, but Kobashi gets in and wrecks Hashi with a Lariat to go 1-1. Akiyama goes wild with Exploders, but Honda stops him. Honda/Saito again gets the ending focus, and Honda wraps Saito up in kind of an STF/Border City Stretch combo and rolls him on his shoulders for the pin! Really kind of anticlimactic end that holds this back from classic status. ***3/4 KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Takashi Sugiura, 6/6/2003 YEAH KENTAFUJI STUFF! ONLY 15 MINUTES TOO! This is a textbook example of a well done spotfest, as there's no attempt at the normal framework of wrestling as they just do a lot of back and forth, but they build it from the ground up and the escalation is great. There's some awesome double teams by both sides, great spots, and some really dramatic nearfalls since I have no idea who wins this. KENTA survives two Diving DDTs and gets a cradle for a nearfall, but Kanemaru again puts down his archrival with the Brainbuster. ***1/4 Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takeshi Morishima, 6/6/2003 This is only five minutes, but it's also fucking great, and better than Takayama/Rikio. Morishima comes at the god with actual fire and stiffness, and Takayama returns it in kind. Short, simple, and sweet, as Takayama knocks Morishima down and out like the IWGP Champion should to a young boy from a rival company. Takayama then makes him pass out to a Triangle Choke. YEAH! *** Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Takuma Sano, 6/6/2003 I'm glad Misawa's still in this review. He doesn't do a lot for a while after losing the title, but he deserves some points anyways. This isn't amazing, but it's two great wrestlers and veterans throwing down for 15-20 minutes. Misawa is great at these kind of lower level wars, and he elevates Sano in defeat as Sano becomes a full time NOAH guy and could use a boost for when he's working with next generation guys. There's some big strikes and submissions, and while there's no moment where it looks like Sano has a shot at actually winning, it's a great Misawa showcase match. Sano kicks out of a three elbow combo but goes down to the Emerald Frosion. *** Yuji Nagata vs. Akira Taue, 6/6/2003 Nagata is coming off losing the IWGP Title in May and looking for a new goal, so he's come to NOAH and he begins his 11 year quest for the GHC Heavyweight Title. Taue is the first road block, AND TAUE EMERGES LIKE HE HASN'T IN YEARS TO DEFEND HIS COMPANY?! FUCK YEAH TAUE! This is incredibly simple but it feels like the hugest deal in the world because Taue is such a master of getting the most out of a basic style. He throws his bombs early because he's an older guy and his time is passing while Nagata is in his prime. Nagata survives the Chokeslams and avoids the HUGE match ending bombs before he starts in with his stuff. Taue has some hope spots and great nearfalls and counters, but Nagata is too strong. If you're a Taue fan like me, this is a classic. If you're not, it's still a really great match. Taue survives Exploders, Backdrop Holds, etc., but he goes down to the still unbroken Nagata Lock III, which is his Rings of Saturn. **** Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito [c] vs. Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda [GHC Tag Team Championship], 6/6/2003 This is another classic, as NOAH puts on a really wonderful show. Honda is a midcarder getting another main event shot and really has something to prove. Akiyama constantly puts him down and shoves him around like garbage, and Saito is the bully emboldened by his stronger leader who constantly oversteps his bounds but rarely gets any kind of punishment. The match starts with the best Akiyama/Kobashi segment of the year and never really steps down. In setting the match up as Honda's big step up, they begin with Honda going to the mat for the one thing he excels at. Except it's easy to forget because he's been a pro for 11 years and uses a lot more strikes, but Akiyama was a fucking brilliant amateur wrestler and hangs with him there unlike anyone in NOAH's been able to. Kobahsi evens it up, so Sternness takes to the floor. FUCKING SPIKE PILEDRIVER TO HONDA ON THE FLOOR! YEAH! Great control segment and Kobashi eventually gets in. He returns the favor with A GOD DAMNED HALF NELSON SUPLEX ON THE RAMP TO AKIYAMA! Kobashi makes Saito pay finally and Honda gets in. There's some awesome nearfalls as this pairing was clearly saving everything great they had for this moment. Akiyama gets back in to save. Kobasho goes to take him out, BUT AKIYAMA GETS THE JUMP ON KOBASHI WITH AN EXPLODER ON THE FLOOR! More great stuff, but Kobashi is back in time to save. He cuts off Saito and Honda hits TWO Dead End Germans in a row and the Rolling Olympic Hell into kind of a cradle pin for the win! Honda is now a pretty big deal in theory, as Kobashi and Akiyama made him a firm upper midcarder in the span of 30 minutes. The key was how Honda actually got to survive a lot before Kobashi saved him from the big death moves that nobody but a Kobashi or Misawa would kick out of. NOAH's MOTY so far. ****1/2 KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji/Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jushin Liger/Takehiro Murahama/Ricky Marvin, 6/29/2003 This is a precursor to the Junior Tag Title Tournament. Most of that is missing besides the finals, but whatever. Ricky Marvin is back on the scene with 3 years more experience and is MUCH better. Murahama is fantastic, Liger is yet again the king of all assholes when he invades NOAH and a perfect foil for KENTA and Marufuji. Marvin guides Kotaro through super fast stuff to start and the pace stays that way for most of the next 16-17 minutes. The 6/6 KENTAFuji tag was a study in how to make a 15 minute spotfest devoid of anything but cool moves work, and this is a study in how to get some great character work and build to future matches in what's mostly a spotfest too. Although with Liger being an asshole and actually building future stuff, it can't by definition be a pure spotfest. WHATEVER. IT RULED. WATCH IT. KENTAFuji makes their argument as THE Japanese team of the 2000s and Liger continues to cement himself as the G.O.A.T. junior. Murahama starts to adapt stuff from his mentor Liger during points here. KENTA goes apeshit on a hot tag, and Kotaro gets in for a really good finishing run. Murahama finishes him off with a huge Brainbuster. ***1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 13 2014, 11:56 PM Post #25 |
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Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Makoto Hashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama/Shinya Makabe/Takashi Sugiura, 7/1/2003 Takayama has now set his sights on NOAH gold too in addition to his IWGP Title and NWF Title. Namely, he wants the GHC Tag Titles, and he's brought promising young wrestler Makabe (later renamed Togi Makabe) over to be his partner! And Takayama's NOAH little buddy Sugiura is also there. AND FUCK THE PROLOGUE, BECAUSE MAKABE HATES NOAH AND JUMPS STERNNESS AS THEY COME OUT! 2003 IS APPARENTLY WHEN MAKABE STARTS BEING THE CHEATING BRAWLING PRICK WE ALL LOVED! Akiyama is put as a situational babyface here defending his turf, and shows his versatility by being incredible at it. Makabe looks great because who the fuck's isolated Akiyama in like 3 years? Saito and Hashi force a brawl to even it back up, and everyone looks good coming out of this. Hashi ends up isolated next and the heels get nice and mean. Akiyama has a great hot tag but because it's puro, Hashi is tagged back in to drop the fall. Makabe puts him down with a Burning Lariat to mock Kobashi. *** Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA vs. Yoshihiro Takayama/Shinya Makabe/Takashi Sugiura, 7/2/2003 Same kind of idea, but even better, because KENTA and Kenta Kobashi are better at being indignant fiery promotion defenders than Akiyama and Hashi, and Honda is more sympathetic in peril than Saito. KENTA gets beat up a lot and we get Takayama/KENTA for the first time, which is another guaranteed great one. Kobashi has a great hot tag before KENTA gets in there for a great finishing run against Makabe. Takayama holds Kobashi book and Makabe points RIGHT at the man before using the Burning Lariat to pin KENTA. God damn. ***1/4 Jun Akiyama vs. Yuji Nagata, 7/16/2003 This is only six to seven minutes, so it's not as great as their Dome Show match or probably any future matches, but it's these two doing stuff for seven minutes! These are great wrestlers and there's a ton of energy here, so it ends up being great. I might have to give Nagata some credit for great simple layout too, as this is a lot like the Taue match, just lesser. Akiyama jumps him to start, but Nagata survives and avoids the big bombs, and then drops all his biggest stuff in a row so Akiyama can't retaliate, and he gets another win with the Nagata Lock III. *** KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jushin Liger/Takehiro Murahama [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 7/16/2003 WE'RE FINALLY HERE! This was AMAZING. KENTA and Murahama are constantly kicking the shit out of each other, Liger is being an asshole, Marufuji is doing insane highspots that are actually logical and just super impressive, etc. KENTA and Marufuji win the initial scramble, but then Liger isolates KENTA. They have actual hope spots and cut offs in a junior tag and KENTA wins all these small victories before he can actually get free and tag in Marufuji. The finishing run is fantastic and had some wonderful nearfalls. Liger saves Murahama after a Doomsday Busaiku Knee, but KENTA can now keep Liger at bay (another small victory), and Marufuji hits a SSP on Murahama to win the belts! ****1/4 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 14 2014, 02:46 AM Post #26 |
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Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA/Naomichi Marufui vs. Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi, 8/23/2003 Our sole match from August! Marufuji has been taken into Burning on a part-time basis now that he's KENTA's partner, and he blends in well despite not fighting the overall fiery asskicker vibe as much more of a spotty guy. This entire match has a fucking awesome crowd as they're in K Hall in front of the hottest crowd in Japan. This goes like 30ish, so they have time to have some awesome initial exchanges with KENTA/Hashi and Marufuji/Kanemaru and Akiyama/Kobashi. Honda vs. Saito also happens, I guess. It breaks down into an awesome brawl and movefest halfway through, and Marufuji is the first guy to counter and break up the Sternness teamwork in the last 3 years! He then gets dragged into the brawl and Piledriven on the floor because Akiyama isn't putting up with that kind of embarrassment. Kobashi gets in to bring about the finishing run, and it's wonderful. It ends with a juniors skirmish between KENTA and Kanemaru again, and KENTA avoids the big stuff now. But Kanemaru is STILL a step ahead of KENTA and avoids the Busaiku Knee and gets an O'Connor Roll to barely win again. ***1/2 Post-match, Kikuchi comes out and gets in KENTA and Marufuji's faces, and almost fights Marufuji. Kobashi gets them apart, and Kikuchi keeps pointing at Marufuji and is probably mad about how he got replaced in the line up with KENTA's new boy and is largely getting replaced as the go-to junior in the group by KENTA. Kobashi calms him down though, and the old friends hug before Kikuchi leaves, but he keeps arguing with KENTAFuji. |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 14 2014, 04:56 PM Post #27 |
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KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji/Kotaro Suzuki/Mitsuo Momota vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Takashi Sugiura, 9/6/2003 Kikuchi is throwing his hat in with the other junior side as a result of recent stuff, and the faces have gotten old ass Momota to replace him, in kind of an insult. Momota is the son of Rikidozan, but found more success as a trainer and backstage worker in AJPW. He's so fucking old that he was on the debut card for AJPW in 1972. He's a comedy wrestler and jobber, so that's a pretty huge insult to Kikuchi. Still, KENTAFuji are fast becoming completely unstoppable when it comes to having a great match no matter what. Momota tries hard and has fire as he tries to step up in this new situation, and gets kind of upset that he's being used to insult Kikuchi, and Kikuchi is the only one showing him respect. Kotaro is coming along nicely, although it will take him a while longer than his contemporaries to get great. There's a hot finishing run and Marufuji/Hashi is great. KANEMARU CUTS KENTA OFF THOUGH AND HITS MARUFUJI WITH THE BRAINBUSTER! HOLY SHIT, REALLY? HASHI ACTUALLY GETS A PINFALL FOR ONCE WITH HIS SORT OF HERE IT IS DRIVER! HOLY SHIT! *** KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 9/12/2003 This has a lot more to it now that we know Hashi CAN actually beat Marufuji and that Kanemaru and Hashi are capable of winning teamwork. This is ANOTHER classic, as KENTAFuji embarks one of the only tag title reigns to enter that all-time great pantheon reserved for title reigns like those of Hashimoto, Kobashi, Misawa, Kawada, Joe, Cena, Punk, Savage, etc. KENTAFuji manages to blend insane and super inventive highspot ideas and sequences with the properly done pro wrestling tag formula in a way that hasn't really been duplicated until The Shield. The best Briscoes stuff is up there, but they were all over the map. Anyways, yeah. KENTA and Marufuji have a great run early on, and then KENTA is isolated after a Reverse DDT on the apron and a slam off the ramp. AND HASHI HITS THE DIVING HEADBUTT OFF THE APRON! They move into a finishing run sooner than the first title match so it's not AS great, but it's still GOAT tier spotfest stuff. KENTA and Hashi tear everything down with kicks and slaps, and Marufuji is in this time to cut off Kanemaru's save and take him out. KENTA hits a disgusting head kick for the win! ***3/4 Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Yuji Nagata [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 9/12/2003 This was great too! It didn't need 30 minutes so there was some dragging at the end, but whatever. They started off hot with a chops vs. kicks thing, until Nagata kicked the chopping arm. He had some quality arm work, but it was clearly filler as it never ended up paying off. He stopped working it, so Kobashi stopped selling gradually. They had a great finishing run full of little struggles and cumulative selling and all those fun things, but it was somewhat held back. The build up of nobody breaking the Nagata Lock III never really got paid off and Kobashi held it off instead of getting to survive it. Yeah, it just dragged in the 25-30 minute mark as they did some nearfalls. Kobashi retains with the Burning Lariat. ***1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 14 2014, 11:36 PM Post #28 |
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KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji/Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Takashi Sugiura/Makoto Hashi, 10/5/2003 Sugiura won the Junior Title in an upset (sort of) over Michael Modest on 9/12, and Sugi/KENTA is booked for November. I didn't review it because it's a 20 minute Michael Modest match, but it's worth mentioning. This is awesome. KENTA vs. Sugi gets a lot of the focus, but all the old issues are still alive. The heels are pricks, so Team KENTAFuji does it back for once. Marufuji is influenced by KENTA and actually starts striking like a man for once. Kotaro gets brutalized and then Marufuji gets in for the finishing run. Lots of awesome nearfalls and counter spots and I really bought into KOTARO FUCKING SUZUKI scoring a fall at the end, which is how well this all worked. Hashi beats him with what is now named the Goriman Driver, his wrist-clutch Fisherman's Driver. **** Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama/Takeshi Rikio vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Akira Taue/Takeshi Morishima, 10/5/2003 NOAH rarely goes in with the all-star tags like peak AJPW did or NJPW does, and it's annoying sometimes, but they did it here. Three of Four Corners of Heaven, The Unmentioned Fifth Corner, and then the top two younger generation guys who are clearly being pushed up the card. This is 30 minutes of awesome exchanges. The one side story is Kobashi and Akiyama being super dysfunctional, but it's mostly everyone cutting loose with their own individual character arcs. Kobashi and Akiyama are constantly competing and trying to lead the team, and Rikio and Morishima are super fired up and aggressive against the four biggest names in the company. Taue has had a fire lit under him over the summer and wants another title shot. Misawa recognizes that Kobashi is the Ace now, but is pissed that people then take him for granted and he's all fired up here to show that if he can't be #1, he's definitely #2, and NOT Akiyama. Kobashi and Akiyama sort of accidentally turn their chemistry on and isolate Morishima. He has some great fire on his hope spots and comeback, and it ends with Kobashi vs. Misawa as the 30:00 limit expires. ***1/2 Post-match, they all shake hands. Kobashi doesn't trust Akiyama, but Akiyama insists. AKIYAMA IMMEDIATELY GOES FOR AN EXPLODER, BUT KOBASHI BLOCKS, SO AKIYAMA JUST LEAVES. AMAZING. |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 15 2014, 01:38 AM Post #29 |
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Takeshi Rikio vs. Yoshihiro Takayama/Takuma Sano, 11/1/2003 Great 12-13 minutes. They throw some great bombs, hit real hard, and then get out before it can get boring or drag in any way. There was more focus on Rikio than I would have liked, but I also would have liked this to be 95% Misawa/Takayama, but that does nothing for Rikio who they're trying to push for some reason. He beats Sano with a Flying Splash off the top, which is a shitty finisher for a top level guy. **3/4 Takeshi Morishima [c] vs. Mohammed Yone [WLW Championship], 11/1/2003 This is the title for Harley Race's company in MO. Yone is debuting in here. He doesn't care often, but he's capable of some good work when he does. He's an ex-BattlARTS guy, so they can get nice and stiff and violent with each other. This also doesn't overstay its welcome, and shows that Morishima is already a lot better than Rikio, since he does a lot better against a lower class of opponent. And they do it through force of stiffness! Morishima debuts his SWEET Backdrop Driver as a finish for the win! ***1/4 KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Juventud Guerrera/Ricky Marvin [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 11/1/2003 ANOTHER CLASSIC SPOTFEST. KENTA AND MARUFUJI DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP! Marvin is an asshole and uses Rey's WWE music and entrance mask for some reason. Juvi then comes out to "Crawling". This is strange. The match is one of the best constructed spotfests EVER. Marvin and Juvi start off hot and out-spotfest the champs to force it to slow down. Juvi and Marvin bring some classic lucha heel stuff and stooging too, and while it slows down, it never really calms down. Everything is 100% crisp and smooth and there's SO many mindblowing things. On top of everything, there's actually a struggle for things! This is so perfect! Marufuji gets the hot tag and they have one of the all time best junior tag finishing runs. Insane counters to stuff you'd never think of WITH stuff you'd never think of. The escalation was perfect and I bought into a few of the nearfalls even. After 30 minutes that felt like 15-20, KENTAFuji retain after Marufuji hits Marvin with the Spanish Fly. ****1/2 Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Yoshinari Ogawa [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 11/1/2003 This is awesome and probably the best Ogawa singles match ever. They embrace here that he is a ratfaced sneaky little asshole that NOBODY likes. He jumps Kobashi, uses cheap shots, constantly goes to the eyes, etc. And Kobashi just DESTROYS him. Ogawa goes after the knees first to some success and Kobashi sells it all very well before he gets his revenge. He busts Ogawa open with the ring bell in revenge for Ogawa using it, and chops and punches at the cut. This comes across more like a classic NWA Title match or a WWF Title match (on a house show, because blood) than a Kobashi epic defense, and I love it. It probably goes a little long at 25ish minutes because there's never any real shot that Ogawa can win it, and kobashi finally puts him down with the Burning Lariat. ***1/2 Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi, 11/16/2003 Another Burning/Sternness one! They hit all the great notes early on. Kobashi/Akiyama, KENTA/Hashi & Kanemoto, etc. Kikuchi and Hashi get into an ungodly headbutt war and then into general stiffness. Everyone is working super manly here who can. Honda doesn't do strikes, so he focus on good matwork and mostly stays out of the way. Kanemaru does his spots and doesn't try and be stiff with anyone. Hashi is the one being isolated this time in a nice change. Burning gets nice and violent, and then Akiyama turns the tide to isolate KENTA. Finishing run is Kanemaru/Kikuchi, so it's not the best they can do. Kanemaru wins with the Brainbuster. ***1/4 Takashi Sugiura [c] vs. KENTA [GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship], 11/30/2003 Hey, this also rules. The matwork is a lot of fun but Sugiura makes a bad decision and targets KENTA's knee. They then move on after a few minutes and abandon this for stiff strikes and high spots, which is a good idea. They don't have immediate chemistry, but KENTA's becoming SO fucking great at these kinds of high pace and intensity bombfests that it's hard to mess up. It's a low level great match due to the early aimlessness, but they have enough cool stuff going on. Awesome slugfest at the end, but Sugiura breaks the flow with an insane RELEASE Angle Slam for the win! *** Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda [c] vs. Yuji Nagata/Hiroshi Tanahashi [GHC Tag Team Championship], 11/30/2003 This didn't need 30 minutes and it's not great as a result, but it's very good practically in spite of itself. 2003 is clearly a big year for Tanahashi, because he looks like a star in the making here. He has good basics and a good deal of presence. Nagata is clearly better at everything and has to guide him at points, but that's the entire idea of a team like this and an angle like this, so he can learn. Honda/Nagata matwork is enjoyable. Tanahashi is the one who gets isolated and the whole invader dynamic is kind of fucked over as a result. Nagata makes a good finishing run guy though, and he works well against both champions. Tanahashi gets a small victory as he can keep Kobashi at bay for long enough so that Nagata can finish off Honda and win the belts with a Backdrop Hold! **3/4 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 15 2014, 02:08 AM Post #30 |
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Kenta Kobashi vs. Mohammed Yone, 12/6/2003 It's nice to see this kind of a TV style showcase for the champion. I love the Kobashi Epics, but not everything has to be that or a 30 minute multi man. Yone is still motivated here and they put on a great little stiff fest. Kobashi gets pissed off when Yone tries to step up to the Ace with stiffness and attitude, so he smacks him down in style. There's some nice matwork and strike exchanges, and Kobashi completely murders Yone with a Brainbuster. *** Yuji Nagata/Hiroshi Tanahashi [c] vs. Wild II [Takeshi Rikio/Takeshi Morishima] [GHC Tag Team Championship], 12/6/2003 WILD II TRIES TO COME TO THE RESCUE OF THEIR HOME! FUCK YEAH PROMOTIONAL PRIDE BRINGING THE BEST OUT OF OTHERWISE MEDIOCRE GUYS LIKE RIKIO! The NJPW team has an amazing amount of heel heat without really antagonizing the crowd or NOAH much, and it adds a lot. Nagata and Tana nail the teacher/student vibe well, with Nagata being kind of like a player coach and giving Tana advice on stuff during this. Tanahashi develops by helping Nagata out of a jam or too, and the finishing run is great. Nagata gets to break loose with Morishima, and it's fucking awesome. Tanahashi is enough to keep Rikio occupied, and Nagata puts on the Nagata Lock III. It remains unbroken and Morishima passes out. NJPW retains possession of NOAH's belts. ***1/4 KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Mitsuo Momota [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 12/11/2003 This is the worst KENTAFuji defense. It's not an insult to this match so much as a testament to how great their run as a team was. This is a low level great match that I love because of the contrast. It's the two spotfest kings against old guys getting probably one last shot. Momota and Kikuchi are rough and they cheat and get dirty and really do everything they physically can. Kikuchi gets stiff with KENTA, but KENTA outdoes him and pretty much officially overtakes him. KENTA ends up beating Momota with the Busaiku Knee Strike. *** |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 26 2014, 03:14 AM Post #31 |
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Kenta Kobashi/Takeshi Rikio/Makoto Hashi vs. Jun Akiyama/Takeshi Morishima/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, 1/10/2004 They're breaking up some usual teams here, as Kobashi vs. Kikuchi, Akiyama vs. Hashi, and Mori vs. Rikio now have the opportunity to happen. Hashi/Akiyama is the standout there as Hashi brings ALL the fire to try and prove himself to his role model in a more direct way. Akiyama returns slaps with his own and generally looks like a dad who's been challenged to a fight by his insolent 17 year old. The whole match is full of super fiery exchanges from everyone, and even Rikio steps up against Morishima. Akiyama vs. Hashi rules at the end, and while Kobashi can save Hashi from being pinned after an Exploder, Akiyama's teammates hold him back. Akiyama shows his disrespect for Hashi by trying to win with a basic Boston Crab, but when that fails, Akiyama puts on a nasty kind of Samoan Crab Liontamer deal to win. ***3/4 KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. El Samurai/Wataru Inoue [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 1/10/2004 Hey look, KENTAFuji does it AGAIN. This isn't as amazing as the July-November spotfests as it's 30 minutes and involves Wataru Inoue, but it's another great match. Inoue is better here as an invader and KENTA gets some great fire out of him. Samurai is on his game here and reminds you that he's pretty awesome when he has a reason to care, and has some cool matwork-y lower end spotty stuff with Marufuji to open up. Great finishing run of escalation, and KENTA mans up against a legend and wins with the Busaiku Knee. ***1/2 Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Takuma Sano [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 1/25/2004 YEAH! This is fairly simple and is somewhat of a letdown next to the usual Kobashi epic, but Sano isn't going to give you that match because he's a midcard and it would be a waste on him. So Kobashi controls with obvious headlocky stuff because he's not worried until Sano goes after the legs to distract him so he can drop some bombs. He comes close or at least gets Kobashi worried enough to start a big powerful comeback, and he immediately goes back with some big level bombs like a running face chop and a Lariat, but Sano kicks out, so Kobashi uses that newish ungodly Brainbuster he's been using to finish midcarders to finish this midcarder. *** |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 26 2014, 11:35 PM Post #32 |
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Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA vs. Akira Taue/Takuma Sano/Makoto Hashi, 2/20/2004 More Hashi stepping up! And it's Burning doing stuff in probably the best three man team they have as a stable at this point. Hashi vs. KENTA is wonderful, and Taue continues his quest for a title shot here by almost beating Kobashi in the first five minutes with an Ore Ga Taue before Honda saves. They settle down after that into some nice low-key stuff with Honda working the mat and Hashi being Hashi. Match picks up when Taue starts wrecking shit. He and Sano take out Kobashi with a Doomsday Chokeslam on the floor, and Hashi gets a big win over KENTA with the Wrist-Clutch Fisherman's Driver. ***1/4 Jun Akiyama vs. Makoto Hashi, 2/21/2004 Akiyama again tries to get the best out of Hashi before a big Hashi Jr. Title challenge. Hashi comes on strong with the Apron Diving Headbutts and much stiffness, but Akiyama survives and punishes him. Akiyama isn't taking it easy on him at all despite not really coming forward with his bombs that he might use for a Kobashi or Misawa or Taue. Hashi survives the high angle Samoan Crab this time, and goes into an awesome slap-off. Akiyama wins it, hits a Boma Ye before it was named that, and hits an Exploder to win. ***1/4 After the match, Akiyama checks on HAshi with the doctors, and gives him a light pat on the cheek before he leaves. Jun Akiyama/Yoshihiro Takayama/Jun Izumida vs. Akira Taue/Takeshi Morishima/Takumo Sano, 3/6/2004 This is under 15 minutes, which is appreciated. Akiyama and Takayama have NO faith in Izu, so they bumrush everyone and isolate Sano. There's some awesome comedy with them having to keep save Izu and him trying to prove himself by rushing into stuff and failing because of it. Izumida randomly then mans up against Mori at the end and Akiyama and Takayama help him hurt the knee. He puts on a nasty looking Half Crab, AND MORISHIMA TAPS WHOA. Weird booking is starting to shows its head in NOAH. *** Jushin Liger [c] vs. Makoto Hashi [GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship], 3/6/2004 Liger captured the title from Sugiura at the 1/4/04 Dome Show when Sugiura got brazen enough to take it to NJPW. This starts off with an awesome slap fest, and then it goes onto the mat for a while. This is fine, but clearly a time killing measure. Liger starts dropping THE BOMBS to take over, including a floor Brainbuster as a transition to remind us that that trend is coming. He stretches him some, AND HASHI GETS AN APRON REVERSE DDT TO FIGHT BACK! YEAH! He kicks out of the Fisherman's Buster, Liger Bomb, and Brainbuster, but Liger destroys him with a Shotei to hang on to the belt. ***1/4 Post-match, Kanemaru comes out to check on his buddy and stablemate, and he gets into a scuffle with Liger, but it gets broken up. Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Takeshi Rikio [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 3/6/2004 Kobashi gets to murder this asshole Rikio for my 14th birthday. Thanks, NOAH! This is pretty basic too, as Rikio tries to man up and slap Kobashi around, but he's not good enough to pull that shit, so Kobashi pretty much destroys him to teach him a fucking lesson about respect and his place. Fuck you, Takeshi Rikio. You're not even people. He goes after the bad knee to get a token control segment, and then Kobashi comes back while selling pretty well. Rikio doesn't even have a finisher, so this is never really in doubt, but Kobashi tries his best. Burning Lariat ends this farce. *** |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 28 2014, 02:28 AM Post #33 |
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KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Yoshinari Ogawa/Kotaro Suzuki [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 4/3/2004 Ogawa is slumming it a little here, but he's a greedy cocksucker and he wants to hold both of NOAH's tag belts. And yes, KENTAFuji scores yet a-fucking-gain. Ogawa has real gear now and has officially joined up with the Misawa/Ogawa group. KENTA and Marufuji see this as a little bit of an insult after they took him into their little junior side, so they beat the shit out of him. They then dominate him on the mat, and it's some really cool stuff. KENTA goes for painful stretching, and Marufuji goes for cool things. Ogawa cheats some and brings the experience to cut that off. They do knee work on Marufuji, which is a shitty idea and means this is one of the lesser title defenses. BECAUSE OF COURSE HE'S NOT GOING TO SELL A FUCKING LIMB. IT'S MARUFUJI. OGAWA, YOU DAFT SHIT. KENTA's hot tag and finishing run are both great. They unload at the end, and Marufuji beats that shithead Ogawa with a Super Shiranui. *** Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ricky Marvin, 4/25/2004 This is a solid little deal. Marvin is working super super fast so he's only hitting like 80% of his stuff, but what he does hit is amazing. Kanemaru knocks him around a lot and controls this, and Marvin takes a bunch of huge bumps so we know who's leading this really. He has a great comeback and the finishing run is a blast. Marvin does all his cool shit and then Kanemaru wins with his Touch Out spinning Brainbuster. *** Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa [c] vs. KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [GHC Tag Team Championship], 4/25/2004 KENTAFuji won this match by virtue of their pin over Ogawa earlier in the tour. Due to the difference in size and Misawa being there, this is one of the finest underdog matches NOAH ever put on. KENTA and Marufuji have all the fire in the world, and it motivates Misawa again. Ogawa is still the worst, but he got to be a lazy asshole and have everyone else carry him like always. Finishing run had some amazing exchanges and nearfalls and to credit Misawa, he gave Marufuji and KENTA a ton, and even had to invent a new kind of Screwdriver variation on the Emerald Frosion to win. **** As an aside before the main event, the Kobashi title reign is proving to be the classic model for "The Reign". It's something you see in any good multi-year title reign in a modern setting like a Samoa Joe or Kobashi or WCW Benoit. The firsty ear has some challenges, but it's people where there's not a lot of doubt, and you spend that first year setting up the big challenges (Kobashi/Takayama, Kobashi/Akiyama, Kobashi/Taue, Joe/Punk, Joe/Danielson, Joe/Homicide, etc.) and establishing a lot of themes of the matches to play around with in Year Two. Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Yoshihiro Takayama [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 4/25/2004 Fucking epic. Dat BIG MATCH FEEL. Takayama has the now returned Minoru Suzuki as his corner man, and they have their IWGP Tag belts with them. This is totally against all the themes of Kobashi matches, as Takayama blocks the headlock and chop attack early, and while he targets the knee, he does so to keep Kobashi's mind elsewhere so he can go after the arm and take away the Lariat. He has some amazing arm work, and Kobashi's selling is fantastic. He can't use it for chops, so he turns to left handed chops and a headbutt. He starts to get back into it with the great transitional selling action, and then the finishing run is incredible. TAKAYAMA THROWS A FUCKING DROPKICK. They do a bunch of big moves that they normally might not, and it's everything you'd want this to be for 30 minutes. Kobashi pulls out the Lariat despite everything, and has to break out the Moonsault to finally keep Takayama down for 3. ****1/4 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 28 2014, 03:25 AM Post #34 |
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Jun Akiyama vs. KENTA, 5/14/2004 KENTA has this trial series going on, and this is one of the standouts. I believe that Kobashi/Akiyama for the July 10th show in the Tokyo Dome has since been announced, so while KENTA is trying to step up and prove his skill, Akiyama has a message to send. And on top of that, KENTA is coming out to DMX's "Where The Hood At". This is the best of all the top guy vs. young guy type matches I've seen in NOAH so far, as KENTA has a fire they all lack, but he's credible enough here to get in a lot of offense. Akiyama is also the best at this so far as he's got enough aggression to get over when KENTA's annoying him and when he's actually troubled by his effort. Lots of brutal moments and strikes, and Akiyama gets the win after two Boma Ye's and an Exploder. ***1/2 Kenta Kobashi/KENTA vs. Akira Taue/Takashi Sugiura, 5/21/2004 This is also a killer. They basically just work a formula tag for 15ish minutes, and it's wonderful. Great opening flurries with both of the obvious combos, and then Sugi is isolated. He's coming along nicely and is now at the point where he's doing a ton of Spears. Not great yet exactly, but not every young guy can be KENTA and get it in only 2 years. KENTA is isolated too, and then Kobashi gets in. Great finishing run with KENTA and Sugiura, and KENTA earns another big win with the Busaiku Knee. ***1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 29 2014, 01:13 AM Post #35 |
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Takeshi Morishima [c] vs. Daisuke Ikeda [WLW Heavyweight Championship], 6/1/2004 THIS FUCKING RULED. Totally out of nowhere until you remember how fucking great Ikeda is and remember that he'd been stuck in six mans for the last 2-3 years. Morishima goes wild with the stiffness, and they have a super out of control brawl that's totally against NOAH's usual deal. The ref gets bumped at points, AND IKEDA HITS A DVD OFF THE APRON THROUGH A TABLE?! Ikeda gets some awesome nearfalls and re-cements himself as one of the best in the world/ever, but Morishima is looking more and more like a future top guy here. Ikeda unloads this insane punch and knee combo at the end, AND WINS THE TITLE WITH A SERIES OF HEAD KICKS IN AN UPSET! FUCK YEAH NOAH! **** KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Ricky Marvin/Kotaro Suzuki [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 6/1/2004 Another killer. Kotarvin starts out really hot and they have a great Stereo Tope suicida spot, before it calms down into some good mat stuff. KENTAFuji keeps doing their amazing blend of tag formula and highspots throughout, and Marvin and Kotaro end up gaining a lot from how far they can push the junior gods. KENTA and Marufuji are the ones who control this, which makes sense since they're the veterans here, relatively speaking. This didn't need 30 minutes and could have stood to lose 10 (the story of puro in the last 10 years!), but they did enough great stuff for this to be great. KENTA sort of debuts a proto GTS on accident on Marvin, and Marufuji puts Kotaro away with the Shiranui Kai. *** Wild II [Takeshi Rikio/Takeshi Morishima] vs. Yoshihiro Takayama/Jun Izumida, 6/23/2004 Wild II vs. Takayama/MiSu has been announced for the Tokyo Dome show in July, so this is a lead in to that. The themes are the same as the Takayama/Izu tag in March, where Takayama has no faith in the pudgy midcarder whatsoever. This lacks the kind of heat that had though, and Rikio drags it down with his lack of effort. Rikio takes Takayama out with a Powerbomb and then Morishima beats Izu with a Lariat. **1/2 Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA vs. Jun Akiyama/Akitoshi Saito/Makoto Hashi, 6/23/2004 This is the final Burning/Sternness tag match to make tape as the feud moves towards its climax at the Tokyo Dome. The focus is on them, despite some great interludes with the other four. They get into a number of brawls through the arena and are constantly the focus of the camera work when it's in the ring. Sternness destroys KENTA for the control segment and with Kobashi down on the floor, it means fucking Honda is going to have to step up. Kobashi recovers and has an AMAZING hot tag. FUCK YEAH KOBASHI VS. AKIYAMA AGAIN! I AM SO GOD DAMNED HYPED. Akiyama sacrifices the win for his team by ignoring Hashi's predicament to hit Kobashi with an Exploder on the floor, and Honda beats Hashi with an Arm Triangle Hold. **** Yoshihiro Takayama vs. KENTA, 6/27/2004 KENTA again shows no respect, and that will not do. 2004 is the best fucking year. They hit super super hard but it comes down to a matter of reach. It's actually a good sign for KENTA as he was never ever going to be able to beat prime Takayama here. KENTA has to move in close for maximum impact, but Takayama has super tall limbs and can hit with more power AND from farther away. Takayama gives him some great comeback stuff, but then nukes him with knees to the body and face and a running one puts the kid down. ***1/2 Kenta Kobashi/Takeshi Rikio/Ricky Marvin vs. Jun Akiyama/Takeshi Morishima/Makoto Hashi, 6/27/2004 Another Parejas Incredibles deal from NOAH of sorts, splitting up W2 for the night. Hashi and Akiyama have their usual awesome dynamic, but the focus is yet again on Kobashi/Akiyama. Morishima and Rikio bring the hot fighting again, and Hashi/Marvin is pretty fun. But yeah, more brawling from the top guys, AND AKIYAMA EVEN USES A CHAIR! Quality control segment on Hashi that's mostly let by Marvin. The pace picks up at the end, and Rikio beats Hashi with a Falling Powerbomb to win. ***1/4 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 29 2014, 04:06 PM Post #36 |
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DEPARTURE TIME! This is the second best drawing show in NOAH history, only following the 2005 dome show, with 58,000 claimed. The 2005 show had 60,000+, but those are both higher than NJPW did in their 2004 and 2005 Tokyo Dome shows. This is pretty solid evidence that NOAH is the #1 company now in something like a WCW 1996-1998 situation. The 2005 Dome Show is the highest drawing Dome Show of the 2000s too, and *I think* the best drawing Dome Show since the 70,000 draw that Inoki's retirement got. ANYWAYS, THE WRESTLING. Akira Taue/Takuma Sano vs. Mohammed Yone/Daisuke Ikeda, 7/10/2004 Really great 10 minutes. Sano and Ikeda get super kicky and stiff, and Yone gets in on the phone. That's not Taue's game, but he's in the middle of his awesome 03-05 resurgence and brings THE EFFORT. Ikeda vs. Taue is the best match up I never knew that I needed in my life. Sano beats Yone after a Super Northern Lights Bomb. *** KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Takashi Sugiura/Kendo Kashin [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 7/10/2004 This JIP on Ditch's site, but we get 12 minutes. Kashin is still horrible and the worst tag partner ever as he's constantly yelling at Sugi, who gets annoyed with it and slaps him. Sugiura brings it big time for the finishing run since Kashin can't be trusted with anything cool. Marufuji lets Sugi kick out of the Shiranui, but messes up his SSP and impressively adjusts back into a Back Senton, before improvising with a Super Shiranui for the win. *** Jushin Liger [c] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship], 7/10/2004 Good stuff here. Liger is abusive and he's a huge asshole and all that great Invader Liger stuff that I've come to love in the NOAH reviews. Kanemaru isn't super exciting or anything, but he hits his stuff fine and Liger being amazing gets the crowd behind him. Kanemaru gets the obvious result and regains the title for himself and NOAH when he hits Liger with the Touch Out. ***1/4 Yoshihiro Takayama/Minoru Suzuki [c] vs. Takeshi Rikio/Takeshi Morishima [IWGP Tag Team Championship], 7/10/2004 MORISHIMA/TAKAYAMA! MiSu adds some great variety here as when he's in, it's less of a slugfest and more of a crafty mat guy trying to avoid his death. There's a great divide between the slugfests and this. Rikio is isolated with some great work, and then Morishima has an awesome hot tag. Takayama gets the win over big Mori with the Everest German Suplex, which was a sight to behold. *** Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa [c] vs. Keiji Mutoh/Taiyo Kea [GHC Tag Team Championship], 7/10/2004 Misawa and Mutoh sharing the ring is a dream match, I guess. Kea has moved on to shiny pants in his attempt to try and look cool and get over. Mutoh is trying here, so he's the second best guy in the match almost by default since Kea is average and Ogawa is working face, so he's kind of shitty. Misawa is the best because he's Misawa. He doesn't let Mutoh waste time and makes him move into the highspots. We get a longish Misawa/Mutoh run at the end that's pretty good stuff and then he gives Kea some stuff. Misawa again uses that new Screwdriver Frosion for the win. *** Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Jun Akiyama [GHC Heavyweight Championship] FUCK YEAH! This match is the peak of NOAH creatively, as most of their booking since the inception had been building to this match, and they never really found a new long term focus after Kobashi vs. Akiyama. Still, this is amazing and maybe the best epic of the 2000s. It's a classic sort of AJPW 90s style huge match with an early strike exchange that sets the tone for everything. Kobashi is stronger and tougher, but Akiyama is smarter and faster. That's the match psychology basically. Akiyama goes after the neck with some really wonderful and brutal pieces and Kobashi fights back with his power. They move into the run of big moves that's fucking amazing. Kobashi pulls through and blocks Akiyama's big Sternness Dust killer, and he puts out the Burning Hammer for the win. It's classic AJPW/NOAH to build a match like this and have the champion retain, but Kobashi comes down with cancer in two years and Akiyama never gets the shot to overcome Kobashi. As a result, this is yet another thing that prevents Akiyama from ever reaching the level he should have been at. ****1/2 Jun Akiyama/Makoto Hashi vs. Tamon Honda/Go Shiozaki, 7/24/2004 Go debuts! He's pretty solid here, but isn't amazing or anything because it's his first match and it's not like he's an insane prodigy like Akiyama. They put Go over as a top prospect with shots of both Kobashi and Misawa watching from different spots in the building. There's still a ton of super super average stuff here and Akiyama beats Go with the Exploder. **1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Mar 30 2014, 08:52 PM Post #37 |
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Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takuma Sano, 8/1/2004 Another killer 10ish minute affair here from these two. They have some great matwork early on as you'd expect from two ex-UWFi dudes, and then they try to murder each other with strikes. This is Takayama's last NOAH match for a while, as he gets hurt in the G1 Climax in August and is out for a few years. The ref fucks up on the finish unfortunately, as Takayama hits the Everest German and the ref seems to pause before 3 for a kickout. Nothing happens, so they go to a sudden ref stop and the match is awarded to Takayama. *** Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, 8/1/2004 This is a thirty minute draw, but these are two old pros at that idea due to the 90s Champions Carnival booking producing a lot of them. This is about putting Taue over for his title shot up in the next month, so it's based on if Misawa can survive the onslaught of Taue. He can fight back and stuff, but he can't really break through against Taue like he usually could. Taue goes after the knee to make sure of this, and Misawa has some quality knee selling to take this up another level. He fought back with his usuals, but he had to focus more on avoiding Taue's big bombs than trying to hit his, and that's why this went 30. Great storytelling. **** Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda vs. Akitoshi Saito/Masao Inoue, 8/20/2004 After the Dome show, Sternness has splintered and Saito has broken off into his own stable. He's gotten Inoue and other longtime jobbers of his ilk to form the Dark Agents, and they have a bit of a miracle run in 2004. Inoue brings the effort and the disrespect, and Saito is yet again really solid and stiff when he puts his mind to it. Honda is an obvious fall guy, and Kobashi exists to give the Agents some credibility with a win, without actually doing much in the match. Inoue gets Honda with a cradle at the end for the sort of upset! *** Kenta Kobashi/Takuma Sano/Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jun Akiyama/Takeshi Rikio/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, 8/28/2004 PAREJAS INCREIBLES! It's a Kobashi vs. Akiyama joint, but they barely touch as it's more about them fighting longtime junior sidekicks Kikuchi and Kanemaru. Kikuchi brings it big time to the guy that's basically his big brother, and Kanemaru goes after his mentor. Rikio and Sano are also in this match, but whatever. It's great wrestlers doing great things for 20ish minutes. Kikuchi gets beaten after Kanemaru hits the Touch Out. ***1/4 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. KENTA, 8/28/2004 KENTA's trial series produces another great one here, and he throws a ton at Misawa. Misawa is game to have an awesome slugfest, so this is perfect for 15 minutes. KENTA slaps the old man around and kicks super hard and shows zero respect, which fires up Misawa a lot. KENTA debuts the normal version of the Go to Sleep here, but Misawa survives it and he wins with the Emerald Frosion. ***1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Apr 1 2014, 01:06 AM Post #38 |
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Jun Akiyama/Go Shiozaki vs. Takeshi Rikio/Makoto Hashi, 9/10/2004 Shiozaki wants to impress everyone. Rikio wants a top spot. Hashi wants to prove himself to Akiyama. Akiyama wants to defend his spot, despite being unable to unseat Kobashi. Everyone has a goal and character arc, so it's all awesome. Everything Akiyama vs. Hashi is gold, as Akiyama again comes off like a dad letting his son try and man up before he crushes him. Go tried hard, but hasn't discovered his insane chopping skill yet and just does young lion forearms. Hashi gets a small victory as he holds Akiyama back long enough for Rikio to beat Go with a Powerbomb. *** Yoshinobu Kanemaru [c] vs. Low Ki [GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship], 9/10/2004 FUCK YEAH LOW KI! Foreigners in NOAH, especially indy guys like Ki (and later others), basically have the one tour to impress officials to get brought back. Low Ki's brought in before anyone because of the success he had in Z1, so he goes wild here to earn a job and it's the best GHC Jr. Title match to date. He guides Kanemaru through a classic Low Ki match. They start fast and only pick the pace up, teasing things early on that pay off later, some mat work, etc. Ki is the master of slow escalation at this time, and he basically just plugs Kanemaru into his usual match, except that he loses for once and it's in front of a huge and awesome crowd. Low Ki gets to kick out of one Brainbuster in kind of a rarity, before he loses to the Touch Out. ***3/4 Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa [c] vs. Akitoshi Saito/Masao Inoue [GHC Tag Team Championship], 9/10/2004 The underdogs get their big opportunity! Akiyama is doing commentary here and he doesn't look super pleased about his former #2's new stable, but doesn't make a big deal. The Dark Agents are super super aggressive about this before the champs regroup. The biggest problem here is that it's 30 minutes when 15 was probably too much of a reach for these four. Inoue simply doesn't have it in him to go this long especially against a half-assing Misawa and fucking Ogawa. They take forever to get going, and then a control seg on Ogawa is nothing. Both because it's them doing stuff and because Ogawa is the worst babyface. He beats Inoue with a shitty Back Drop Hold. Fuck this match. ** Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Akira Taue [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 9/10/2004 BUT FUCK YEAH, THIS MATCH! Taue immediately goes wild and brings back the TAUEPE SUICIDA! They go on the mat for a little bit, and Kobashi starts to pull through with power after some great work. They then have an amazing finishing run that sees a Chokeslam on the ramp followed by A FUCKING ORE GA TAUE OFF THE APRON! JESUS! Kobashi pulls out his own Chokeslam after Taue blocks all his big stuff. The story is Kobashi gradually pushing through to where Taue is too beat up to block his stuff like he did in the first half, and it works. But Taue has some stuff of his own too and Kobashi misses his hail mary with the Moonsault. He ends up pulling out a series of Lariats though, and debuts the Wrist-Clutch Burning Hammer for the win. **** |
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| Big Tuna | Apr 2 2014, 01:35 AM Post #39 |
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Kenta Kobashi vs. KENTA, 10/9/2004 This is the best of the KENTA trial series matches so far, because it's the most violent. Kobashi takes it to KENTA like nobody else has and really punishes him with chops to the chest and some to the neck and back of the neck too. KENTA has his usual fire and aggression and has some awesome bumping and selling to go with it. He never really had a shot here so there's not a ton of drama or feeling like he might have this at points, and Kobashi gets the win with the Burning Lariat. ***1/2 KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Ricky Marvin/SUWA [GHC Junior Tag Team Championship], 10/22/2004 SUWA debuts in NOAH, and he immediately has beef with KENTA. KENTA and Marufuji rule the world again here, with SUWA really shining as a cheating piece of shit, which is refreshing in NOAH. Fuck it, Marvin's improved a lot and he looked awesome here too for the most part. Great great great finishing run with a lot of stuff being paid off from earlier in the match. KENTA and Marufuji turn the tide with a Powerbomb/Super Shiranui combo on Marvin, and then destroy SUWA's head with a Superkick and Roundhouse Kick at the same time. Marvin survives a series of head kicks from KENTA, but then gets put out with the Go to Sleep. ***3/4 Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Akitoshi Saito [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 10/24/2004 This didn't need 30 minutes because Saito isn't THAT serious of a threat, but Kobashi is the best dude, so he makes it work and Saito comes out of this stronger than when he came in. Kobashi gets pissed at Saito not being intimidated and Saito puts on a great performance. Saito works the leg, kicks hard, has a lot of fire, etc. Kobashi comes back and Saito gets beaten with Kobashi's insane Brainbuster drop. ***1/2 |
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| Big Tuna | Apr 2 2014, 02:08 AM Post #40 |
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KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji, 11/13/2004 This is the final match of KENTA's trial series and it rules. KENTA hits super hard and Marufuji brings the highspots and they set the bar pretty high for their future meetings. They space out the big spots really well and have the whole escalation idea down. A lot of great tag partner spots where they see things coming for super cool counters or do each other's stuff. This lacks the kind of insane finishing run that their other matches would have and they both fall off the top to the floor in a nasty spill when Marufuji loses his balance, so this is among their lesser meetings. Still, great. They recover back inside and Marufuji wins with the Shiranui Kai. ***1/4 Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Go Shiozaki [GHC Hardcore Openweight Championship], 11/21/2004 This is essentially NOAH's TV Title before they forgot about it later in the decade, and can change hands on DQ or count out. There's a 15 minute time limit here, and Go puts on his best performance yet aided by Marufuji taking some huge bumps and giving him a lot of offensive opportunities. Some good matwork too and Marufuji controls in a convincing manner. Go gets close with nearfalls, but Marufuji retains with the Shiranui with under thirty seconds left. *** Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Mike Awesome [GHC Heavyweight Championship], 12/4/2004 This isn't as good as their 1999 match, but Awesome is a shell of himself. This is JIP to 10 minutes or so, and it's pretty great as a pure bombgest. Kobashi does more than he needs to, but he's clearly just going apeshit to make this great since Awesome is again, a shell of the man he was five years prior. Kobashi ends up getting the win with a Moonsault and makes Mike's life even worse by landing knee to face. *** |
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6:53 PM Jul 10