Hey yo Stud Muffins and Foxy Ladies,
Gimme two claps and a Ric Flair for my future wife! *Clap* *Clap* WWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO She is currently within 50 miles of me. Cross your fingers that she is on Tinder.
Last night, I attended XWA Rumble '15 in West Warwick, RI to see my main man from Georgia, AJ Styles and he did not disappoint. Add in a strong effort by Paul London and seeing a future superstar in Biff Busick meant that I got more than my money's worth last night. I will be doing a full review hopefully by Tuesday and no later than Thursday. It is a good thing I can always fall back on my backlog of puroresu.
The year 2007 was a dark time for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Their main drawing card, Kobashi, had been out since April of 2006 and the Marufuji experiment had seen dwindling houses. So Misawa did what most player-managers do when times get tough, he put the onus on himself. He basically reset NOAH by reclaiming the GHC Heavyweight Championship and holding it for over a year. Misawa was without a doubt one of the greatest pro wrestlers to ever live, but by 2007 he was beaten up beyond almost recognition. Sure, he managed throw out one more great performance against Sano in a rematch from their brutal 2003 bout. Over the course of his reign before the return of Kobashi, he averaged 8,800 at the Budokan when it was rare for them not to sell out the Budokan between 2001-2005. From a quality standpoint, only the match with Sano and the drop to Morishima made the nominations for the Best of 2000s Japan project. Even the usual surefire hit against Taue did not spark a higher attendance or critical praise. The year 2007 was a rebuilding year for NOAH and Misawa was taking heat on himself as he bided time waiting for Kobashi's return and the development of Morishima.
Kobashi's return was the short-term boost the company needed. Immediately, NOAH had a newfound energy from his presence. While he was growing stale before his forced departure, he felt fresh and vulnerable performing in some of the best tag team matches of the decade. The matches felt like throwbacks to the 90s tag classics that used to populate the All Japan scene. In these return matches Kobashi wrestles closer to his 90s style of the vulnerable underdog and is making these heroic, spirited comebacks. Without a doubt, his return match is one of the most emotional matches of the decade and I would say is the most emotional. The story of Kobashi is a story we can all relate to, he absolutely loved pro wrestling and wanted to be the best. He clawed and fought for every inch slowly gaining the respect of Misawa, Kawada and Hansen, until finally in 2003, he became the Man. Just when you think Kobashi had conquered every obstacle in front of him, life threw his greatest challenge, cancer. There was no predetermined outcome to this fight. With his life on the line, he fought and fought, not just to live, but to do what he loved once again and do it on the grandest stage afforded to him in the Budokan alongside, Takayama against long-time rivals, Misawa and Akiyama. It is an incredible story and incredible match.
For a short period of time, NOAH felt rejuvenated, but could they sustain it with Kobashi in tag matches only and Morishima on top. That is for another blog.
Match Listing:
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Gimme two claps and a Ric Flair for my future wife! *Clap* *Clap* WWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO She is currently within 50 miles of me. Cross your fingers that she is on Tinder.
SWWWOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN
The year 2007 was a dark time for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Their main drawing card, Kobashi, had been out since April of 2006 and the Marufuji experiment had seen dwindling houses. So Misawa did what most player-managers do when times get tough, he put the onus on himself. He basically reset NOAH by reclaiming the GHC Heavyweight Championship and holding it for over a year. Misawa was without a doubt one of the greatest pro wrestlers to ever live, but by 2007 he was beaten up beyond almost recognition. Sure, he managed throw out one more great performance against Sano in a rematch from their brutal 2003 bout. Over the course of his reign before the return of Kobashi, he averaged 8,800 at the Budokan when it was rare for them not to sell out the Budokan between 2001-2005. From a quality standpoint, only the match with Sano and the drop to Morishima made the nominations for the Best of 2000s Japan project. Even the usual surefire hit against Taue did not spark a higher attendance or critical praise. The year 2007 was a rebuilding year for NOAH and Misawa was taking heat on himself as he bided time waiting for Kobashi's return and the development of Morishima.
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| #SwipeRight |
Kobashi's return was the short-term boost the company needed. Immediately, NOAH had a newfound energy from his presence. While he was growing stale before his forced departure, he felt fresh and vulnerable performing in some of the best tag team matches of the decade. The matches felt like throwbacks to the 90s tag classics that used to populate the All Japan scene. In these return matches Kobashi wrestles closer to his 90s style of the vulnerable underdog and is making these heroic, spirited comebacks. Without a doubt, his return match is one of the most emotional matches of the decade and I would say is the most emotional. The story of Kobashi is a story we can all relate to, he absolutely loved pro wrestling and wanted to be the best. He clawed and fought for every inch slowly gaining the respect of Misawa, Kawada and Hansen, until finally in 2003, he became the Man. Just when you think Kobashi had conquered every obstacle in front of him, life threw his greatest challenge, cancer. There was no predetermined outcome to this fight. With his life on the line, he fought and fought, not just to live, but to do what he loved once again and do it on the grandest stage afforded to him in the Budokan alongside, Takayama against long-time rivals, Misawa and Akiyama. It is an incredible story and incredible match.
For a short period of time, NOAH felt rejuvenated, but could they sustain it with Kobashi in tag matches only and Morishima on top. That is for another blog.
Match Listing:
GHC Tag Team Champions Akiyama & Rikio vs. Takayama & Sugiura - Budokan 4/28/07 ***1/2
Don't remember much about this match. It was a pretty good standard NOAH tag match.
GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takuma Sano - Budokan 4/28/07 ****
#94 out of 100
Roundhouse Kick vs Emerald Elbow and it is one helluva fight. Last great Misawa match
Kobashi & Takayama vs Misawa & Akiyama - Budokan 12/02/07 ****1/2
#29 out of 100
Most emotional match of the decade. Throwback to 90s All Japan. Great Kobashi performance
Kobashi, Honda, Taniguchi vs. Morishima, Marufuji, Sugiura - NOAH 2/21/08 ****1/4
#42 of 100
Great chippy young upstart vs veteran tag. Felt like Jumbo & Co. vs Misawa & Co.
Kobashi, Honda, KENTA vs Takayama, Sano, Aoki Budokan 3/2/08 ***3/4
Kobashi looks vulnerable as KENTA bats clean up. Needed stronger heel work.
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GHC Tag Team Champions Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio vs.
Yoshihiro Takayama & Takahashi Sugiura - Budokan 4/28/07
One of the most disappointing trends of the 00s purorseu has been the decline in focus and quality of heavyweight tag team wrestling. The matches generally heralded as some of the best of 90s All Japan were when the Four Corners were making war in the ring in their tag team bouts (12/3/93 & 6/9/95 standout) and Akiyama only added to drama producing what many considered the greatest match of all time 12/6/96. Yes, there have been some great heavyweight tags like AJPW vs NJPW in 12/00 and Kobashi/Taue vs Tenryu/Akiyama in 9/05, but they are much fewer and the focus is not there. I was hopeful this match would be a return to classic tag team, but REMAINED unimpressed and thought this was worse than the Kobashi tags of 2005.
The focus was DEFINITELY on the young talent, Rikio and Sugiura. Akiyama does have a tendency to hide in tag matches, which is ultimately a bad thing for him. I know people get on Kobashi's case about making every match the Kobashi show, but there are ways to make your presence felt without being overbearing. See Takayama in this match as he does a great putting over Rikio early with their shoulderblock stalemates. It is very telling how different Takayama is in 2007 and his 2009 Triple Crown run. He was doing similar spots with Suwama, but without the energy and panache. Here he was really expressive and Rikio looked badass taking him down. The whole match Takayama looked spry and was adding to the match being an obstacle for Rikio to overcome because of his size and agility. Akiyama was just kind of there. That is the difference between a B+ and an A player. Even when you aren't highlighted you need to add to the match with your unique attributes.
I also liked the Takayama and Sugiura pairing because of the size difference. I have never seen Sugiura, but he is a tiny stout powerhouse dude. He is a shorter Kensuke Sasaki, but a bigger Dick Togo. I did not expect him to throw kicks. He has some impressive power spots and a great unpredictable spear, but the Kurt Angle moveset complete with all the video game transitions does NOTHING for me. I will keep my mind open, but he is a worse version of Sasaki in my book so far.
As for the match, I thought it peaked in the early 2 minutes with the Rikio/Takayama shoulderblock war. It just felt like two bulls clashing with neither one giving an inch something that is desperately missing from all the perfunctory elbow war, kick war transitions. Early on, Takayama/Sugiura establish their gameplan of taking advantage of their opponents by throwing them to the outside and letting the partner whip them into the railing. Akiyama and Rikio say whats good for the goose is good for the gander and Rikio throws Sugiura out there and Akiyama DDTs him on ramp and then DDT him throat first on the railing in a nasty spot. Of course Sugiura is right back up doing a fast paced criss cross sequence in the ring. Ugh. Rikio is best he has ever looked in this match. His slaps look great and he is moving with a lot more purpose and energy. Sugiura out of nowhere spear and is ABLE TO GET the tag. After that it really just devolves into big moves to get Sugiura and Rikio over. Rikio throws Takayama around and Sugiura throws Akiyama around. Rikio has to save Akiyama from an ankle lock.
Takayama is so good at the basics. The way he follows through on his knees makes them look so DAMN realistic. I really liked the double team version of Go 2 Sleep. Akiyama is really getting his ass kicked. So much for him ever being an ace. So sad. RIKIO NODOWA ON SUGIURA! At least he steals from the right people. Sugiura runs through a bunch of suplexes, but cant negotiate a pinfall. Sugiura does that annoying runaround selling after an Exploder, but Rikio stops him dead with a Zidane headbutt. Rikio runs through his big offense to get the win. Sugiura looks like a tough, powerful little fucker. Rikio tosses in his most purposeful performance, but still has conditioning issues and not every good at selling. Takayama is great at establishing himself as worthwhile obstacle and Rikio proved he could win mini-wars against him. Akiyama looked not there at best and a jabroni at worst. The action was great and there were some fun spots, but there was no hook to really keep me entertained or wanting to revisit this. Still it is an action-packed match with some really good Takayama work and this always at least worth one look. ***1/2
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GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takuma Sano - Budokan 4/28/07
Regardless of my feelings toward this match, I am shocked they ran this a top of a Budokan card. It shows you how much Misawa felt comfortable working with Sano and how thin and directionless NOAH was. That being said I did really like this match a lot. It is the Roundhouse Kick versus The Emerald Elbow, it is just a badass story. I thought this match told the better story over the 2003 encounter in regard to how much Sano was able to hold Misawa at bay, but did not have the same energy as the '03 match.
Sano hits an early roundhouse kick to send Misawa to the floor. SUICIDE DIVE! Misawa tries to rebound off the railing, but roundhouse kick to the chest, which would be a frequent occurrence. DOUBLE STOMP FROM TOP ROPE TO FLOOR!!! HOLY SHIT! Sano is just so damn tempted by working Misawa's legs even though it is going to be blown off, which is exactly what happens. Every time Misawa gets a little chippy with those elbows there is a roundhouse kick to the chest to greet him, which sets up double stomps and a german suplex. Misawa looks to come off the top rope and everybody say it with me: ROUNDHOUSE KICK! That looked sick. Sano follows him to the floor with a somersault plancha. Sano tries to end this with suplexes and kicks to no avail. Misawa converts one suplex to Emerald Flowsion, but does not have much in the tank. He hits another Emerald Flowsion for only 2. I just notice there has been no heat this entire match. Fuck this crowd! Misawa blows him away with some elbows and hits a Fireman's Carry Emerald Flowsion for the win to a dead crowd.
Not your typical Misawa match as he got less offense than usual and relied on three big bombs late to escape the match. Normally, he would be peppering more offense through the match, but Sano was really keeping him in check with those roundhouse kicks. The beginning of the match was really good, but there was a lot of meandering in the middle. Sano had a great answer to Misawa's elbow, but you never really felt Misawa was in danger because Sano really had no bomb. His roundhouse kicks were not setting anything up but standard moves. If the roundhouse kicks set up body part work or head shots than maybe, but Sano needed more to take the match to the next level. The 2003 match benefited from a hotter crowd and an more energetic crowd. Still this is a great match because of how well the story was told. Sano is out matched by the great Misawa, but can hold him in check with the roundhouse kick like no one before, but unlike a Kawada or Kobashi he has no follow-up bombs. Misawa is able to find an opening to hit his bombs and win. ****
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Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/02/07
"Do not be afraid for I am with you."
Emotionally, there is no more moving 00s puroresu match than this. It was a conquering hero's welcome for Kenta Kobashi. The fans chanting "Ko-Bash-I" BEFORE THE match. Tamon Honda crying on commentary. Kobashi teaming with one of his great rivals against two of the fellow All Japan Five Pillars in his return match from cancer. Regardless of how I felt about Kobashi from 2005 and 2006, I had an ear-to-ear smile seeing Kobashi again. I mean it is not like Kobashi was going to job to cancer.
I would argue you cannot SEPARATE the emotion and content of the match. The match is so fueled by Kobashi's return that intangible propels this match into a 2007 Match of the Year Candidate. Takayama was so surprisingly good at being a cheerleader and playing to the crowd to get Kobashi involved. I don't know if Kobashi was selling the after effects of cancer or if he was actually severely weakened because I found his shine sequence a bit tepid and even sluggish. At first, I was exclaiming "Poor Akiyama!" because it seemed like he was made to be the jabroni of the match. I was beginning to think that emotion would not be able to sustain the heat of the match.
Misawa catching Kobashi with an elbow as he comes off the top is when the match goes from good to excellent in really quick order. Kobashi is no longer Superman and all of sudden we get 1993 Kobashi playing face in peril against two of the greatest offensive wrestlers in history. Save for the Kawada/Fuchi HEAT segment on Iizuka, I can't think of a better face in peril segment in the 2000s in Japan. Kobashi as a face in peril is just so timeless. Even though it is 2007, we have not seen vulnerable Kobashi in so long and it is so refreshing. When you add that Kobashi was coming back from cancer, the sympathy levels are just off the charts. I loved that when Kobashi seems to be turning the tide on Akiyama, Misawa comes in and elbows Kobashi to a chorus of boos!!! Takayama has to hold Misawa on the top rope to allow Kobashi to hit a superplex and tag out to Takayama.
Takayama as a hot tag is so awesome to FINALLY see. It is so short-lived because Misawa blows him out of the water with an elbow. I really loved the Takayama/Akiyama sequence and would have loved to seen them mix it up in a high-profiled singles match. Takayama could have gone for a cover on Akiyama, but he knows that the crowd wants Kobashi and he tags him in. Kobashi runs through his spots to great crowd reaction and I was beaming right with them. Misawa saves Akiyama again, but Takayama tackles Misawa so that Kobashi can hit the moonsault on Akiyama. Kick out! Honda crying! From there, Kobashi gets another nearfall on Misawa with the Burning Lariat, but eventually AKiyama and Misawa were able to overwhelm the weakened Kobashi. Misawa could not score the win with the Emerald Flowsion, but he secured the victory with a Super Emerald Flowsion.
So the time honored tradition CONTINUED with the returning wrestling doing the job with the rationale being ring rust and having to earn his return. Kobashi is at his absolute best as the underdog and for the first time since the 90s he is in the role he was meant to play. Takayama was great at being a badass, but always showcasing Kobashi. Akiyama was thankfully not a total jabroni in the match even though he was the one that Kobashi could get over on. As good as Akiyama was as a dick, but my God, Misawa was excellent. It is not his best match in the 00s, but I thought it was his best performance since February of 2000 against Akiyama. He was so cold and calculating, He did not care that his ex-partner and his friend was returning from cancer. He was here to win. He was not going to take it easy on Kobashi. All the factors came together to produce an amazing tour de force. ****1/2
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| SUPER EMERALD FLOWSION~! |
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Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda, Shuhei Taniguchi vs.
Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura - NOAH 2/21/08
When they were not taking knocking Kobashi off the apron with powerful elbows to face, they were brutalizing Tangiuchi mercilessly. I loved, loved the spot where Sugiura hangs Taniguchi out to dry on the ropes. He revvs up for a big boot, but his target is Kobashi, who he floors. Marufuji, proves that KENTA is not only one stolen from, as he does the Roman Reigns apron spot and Seth Rollins curb stomp. I loved Marufuji as the douche and Suigura as the violent prick. I would have liked to seen more out of Morishima as the scary monster, he was good, but not as good as his comrades. Taniguchi and Kobashi are getting decimated and Honda just is doing nothing at all. In what was a really lame transition, Morishima just FEEDS Taniguchi a belly to belly. I loved that heat segment, but what a shitty transition.
Morishima and Kobashi have a great sequence as Kobashi has TAKEN so much punishment on the apron he just cant get anything going. He has been neutralized as a hot tag. Honda comes in. It was just pathetic. He looked so awful. I was embarrassed for him. His version of a spear was him bending over and Sugiura running into him and falling over. Sugiura and Honda trading suplexes made me cringe. I was loving this match, but Honda is killing me. Honda is forced to tag in Taniguchi because Kobashi has been decimated. I actually really liked Tangiuchi and Marufuji's sequence. I don't think Taniguchi was better than Go Shiozaki, but he was really good as a plucky underdog with lots of fighting spirit. There was a good struggle over the German Suplex and Sliced Bread. Kobashi, Honda and Taniguchi all hit a suplex on Marufuji, but Sugiura saved. Now Marufufji, Sugiura and Morishima all hit a move on Taniguchi. Marufuji hits a silly looking powerboimb from the top rope and Steiner Screwdriver to win.
Everything up to Honda coming in is just gold. Marufuji as this HEAT-seeking douchebag was so good. The way he gets his comeuppance mid-match only for him to continue to be an absolute dick. I loved how everybody had zeroed in Kobashi and was just relentless. It is too bad that finish just did not match the body of the work. Still, I loved the heat and the chippiness of this match a lot. ****1/4
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| Holy Shit! This looks so cool. |
Kenta Kobashi/Tamon Honda/KENTA vs Yoshihiro Takayama/Takuma Sano/Atsushi Aoki Budokan 3/2/08
This match would be way better as Kobashi/KENTA vs Takayama/Aoki. Honda is just so old at this point that besides the same dangling Olympic Hell from the corner spot he added nothing. As much as I have come to love Sano he was ultimately expendable. Each of the other match up were really well done. Aoki tagging Kobashi at every turn was not as good as Marufuji and Sugiura, but added some good heat to the match. Of course, when Kobashi got his hands on the little punk it was great stuff. Takayama/KENTA is just as electric as their 2004 match. There is just so much great struggle. KENTA/Aoki was a little spotty, but had a great energy to it. Kobashi/Takayama have crazy freaky chemistry with each other it is like the polar opposite of Kobashi/Sasaki. In a lot of ways, this six-man follows the template of the previous six man, but isnt as good. Sugiura, Marufuji and Morishima are all out to prove themselves to Kobashi and all would be NOAH main event talent. They each take their different paths Sugiura is a mean bastard, Marufuji is a cocky douche and Morishima is a monster who wants him in the ring. Aoki is a punk junior, but he is nowhere near Marufuji's credibility. Sano is old. Takayama is Kobashi's peer (ok, just slightly below, but treated as equals). The match benefits as the other two Kobashi comeback matches do from Kobashi being more vulnerable and not guzzling his opponents. The opening portion feels flat especially compared to the other six-man besides KENTA/Takayama bit. The KENTA FIP drives this match into the really good territory as they kick the shit out of KENTA. Kobashi is in for the hot tag, but this is not the Kobashi of yesteryear and eventually succumb to Team Takayama. Kobashi's team has to save him from certain doom from an Everest Suplex. Kobashi is able to tag out to KENTA. The juniors come in for a big, fast-paced finale. In an unusual moment for puroresu, Takayama accidentally big boots his own partner, Aoki. KENTA hits the Go 2 Sleep on Aoki to win. Afterwards Kobashi/Takayama brawl on the ramp.
There is plenty of action in the match to satisfy the action marks, but I did not think there was as much substance as the previous six-man that I really liked. Everything was good, but there was nothing that really hooked me in. If this happened on RAW, yes I would be going crazy, but for NOAH this seemed pretty run of the mill. The middle portion with KENTA FIP and the false Kobashi hot tag give this enough legs that it should make the Top 100. ***3/4
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It was great having Kenta Kobashi back in NOAH and Kobashi has really climbed up my list as one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Lots of different directions this blog can go. There will definitely be an XWA review up. I think because I am going to this year's Royal Rumble that a review of Daniel Bryan's 2014 just got shunted up the card. YES! YES!YES!YES! YES!YES! YES! YES!
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