Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,
Fuck the weather, man! I will be in Philadelphia tomorrow come Hell or High Water tomorrow to see the Royal Rumble in living color. Not going to let the elevator bring me down. Uh oh! Lets Go Crazy!
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| DARLING NIKKI |
Originally, I earmarked certain matches that were must watch before I submitted the ballot, but then with an extended deadline I expanded to more matches. So I will link to the heavyweight matches from New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2000-2002 that were reviewed before and those were the matches that did really well on my ballot. In casting a larger net for New Japan in the early 2000s, I mostly collected duds like Tenzan & Kojima tag team matches and old man Chono. While New Japan had some really spectacular matches in 2000 (mostly due to Kawada), I really thought I had seen them all. Then I decided to watch a Nagata IWGP title defense against Kazunari Murakami. I had seen Murakami for the first time as Ogawa's junior shooter buddy in the awesomely hot Dome match against Hashimoto/Iizuka. I liked his heel performance as a dick shooter, but he was in Ogawa shadow. I went in expecting a slow, submission-style, counter-wrestling Nagata match to win against a semi-legitimate shooter.
Watching the match, I was totally floored. Murakami gave one of the all-time classic asshole heel performances. You want that muthafucka to get punched in the mouth in this match. The match has a crazy amount of energy and urgency. It is just feels like one of those electric matches. Murakami is just an overeager douchebag and then Nagata gets roughed up and bloodied on the outside. I love shoot-style heels. The match would be excellent at this point, but then Nagata gives a great babyface performance. The man who I thought I was a total charisma vacuum had me captivated as he just went in total asskicker mode looking to rip Murkami arm off and then dropping him on his head. Between this and the crazy bloody Makabe brawl, Nagata missed his calling as a brawling, asskicking New Japan ace. Without a doubt, the most overachieving match on paper in the decade by far. WATCH THIS MATCH!
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| Murakami: Asshole Extraordinaire |
Other New Japan Matches
Hashimoto & Iizuka vs Ogawa & Murakami, New Japan January 4th ****1/2
#27 out of 100
Tenryu vs Sasaki, New Japan January 4th ****1/2
#23 out of 100
Sasaki vs Kawada, New Japan October 9th ****3/4
#14 out of 100
Kawada & Fuchi vs Nagata & Iizuka, New Japan December 14th *****
#4 out of 100
Mutoh vs Nagata, New Japan August 12th ***1/2
Mutoh & Hase vs Akiyama & Nagata, New Japan October 8th
(http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/01/2001-shining-wizard-keiji-mutoh.html)
Nagata vs Takayama, New Japan May 2nd ****1/4
#66 out of 100
Takayama vs Sasaki, New Japan August 3rd ***1/2
Takayama vs Nishimura, New Japan August 10th ***1/2
Match Listing:
Masahiro Chono vs Masanobu Fuchi - AJPW 9/02/00
Two old bastards trying to out cheat each other, but emphasis is on "old", unfortunately
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Takahashi Iizuka
This sucked.
Toshiaki Kawada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - IWGP Championship Semi-Finals Tokyo Dome 01/04/01
Kawada drags a good match out of Tenzan
Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - IWGP Championship FINALS Tokyo Dome 01/04/01****
#85 out of 100
Awesome, power sprint. These guys had awesome chemistry with each other.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Mike Barton & Jim Steele - G-1 Tag Climax FINALS '01
Basic, fundamental tag team match. Very average.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 6/7/02
Power vs submission. Disappointing.
Masahiro Chono vs Yoshihiro Takayama - 2002 G-1 Climax Finals
Takayama dragged a great, dramatic match out of old man Chono.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami - NJPW 12/12/02 ****3/4
#15 out of 100
Amazing, exciting shoot-style fight. Badass Murakami heel performance. Badass Nagata face performance.
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| Call me over when ever you want to grind |
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Masahiro Chono vs Masanobu Fuchi - AJPW 9/02/00
I have even more RESPECT for Takayama after this Chono performance. Team 2000 (TenKoji, Masa Saito, Masa Chono) is in enemy territory looking boss. Chono does have a unique, cool badass aura for Japan. Fuchi is a lot bigger than I thought he was for being a career junior heavyweight being almost as tall Chono. Fuchi is quite obviously the best part of the match working the babyface dirty old bastard. In fact, the appeal of this match is the two cheating bastards going at each other, but was underwhelming.
My favorite portion was up front where Chono disrespectfully slapped Fuchi and he did not take it lying down unleashing strikes, a vicious Back Drop DRIVER and some energetic facelocks. Chono slows the pace way down by stalling up the aisle. Chono resorts to using a closed fist, which Fuchi sells like a million bucks. Chono stomping and general heel-ery is quite boring, but Fuchi sells it well. Fuchi grabs a quick sleeper to wake us all up. Fuchi reminds me why he is my hero by stepping on Chono's face and setting him up in the ropes to stand on Chono's head. The heat gets turned up with each trading eye-rakes. Fuchi enzigiuri! Back Drop Driver! Only gets two! Chono uses his leg to hit a ballshot to avoid the second Back Drop Driver. Team 2000 leaves their seats to intimidate the ref. Chono hits a piledriver and a Yakuza Kick, but only gets two. Chono presents the STF better than anyone else I have seen building it up as a huge moment. A barrage of Yakuza Kicks polishes off Fuchi.
I enjoyed the two bastards trying to out CHEAT each other, but this just really did not have enough meat on the bone. One of the takeaways from 00s is to track downn more 90s Masa Fuchi footage
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Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Takahashi Iizuka -
NJPW G-1 Tag FINALS 11/30/00
My theory was that Tenzan and Kojima could be a great babyface tag team, but holy shit are they as shitty as I thought they would be as a heel tag team. Usually in a match I don't like, I can figure out why someone nominated it. This is just wretched. The fact that AJ Styles reportedly got a pretty good match out of Tenzan in 2014 should lock him up as Wrestler of the Year because 2000 Tenzan fuckin sucked. My notes just say "lots of chopping" over and over again. What the hell was with those shitty American-style punches, Nagata. If you are going to punch someone do it like Tenryu, man. There is no sense of flow. People just tag in and out. There are lazy transitions like the powerbomb into the heel hook. The finishing stretch is just a bunch of bombs with no rhyme or reason. The best part of this match was a Scott NORTON sighting. Bullet Club needs more Scott Norton.
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| Kawada Save Me! |
Toshiaki Kawada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - IWGP Championship Semi-Finals Tokyo Dome 01/04/01
Kawada, lookin' tan, drags a pretty good match out of Tenzan en route to the IWGP Championship rematch with Kensuke Sasaki. The trick with Tenzan headbutts is to get a good camera angle though the transition headbutt actually draws blood from Tenzan. Tenzan's game plan is to overwhelm Kawada and hit his big spots. I enjoyed the cutoffs as Tenzan put up a good effort like the headbutt to the mid-section after a missed diving headbutt, the always excellent desperation Kawada closed fist and the dragon leg screw from Tenzan. Kawada is really great at selling in the moment, but in the 00s he is not very good at selling long term. The leg PSYCHOLOGY I thought was something that would boost this match did not go anywhere. The finish run was to be expected lots of jumping kicks from Kawada and headbutts from Tenzan with each trying to set up their kill. Kawada hits the powerbomb for the win. It was enjoyable, but nothing that special. The struggle between the two keeps it interesting, but they never get to the next level. ***1/4
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Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - IWGP Championship FINALS Tokyo Dome 01/04/01
I had watched this before and remember it being pretty good, but I was really impressed this time around. They really captured the urgency to end this match early because they both had previous matches that show. Kawada comes out flying with a jumping kick to the head and back drop driver. The match is a war where both wrestlers were trying to use their strikes (lariats versus kicks) to set up their big bombs. Sasaki draws blood with a vicious lariat and Kawada is not afraid to let his kicks fly. I loved how Sasaki actually tripped on Kawada on his follow through on a clothesline. Kawada kicking someone in the head just never gets old. Kawada's powerbomb does not get the job done and the end is nigh. I like Sasaki's Boston Crab because it looked uncooperative that Kawada was not LETTING him get a deep one and Kawada made the ropes. They smash into each other with lariats and Kawada sell coming off that lariat was so friggin amazing as he sort of collapses away from Sasaki. Kawada had been able to hit a jumping kick to avoid a German Suplex, but on this suplex he just doesnt have enough energy to get the ropes and goes flying onto his head. LARIATOOOOO! Sasaki only get two, but then finally gets the Northern Lights Bomb to secure the victory. Sasaki is so good friggin' good at these sub-20 minute wars. He is a great powerhouse and Kawada makes him look like a million bucks. It is also a great blowoff to the New Japan vs All Japan feud. It is not as good as the 2000 classic because they don't attain the same gritty uncooperativeness but still a really good, hard hitting match. ****
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Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Mike Barton & Jim Steele - G-1 Tag Climax FINALS '01
Boy, did this remind me of 80s WWF Tag Wrestling so much. The layout was perfectly fine, but it did not grip me in anyway. All four knew what they should be doing and they did it, but it was cold and mechanical. Unlike the WWF they did tack on a big All Japan-style finish run, which popped the crowd huge because 2001 New Japan very rarely used these types of finish runs. However, having watched so much NOAH, this run felt really passe. I think that's actually what is most interesting about this match. If I was in January of 2002, I may put this very high on my 2001 match of the year list because it was so different for the time period: a New Japan tag match with a double heat segment and a big finish run combined. It was pretty unique, but it ages poorly because its HOOK based on what is happening around the match rather than in the match. So that in 2014 I have seen so many matches done better than this that it does not stand out at all.
I didn't think this was Mike Barton (Bart Gunn) or Jim Steele's career performance at all. Unless you deem one big bump over the top rope to the floor and a left hand punch to the gut career performance worthy. I will say Jim Steele looks like an oversized version of Sean Waltman, but with none of their charisma. However, he was trying to win me over with the orange zubaz tights. Yes, this was PROBABLY Barton's best match and maybe Steele's, but he was in All Japan so it is possible he has had better matches.
Tenzan and Kojima clearly carried this match. In fact, Kojima and Tenzan have the capability to be a pretty good team. Tenzan is actually pretty good at SELLING and for all the shit I give Kojima he was a pretty solid hot tag because his offense was all done in short bursts. The problem is they were heels their entire tenure and I would dread Tenzan and Kojima trying to work on top. Tenzan and Kojima strike me as two wrestlers that could pushed beyond their capabilities because there was no one left and they were over.
Barton and Steele worked such a boring heat segment and it was only Tenzan's selling that kept it alive. The finish run was fun with Kojima getting killed only for a 3-D to take out Barton and Tenzan with a piledriver/moonsault combo to win. It is not a bad match. It is average work paired with a great layout and an exciting finish run that pushes it a bit above average. ***
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IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 6/7/02
I am more glad this exists then I am about how it was executed. The two biggest NJPW stars of the early 00s clash for supremacy. I am partial to Sasaki, but I understand given Inoki's preferences why he choose Yuji Nagata: Super Counterwrestler Extraordinaire. Besides the fact that Nagata has the charisma of a potted plant, what bothers me is Nagata tends to do all this counterwrestling early, but then always ends up finishing with suplexes and kicks. Contrast that to Minoru Tanaka, who uses his other offense to set up his counterwrestling and look how much more invested the crowd is in his submission wrestling. Not to mention that Minoru Tanaka is just a more entertaining and charismatic wrestler. Nagata matches tend to be very disjointed and this is not much different. I like Sasaki, but he is someone who is more of a follower than leader. So when Nagata or Kobashi is leading, then his matches tends not go too well.
Early on, they spend a lot of time on the mat, which is a nice change of pace from NOAH. Sasaki does admirably holding his own, but overall I would say Nagata wins the early portion with a stepover toehold. Nagata gets a bit cocky and starts kicking Sasaki repeatedly so Sasaki responds with a slap and Northern Lights Bomb. Nagata powders. I love that about Japan. It is an excellent way to hit a big move, but protect it. Sasaki starts using power wrestling to set up for lariat, but Nagata kicks the lariat arm. Nagata is not really building to anything just hitting some signature moves. Sasaki is able to lariat his knee while he is on the apron. Sasaki does well to use this as an opening to hit a power move, work holds on the knee like the Scorpion Deathlock, but Nagata just won't sell it. Nagata kicks lariat arm. Nagata runs through suplexes and head kicks to polish him off.
I enjoyed the change of pace in the beginning compared to NOAH, but they did not follow through in any interesting way and ended in a similar fashion. Oh well.
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Masahiro Chono vs Yoshihiro Takayama - 2002 G-1 Climax Finals
Chono is rover like fucking over with the crowd. Come to think of it, Kojima was wicked over in All Japan and Tenzan had the crowd in the frenzy during the 2003 G-1 Climax. Team 2000 was the ticket to being hugely popular in 00s Japan. I will have say they have a very unique, cool badass aura for Japan. Not to TAKEAWAY anything from the ultimate badass, the Big, Bad Bleach Blond Giant of Yoshihiro Takayama, who was so locked in 2002 that he even got a good match out of Chono.
The beginning was pretty boring with Takayama just asserting his dominance with his size and on the mat. Takayama works in his usual HEELS spots like eyerakes and one foot cover. Any and all Chono offense gets wildly cheered, but pretty much sucks especially that shitty armbar. Takayama hits his huge knee lift, which Chono sells like a million bucks. It is picking up now. Chono in full on desperation mode draws blood with repeated Yakuza Kicks. Takayama storms back with knee lifts with the ref having to pull him off and Team 2000 is irate at ringside. He goes for the Everest to finish him, but knows the ballshot is coming and avoids it. I love it. Chono gets the spinwheel kick and a drop toehold. Huge Pop! Everybody knows what is coming: STF, BABY! Chono is good at ratcheting up the STF and Takayama sold great. Takayama dead weight after making the ropes. A barrage of Yakuza Kicks wins Chono his blank G-1 Climax to the delight of the crowd.
The key with 00s Chono is keep him off offense and let him hit his big spots to please the crowd. Takayama was just so locked in at this point that he could have a great match with anybody. ***1/4
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| I NEED TO FIND THIS MATCH! |
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami - NJPW 12/12/02
This, my friends, is why you watch all the matches. On paper this looks innocuous with boring Nagata against the wild card Murakami, but they produce an absolutely crazy, hate-filled brawl. Have this right neck and neck with Takayama/Ogawa for 2002 MOTY and with the 2007 Togi Makabe as Yuji Nagata's best match of his career. The best match to compare this to is Kawada/Naoya Ogawa, but Murakami brings an even crazier energy to this match. Murkami just has that face that looks like he is a total mean asshole. He wrestles like an out of control shoot fighter. I have only seen three of his matches, but much like Naoya Ogawa he just has this undeniable presence. Right from the get go he makes Nagata wrestle a totally different style match. Murakami brullrushes him and just starts stepping and stomping on him like a maniac. Nagata to his credit never looked out of place and really did well with a sprint shoot-style beginning. The matches goes from interesting to great once Murakami won't let go of a cross armbreaker when Nagata is in the ropes. Nagata powders, but is pummeled outside by Murakami's entourage and is left battered and bloodied trying to respond to ref's count. Murakami is perfect mixture of cocky and mean that is so instantly unlikeable. Murakami focuses on the arm applying a cross armbreaker and crippler's crossface with the blood really oozing. Murakami licks Nagata's blood off his forearm. I think to forgot to say he is BATSHIT INSANE~! Nagata kicks Murakami's lariat arm and knees to the head and the crowd is rocking. I liked Nagata going for the "arm for an arm" route it i just he sat in the armbar a bit too long to call this a match of the decade contender. Nagat gets distracted by Murakami sleezy manager and Murakami gets a rear naked choke, which was a great last gasp for Murakami. Nagata turn Murakami's STO into a crazy suplex and then rains down knees. He does not hit one, not two, but three wrist clutch exploders!!!
Crazy hot start, badass hook, Murakami excellent heel heat, Nagata's comeback, last Murakami gasp and then a finish run that showcased Nagata did not just want to win a match he wanted to punish and destroy Murakami. No lazy strike exchanges, no nearfalls, just hot, non-stop action. Everybody needs to watch this! ****1/2
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I FOUND THE BLOODY BRAWL BETWEEN KENSUKE SASAKI VS. YUJI NAGATA ABOVE!
Yuji Nagata vs Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 01/04/04
Up until the finish, I thought this was a classic, bloody, Dome brawl. I was perplexed why no one talked about this match until that finish, which takes it down quite a bit. Sasaki returns, but not to a hero's welcome. No, he must have been portrayed as a turncoat for leaving Inoki's New Japan to join a short-lived Choshu's promotion that would focus more on pro wrestling. Sasaki fit the 90s New Japan Strong Style well, but Sasaki stuck out like a sore thumb in Inoki's MMA-influenced New Japan of the early 2000s, but he comes back here to challenge Inoki's boy, Yuji Nagata at the Dome. Without the title on the line and New Japan in its nadir in terms of critical quality, I can see why this is overlooked, but I thought this was awesome.
They are chippy before the match starts and have to be held back during introductions. It feels like Sasaki is a Choshu-like invader taking on the Hero of New Japan. They just stand up and duke it the fuck out. Sasaki rocks him with a slap to the ear. Nagata tries to fight back and Sasaki hits him a lariat. Sasaki goes for the cross-armbreaker to win the match, but Nagata retreats to the outside. Sasaki whips him into the railing and goes for the chair. Nagata in desperation smokes the chair back into Sasaki's face with a wicked kick. Sasaki does a nice blade job. Sasaki gets a lariat to back of Nagata's head and sends him head-first into the post. Nagata does a nasty, gory blade job. We get the double juice and Nagata & Sasaki stand up in the ring and just throw haymakers, headbutts and strikes. It was fucking awesome. Nagata is left in the middle ring laying and you can see the pool of blood forming around the back of the head. Sasaki just goes vampire crazy gnawing on Nagata and then headbutting him. Sasaki gloats and the New Japan crowd boos loudly. Damn! Northern Lights Bomb! He chooses to go for the ten count. He goes for it again, but Nagata gets a wild kick to the head that rocks Sasaki. Nagata follows it up and you really feel like it going to build to this awesome finish and be a slam dunk 2004 match of the year contender, but then Nagata just puts Sasaki in the Rings of Saturn for like 60-90 seconds until Sasaki passes out. It was very anticlimatic. Up until the finish, a damn exciting brawl. I loved the visual of the double juice with them standing up and just trading strikes in the middle of the ring. Sasaki was actually playing a good heel. Definitely worth a look and see. ***1/2
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