Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,
Pro Wrestling Love vol. 7:
The Greatest Matches of Other Puroresu in 2000-2004
Objective: Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project
(hosted at gwe.freeforums.project.net) into more manageable chunks to help me
build my Top 100 List for the project.
Motivation:
Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own
understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and
even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by
the sands of time.
Contact Info: You
can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com.
You can check out the full version of these match reviews in
ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated
with the date of the match. You can reach me on Twitter and
Instagram @superstarsleeze or at ProWrestlingOnly.com as Superstar Sleeze to
continue the discussion.
Subject: This seventh
volume of Pro Wrestling Love finishes the Top 12 countdown of the best matches
to take place in Japan in all the non-NOAH promotions from 2000-2004. I had a
being internal struggle whether to include the first half of 2000 All Japan
(pre-split) with late 90s All Japan. The reason I decided against it is that I
want some mystery about what I think the Greatest Match Ever is. If I was force
to rank Misawa vs Akiyama from February 2000 against 6/9/95, 12/6/96 and
1/20/97 it might give too much away. :P So I liked the idea of breaking it out
in this. Also, it is just easier from a bookkeeping perspective to keep all the
21st century wrestling together. All Japan and New Japan will
obviously be featured, but matches from Zero-One, Toryumon/Dragon Gate,
U-Style, BattlArts and WAR were all watched.
Ratings: All six
of these matches should make my list. The #1 match is a contender for Greatest
Match Ever.
 |
| DANGEROUS~! |
The Top Six Non-NOAH Puroresu Matches of 2000-2004
#6. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Kazunari Murakami –
NJPW 12/12/02
Puroresu Match of the Year, 2002
I would hazard to guess that no match in the history has
ever overachieved as much as this match. That’s why my friends you watch all
the matches. Yes, it was nominated for Ditch’s Project so it was not a
completely new discovery, but nobody talks about this match. On paper, no one
expects one of one hundred greatest matches of all time to take place when they
watch this match, but that’s what you get in my opinion.
Murakami is at his absolute cocky shooter prick best. Find
me a person that would not want to punch him in the face watching this. He is
so eminently hateable throughout this match. You are just begging for the
Nagata comeback. As the reader has come to find, I love energy in my match.
Murakami is just a total speedball. He is a frenetic, out of control shooter
that no one can contain. The opening sets the tone for the entire match. He bulrushes
Nagata and is just stepping and stomping all over him. He is a maniac. There’s
a great part where Murakami refuses to relinquish a cross-armbreaker and
eventually Nagata just forces him to the outside where he gets battered and
bloodied by Murakami’s entourage. The Crippler’s Crossface with all that blood
oozing out was a very effective visual and of course Murakami would not be one
of the best if he didn’t lick Nagata’s blood from his own forearm. Like I said
above, the viewer is just begging for that Nagata comeback and we get it. Oh
boy do we get it! It is a ferocious destruction of Murakami’s arm, an arm for
an arm you see. Murakami was the star, but Nagata was no slouch in this and he
really brought it when it came his turn. Murakami has one last gasp when his
sleazy manager distracts Nagata long enough to apply a rear naked choke. That
was a good last gasp for the crazed shooter. Nagata recovers and hits not one,
not two, but three wrist clutch exploders. He wanted to make sure Murakami was
punished for being such a dick. This is Inokiism at its finest the perfect
confluence of shoot and spectacle.
#5. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada –
NJPW 10/09/00
All Japan Pro Wrestling was gutted and reeling from the
departure of Misawa & Co. in the summer of 2000. However, they retained
Toshiaki Kawada and that was all that was needed to make the All Japan invasion
of 2000 seem like a big deal. A big enough deal to headline the Tokyo Dome.
Inoki is sucker for a good invasion storyline. So it was booked Kensuke Sasaki
vs Toshiaki Kawada for the Tokyo Dome. It must have felt like Hell Froze Over
for puroresu fans at the time. Kawada was going to work for Inoki. The New
Japan fans were throwing objects at Kawada. This was personal. This had been
building since 1973 when Inoki and Baba went their separate ways. This was not
about titles. This was about pride. Which company is the best? Two men acting
as surrogates for Inoki and Baba trying to win honor & glory not just for
themselves but for their company. This match reflects the ego, machismo and
bravado intrinsic to the hyper-masculine entertainment of pro wrestling. Don’t
confuse this with hate. This is not a hate filled brawl. It is not a scientific
grappling match. It is stand up, toe to toe, you give your best shot and I give
mine. It is about who is the strongest, toughest man. It is a style that can
leave a lot to be desired and is a big problem I have with a lot of modern New
Japan. It can come off as more of a ritual than a match. It is like a game of
bloody knuckles. You are trying to outlast your opponent and win in a very
specific fashion. It is not logical because rituals are not logical. You
fighting according to an unspoken code. It is the code of strong style.
It starts off just as a match of machismo and pride should
start. A hotly contested lockup. Like two rams with their horns locked in a
joust. Sasaki lets Kawada know this is a fight to survive as he punches him in
the head. Kawada has that perfect jelly leg sell and Kawada asks the ref “Did
he just do that?”. There is a great gritty, slopping grappling exchange that
felt like a shoot. Then the ritual begins. They just stand eye to eye and chop
and slap the ever loving shit out of each other. It is at the end of this
Kawada gets his receipt with a closed fist to the face, the ultimate
dishonorable cheap shot. Kawada begins his heat segment he hits his big bombs,
but does so with arrogance. Both men are selling their asses off. Kawada is one
of the best at selling fatigue in his match. It is this fatigue that costs him
as he cant hit his powerbomb. Sasaki begins his comeback, but it is a tempered
comeback because he is selling the toll his body has taken in this match. I
loved how he had to break his Scorpion Deathlock just because he was exhausted.
So the ritual begins anew. They just start throwing huge lariats at one
another. Each are on jelly legs. The one lariat I still remember is Sasaki hits
Kawada so hard that is a cloud of sweat that forms. I have not watch this match
in five years and that really stuck with me. Sasaki collapses on a simple
suplex attempt. Sublime selling. Sasaki is trying to power up but succumbs to
Kawada’s enziguiris to the head. I usually am not fond of wars of attrition.
They lack energy. In fact they are anti-energy matches. They are supposed to be
draining to the competitors and the viewer. It was a ritual match where the
unspoken rules were stand and trade strikes. To do otherwise is dishonorable.
It is not smart wrestling. It is really fucking stupid wrestling. But then
again Pride is a really fucking stupid thing.
#4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro
Takayama
AJPW 05/26/00
The comeback to end all comebacks! This up there with Lawler
vs Bockwinkel in terms of my favorite comebacks of all time. The arm dangling
at Kobashi’s side while he is valiantly trying to make a comeback against this
Giant is so dramatic. He is trying to fight through the pain, but Takayama is
always cutting off by attacking the arm. The best part of the match is Takayama
hits his Everest Suplex and when he cant pick up the duke he just starts
punching Kobashi in the face with closed fists. It is such a dick move. It is
kinda temper tantrum in a way. He just starts liberally cheating. Kobashi
rallies with punches of his own, but his left arm as his right arm just dangles
at his side! It is electric! Then he just says “Fuck it” and hits that Monster Burning
Lariat with his bad arm for the win. It is not just this being one of the all
time great comebacks this is a very complete match. What makes it standout is
Takayama’s full on heel performance. It is very American as he is outright
cheating and even has his buddy, Takao Omori helping him distract Kobashi at
ringside. He is stepping on Kobashi’s throat, he hits Kobashi so hard his eye
swells shut. Of course, the armwork from Takayama was par excellence. This is
just a badass heel heat segment. Kobashi is just in his element fighting from
underneath the perfect balance between selling vulnerability and hope. It gets
overshadowed by the NOAH match, but this will undoubtedly also make my list.
#3. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi
Iizuka – NJPW 12/14/00
I mentioned in my previous volume how much I love a dick
heel tag team picks on the junior babyface partner and really makes you beg for
the Ace hot tag. We get that here in spades as old man Masa Fuchi gives one of
the best heel performances of all time just being a total prick to Iizuka.
Fuchi actually gets his ass kicked at the beginning of the match by Iizuka. It
is only after a very scrappy, pride-filled exchange between Nagata/Kawada
(loved the intense grappling and Nagata kicking Kawada in the head when he does
hamstring stretches in the middle of the match. Kawada was being quite the
asshole) that Fuchi manned up. One kneecrusher and Fuchi becomes the cockiest
bastard ever. Fuchi stands on Iizuka’s head and taunts Nagata with a look that
says to me “What the fuck are you going to do about it, Nagata?” So after quite
the asskicking and all the taunting, Nagata steps in and Kawada rushes in to
floor him with a kick to the head. Now they take turns beating the piss out of
Nagata on the floor with Iizuka hapless in the ring. This is amazing tag team
wrestling, some of the best of all time from the All Japan boys. There is a
great moment when Nagata has recovered enough to get back on the apron as he
tries to interfere, he collapses. That puts over the stakes of the match.
Kawada was coming off a victory over New Japan’s champion. New Japan could not
afford another loss to Kawada and All Japan. Iizuka miraculously applies a
sleeper on Fuchi and holds it for long enough that when he lets go Fuchi falls
outside of the ring. Kawada allows Iizuka to tag Nagata because if he loses
Fuchi he will be all alone in enemy territory. While Kawada is the best
wrestler in this match, he is not good enough 2-on-1. Now Nagata invites him
into the ritual of strong style fighting spirit. Kawada gladly obliges. Kawada
sells Nagata’s kicks to the head so well. I love Kawada. Kawada is able to hit
a back drop driver and when Nagata kicks out, Liger pops and cheers him on. That’s
a nice touch. Kawada is battling off both men and the New Japan crowd is
nervous. Nagata targets Kawada’s knee and now New Japan has hope. Fuchi saves,
but ends up in a leglock of his own. There is a great Fuchi selling spot where
he looks for the tag after hold, but he does not need to tag out because he was
not legal in the first place. Great moment. The All Japan boys not to be
outdone end up grabbing simultaneous stretch plums. This is great, I love
mirror spots! The finish stretch is insane. Nagata and Kawada rip into each
other. Nagata wins the stand up applies a cross armbreaker, Fuchi stands on
Nagata’s head as the time limit expires. You will be hard pressed to find
better tag wrestling in the history of pro wrestling than this match. Kawada
& Fuchi were the ultimate heel tag team, garnering so much heat by being
assholes, but when it came time to sell for the comeback they sold. Iizuka was
the perfect outgunned babyface partner that you know will get his ass kicked,
but he is not going to give up. Nagata felt like an Ace for the first time
here. His segments with Kawada felt huge. I think the coolest thing about the
match remains the simultaneous face in peril segments where Nagata and Iizuka
were both in trouble at the same time. It really made the drama for the finish
run feel huge. From the moment where Iizuka finally took out Fuchi to the time
limit expiring, this was perfect, high stakes tag wrestling.
#2. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh –
AJPW 6/8/01
Puroresu Match of the Year, 2001
Slow and steady wins the race. One wrestling cliché that I
feel is misappropriated for many wrestlers is “no wasted motion”. In this
match, there truly was no wasted motion. Every single move mattered, was milked
and as given time to breathe. At one point, I popped for a dropkick to the knee
like it was a frigging Burning Hammer. To me, that is pro wrestling. One the
surface, this match is about Mutoh’s hyper-focused strategy: the knee, the
knee, the knee and then Tenryu’s consequent retaliation. Buried in this match
is Tenryu’s masterful performance working underneath and selling the effects of
the opening bell Shining Wizard all the way to the final bell. Mutoh completely
blindsided him with that Shining Wizard and from then on out Tenryu was selling
the effects of having his bell rung. Mutoh wanted to hit the Moonsault right
then and there, but Tenryu wisely powdered. That one headshot prevents from
mounting any offense during the first ten minutes of the match. I love how when
Tenryu is able to string three moves together punctuated with a powerbomb, it
is a Kappo kick to the HEAD that Mutoh uses to regain the advantage and send
Tenryu reeling to the outside. As Tenryu re-enters the ring, the tenacious
Mutoh dropkicks the knee. So it begins Tenryu rallies and Mutoh attacks the
knee. It is relentless and intense. The greatest spot in the match is when
Tenryu dropkicks Mutoh in his KNEE. I popped so hard for that. What a great
Fuck You spot. Tenryu is the best. Tenryu throwing all that knee work back in
Mutoh’s face is so glorious. Tenryu runs through his big bombs, but cant pin
Mutoh yet. Then it happens as he is going for the brainbuster, Mutoh knees him
in the HEAD, what a great intra-match callback. Two Shining Wizards and
backbreaker/moonsault spells the end for Mr. Puroresu. Mutoh’s transition were
so on point in this match and all tied back to his overall startegy. I am such a mark for logical, smart strategy and
transitions. I loved him in this match. Tenryu was a genius in this match. The way
he sold his bell being rung was great. He was constantly going for home runs to
get himself back into the match because he found himself in such a big early
hole. Amazing match as Pro Wrestling Love reigns supreme.
#1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama – AJPW 2/27/00
Puroresu Match of the Year, 2000
I just preached efficiency in the match right before this,
but I think this is even more efficient. Everything is so impactful and
meaningful. I didn’t recognize it at the time, but I think was Misawa trying to
recreate the magic of Misawa vs Jumbo, but this time he is in the Jumbo role.
This was the big kickoff to the Akiyama superpush. This far outstrips the
Misawa vs Jumbo match as this is a total tour deforce with Akiyama
laser-focused on destroying the neck of Misawa (with how Misawa died this can
be a little uncomfortable to watch at times) and Misawa’s world-renowned resiliency
being tested like never before. Nothing says the stakes are higher than when
Misawa squashes Akiyama’s nose on a nasty knee drop and crushes it with Akiyama
coming up bloody. Of course, what makes this match work so well is the fact
that Misawa is Misawa. The credibility of Misawa’s comeback had been built over
the past decade and therefore there is never a moment in the match you think
Misawa is out of it until he is shockingly out of it. At the beginning of the
match, they establish this is not their first rodeo together and they have each
other well-scouted avoiding the other’s signature moves. The first major blow
comes from just that story of knowing each other so well as Akiyama avoids a
reverse crossbody and drives Misawa into the mat. Misawa comes up holding his
neck. Akiyama did not miss this and is laser-focused on the neck. My favorite
spot is the drop toehold on Misawa sending him throat first into the railing.
Piledriver on the floor and a Wrist-Clutch Exploder on the apron, all focused
on the neck. Honestly, against anyone else I would be crying foul and claiming
this is excessive, but this is Misawa and that means he is out of it, until the
fat lady sings. Of course, it happens in the form of a monster back elbow. The
Emerald Elbow was poised to bail Misawa out of another jam. This is of course
just a hope spot on the eventual comeback. The viewer is accustomed to this. We
enjoy it. We know the normal Misawa pacing. The execution is tight. Akiyama
goes back to drilling the neck and Misawa is kicking out still. Then that nasty
kneedrop happens to Akiyama. You know the end is nigh for Akiyama. Misawa runs
through his bombs. ROARING ELBOW! Akiyama fights through it and hits two
exploders. You know who Misawa reminded me of in that moment his old archrival
Kawada in the way, he fumbled around the ring. That’s when you started to have
faith in Akiyama. With more and more offense, Misawa looked more and more like
Kawada. More and more you felt that Misawa was going succumb to Akiyama and
then it happened on the mother of all Wrist-Clutch Exploders. Offensively, this
is a masterpiece. Everything execution to perfection, great escalation,
transitions are wonderful. What makes it so amazing is how All Japan had been
booked so that story of the young upstart defeating the warrior-king in a war
of attrition just enhances the drama. This match only really works at this
level because it is Misawa. He is The Man. He always comes back. It just what
he does. So when he doesn’t, it is such a big deal that it gives the match a
massive feel to it. This is All Japan at their best and it is such a shining
example of what made this promotion work and why it is so hard to touch them.
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