KENTA Speeds At Night: KENTA, SUWA, Daniel Bryan (Juniors Japan, 2005-2006)

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Beef stew is good stuff, man. 

I spent the majority of last year watching puroresu matches from the 2000s decade to determine my Top 100 matches for the Best of Japan in 2000-2009 project. In doing so, I wrote a review for every match I watched and was published them here on RidingSpaceMountain.Blogspot.com, but began slacking. Now I am making up for it with Puroresu Thursdays! Every Thursday I will publish a blog looking back on the 2000s of Japan. 

We begin where I left off which in the middle of the decade, 2005 & 2006, looking specifically at the junior heavyweights. At this point in time, KENTA (now Hideo Itami in WWE's NXT) had cemented his place as the number one junior heavyweight superstar in Japan. On the strength of KENTAFuji tag team, KENTA was poised for a big junior heavyweight singles run, while Marufuji was promoted to the heavyweight division to shore up a lack of depth. 

Going into this project, KENTA was one of the wrestlers I was most interested in exploring. Here is well-regarded as one of the premiere super workers of the 2000s. His work in 2003 & 2004 garnered him such a large following in the US that he is brought into Ring of Honor as a special attraction draw for dream matches against the likes of Bryan Danielson and Low Ki. His proponents point towards his ultra fast-pace, athletic style with stiff strikes and innovative spots as what makes him one of the best workers of the last decade. His detractors with equal zeal attack his tendency to rush from spot to spot, blowing off selling and generally disregarding the structure of a wrestling match to pack more shit in. The truth for me is somewhere in between. Overall, I side with the detractors in that if KENTA is left to his own devices, he is generally not very good for what I enjoy in pro wrestling.

The key phrase is "left to his own devices". If there is someone like a SUWA, who reigns him in by delivering one helluva classic heel performance, or a Bryan Danielson, who reigns him in by slowing down the match, then KENTA becomes one of the most exciting and entertaining workers of the last decade. It is like SUWA and Danielson held KENTA's hand through. They just offered KENTA a structure whereas his strengths could be best displayed. KENTA is in a lot of ways the junior heavyweight equivalent of 00's Kenta Kobashi. He is a destroyer. He is going to plow through you with a combination of speed and power. It is this general, head-down, bulldozer, meathead-like approach that wins him matches. Just like Kobashi when he sells, he is very, very good. He is great at evoking sympathy and making you root for the comeback and just like Kobashi he is at his very best up against a strong heel.

SUWA was that strong heel for KENTA like Takayama was for Kobashi. SUWA just knocked it out of the park at being the biggest piece of shit ever. He picked on old legends, blasted KENTA with a briefcase, berated the ref, and cheated like a violent muthafucka. The whole crux of the match (as I explain below) is that after SUWA intentionally blasted KENTA to get disqualified early. It is NOT KENTA that demands the restart. It is the ref. The ref wanted justice to be served so badly to this prick that even if KENTA was injured, he was the best man to do it. Throughout the match, the ref is powerless to stop SUWA. SUWA punts KENTA right in the balls, but the ref believes in KENTA and his faith is rewarded when KENTA unleashes the a most unholy ass-whupping on SUWA. In that my friends, was the best damn KENTA singles match ever.

BAD GUYS WEAR PINK~!

KENTA vs. Bryan Danielson was a classic clinic of great pro wrestling that featured a great build from the mat to the air and to an amazing finish stretch and for my money the second or third best KENTA singles match. This blog ain't all about KENTA. In fact all the promotions get some love on this blog. New Japan offers up a tag team bloodbath featuring Gedo & Jado against Kanemoto & Inoue, which I thought went on a bit too long, but it has a good hook. The surprise to me was how fun All Japan's junior heavyweight division was with Shuji Kondo (formerly of Toryumon) at the helm. Kondo is a short, stocky powerhouse that is a ton of fun. He does a bit of trouble remembering to sell, but he is just so much fun to watch. His real classic is against my personal favorite, Katushiko Nakajima in 2007. However in 2006, he has a fun, bullshit match with AKIRA and a marvelously executed match with Hayashi. The Hayashi match just missed my top 100 for lack of a story and good selling, but the offensive execution is flawless and breath-taking.

This was the nadir for the junior heavyweight division before the resurgence in 2007, but for nadir, the top shelf quality is pretty damn high as KENTA delivers some hellacious matches.

Match Listing:

Gedo & Jado vs Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue - NJPW 3/4/05

Bloodbath. The beating on Wataru is the hook, but goes too long and hot tag is not satisfying.

NOAH (Mitsuharu Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki) vs. Z-1 (Shinjiro Otani & Tatushito Takaiwa) 

Honestly don't remember one memorable spot. Boring. 

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs SUWA - Budokan 09/18/05 ****1/2

Classic, classic babyface versus heel match. Master class in heel heat and babyface comeback.

#16 out of 100 - Must Watch

AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs AKIRA - AJPW 1/8/06

Fun American-style bullshit with interference and cool spots. Kondo is a great powerhouse

AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs. Kaz Hayashi - Sumo Hall 8/27/06 ***3/4

Flawless, marvelous offensive execution. Weak on selling, transitions and story.

KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - NOAH 12/02/06 ****1/2

Home Run Blows against slow & steady offense, makes for a cool clash of strategies.

#24 of 100 -Must Watch

Cleans up nicely, don't he?

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Gedo & Jado vs Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue - NJPW 3/4/05

Weirdly enough, the only Gedo & Jado match I have ever seen was live at ROH this past May. I actually enjoyed that match as I believe the opener (may have been second on). I read some reviews for this one and Gedo/Jado are famous enough that I ought to watch some more to get a feel for their work. I know their rep as Southern-style workers in Japan that sometimes suck out loud, but then can always flip a switch and rip it up.

That being said, I do not think Gedo & Jado are not the critical drivers that will determine your feelings for the match. That will rest with Wataru Inoue. I remember Wataru Inoue as the young punk badass from the first Liger/NOAH tag match, but this match almost seems like retrogression as he young boy victim for the brutality and violence of Gedo and Jado. This is easily one of my favorite styles of Japanes wrestling: Veteran & Young Boy versus the brutal heels. I did not think this one really superseded some of the better ones I had seen (Miyamoto and Shiga). The strong point of the match was also the weak point. They lived and died by that heat segment. Inoue getting blasted by that chair and tapping a gusher was great, but then he just died. I need some hope spots. Otherwise, it is really no different than finish run overkill. Hope spots can be generated from Kanemoto, who only interfered once. Inoue deadweighting and then kicking out was just not sitting well with me. It was all there for them to knock this one out of the park. It is one of those things where too much of a good thing (babyface selling) did them in. The transition to get Inoue out of there was pretty lame. He basically just hits a flip lariat after Kanemoto had some interference and they ran a tease spot. Don't get me wrong, it gets a huge pop. There was just not much struggle, it was abrupt and it was a just generally lame move.


As for the rest of the match, the beginning was boring as all hell, just fast forward to the chair shot. Kanemoto is a pretty good house of fire because his facewashes are a great crowd-pleasing spot, but he seems to be looking for the tag too quick. The double heel hook was a great visual. I liked Kanemoto saving Wataru from the crossface and the superbomb, but he needed to do that earlier. Jado reminds us it is 2005 with rolling Germans and a barrage of Crippler's Crossfaces. Wataru goes for flash finishes with a cradle and then gets a submission does not even hurt. He literally has the arm bent in a way it should go. This was sillier looking than the Cena STFU (let me squeeze my biceps together). The match has a ton of potential, but suffers from too many problem for me to consider this in my Top 100. It is entertaining with a hot hook and a great crowd. I recommend it for a watch, everybody else seems to like it more than me, but I think mileage may vary based on how much you liked that heat segment. ***

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NOAH (Mitsuharu Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki) vs. Z-1 (Shinjiro Otani & Tatushito Takaiwa)  NOAH 3/5/05

Ohtani & Takaiwa versus Kanemoto & Minoru this was not. It is a rock solid match, but really only Otani gives an inspired performance. The other three gave the type of performances you would expect on a weekly RAW. Dont get me wrong, this match would win match of the night on most RAWs. It is just the usual lazy transitions and hit my spots type wrestling with a bigger finish run than you would expect Stateside. What was the point of this match? Was it to lead into a Suzuki/Takaiwa Junior Heavyweight feud? Was Misawa just in there to lock up with Ohtani?
Ohtani is heeling it up early mockingly giving the crowd a pair of thumbs down. Thats right crowd, you suck! Suzuki gets the jump on Otani and hits a big splash to the outside and tags out to Misawa. This is the whole point of the tag match from my perspective. Misawa vs Ohtani, baby! What makes Ohtani better than most Japanese wrestlers in the 00s is that he actually sells the elbows like they hurt before winding up and delivering a chop. It is much more entertaining than the interminable Kobashi/Sasaki CHOP WAR~! After destroying both Otani and Takaiwa with elbows, Misawa tags out to the kid, thinking he cant possibly get into trouble. Of course, two  seconds later Suzuki is in a half crab. Ohtani during this heat segment is the whole point to watch this match.

Otani busts out some great heel gold here, Not just the basics like eyerakes and fishhooks, but also an awesome punt to the nutsack when Suzuki was looking to fire up and mocklingly leading a Kotaro chant before dropping him on his head and pinning with one foot. In what became a sad precedent we get a lame transition to a Misawa tag. Misawa ends up in peril and this leads to an Otani facewash, which is a highlight. Misawa then decides lets go home and hits a Tiger Driver and tags in Suzuki. The finish run like the rest of non-Otani parts of this match was mediocre. You know its 2005 because Suzuki dials up a 619! Misawa and Suzuki hit a couple double teams and his big false finish is a Gory Special. After this Takaiwa kills him dead with a double powerbomb and a DVD. Misawa does not even bother to act like he cares to save him and basically gives up.

Three wrestlers were just going through the motions and Ohtani's actions were not enough to make this into a great match. The transitions in this were some of the laziest I have seen. ***

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GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs SUWA - Budokan 09/18/05

Some things transcend language and CULTURAL barriers, one of those things is old men ready to put a snot-nosed punk in their place as the Budokan roared when Joe Higuchi almost came to blows with the ultra-prick,  SUWA. SUWA just owns this match and gives a career performance as a total unlikeable dick. You know that boring proceeding before every NOAH title match where the old dude (Joe Higuchi) reads off a scroll. SUWA spices that up and rips the scroll out of his hands and tears it up.  KENTA gives him a kick in retaliation and is ready to kick some ass. The Japanese announcer lets us know that the Champ Is Here!!! So not only did CM Punk and Daniel Bryan rip off KENTA, but Cena too!


The backpeddling SUWA grabs the ring bell and blasts KENTA with it. SUWA uses a briefcase to batter KENTA in plain view of the ref, who has no choice but to disqualify him to a chorus of boos. SUWA revels in his DQ loss knowing he beat up the champ.

 Upon rewatch, I have a newfound appreciation for the match because I missed the real key of the story. At the beginning, SUWA pisses KENTA off by disrespecting Higuchi. In his fury KENTA leaves himself vulnerable to a ring bell shot and then SUWA attacks KENTA with his steel box. Now the ref lets one of these shots go and my reasoning is not because he is a bad ref. It is because SUWA wants to be disqualified. He wants to beat KENTA up and embarrass him by leaving him laying. Yes, KENTA will win the match, but he will leave the battlefield able to walk. On the second shot, the ref is hand is forced and he has to disqualify SUWA. SUWA celebrates a loss and this gets the crowd riled up as KENTA is writhing in pain. Here is the key to the whole match. It is NOT KENTA that demands the match be restarted. It is the ref. The ref is pissed about SUWA's behavior and he wants to see SUWA's ass handed to him. He restarts the match because he believes in KENTA so much to put SUWA in his place even if this puts KENTA's title at risk. SUWA realizes this and knows he has carte blanche. The ref won't disqualify him again because the ref, the people, Higuchi and KENTA want to kill him. SUWA pulls out all the heel stops with my favorite being probably punting KENTA right in the balls in front of the ref. The ref is totally powerless. SUWA even spanks the ref with the turnbuckle pad and and throws it Higuchi. He has free reign is taking advantage of it all. However, the ref's confidence is paid off as KENTA delivers one helluva asswhupping to SUWA. I just watched KENTA/Akiyama before this and KENTA whiffed on pretty much every head kick. In this match, I really don't know how SUWA's head stayed on his body because KENTA was nailing him with those kicks. The Holy Shit Go 2 Sleep out of that position and a barrage of knees to the head were amazing.

 Some dude at ringside just decides to restart the match and KENTA runs the down the ramp to go attack that asshole, SUWA. SUWA proves too much for him and he is just getting everyone hot. Joe Higuchi is ready to take off suit and trade hands with him. He takes off the turnbuckle pad and hits the ref with it. The ring crew and young boys are hot at him. SUWA just openly punts KENTA in the nuts and then rams him testicles first into the post. A man with no cares is a dangerous man and SUWA is a dangerous man. KENTA is struggling and trying to fight back, but SUWA always seems to have a closed fist waiting for him. Finally, KENTA hits a springboard clothesline to turn the tide. SUWA's answer for this a big suicide dive through ropes and KENTA whacks his back on the railing. This is the big countout tease of the match. I am not usually one for an elaborate sequence, but once we are back in the ring they do a nice sequence that looks they actually to hit each other only for SUWA to hit his big blowaway dropkick which KENTA takes the Dragon Kid bump for. SUWA goes for he Pedigree, but KENTA counters into a Go 2 Sleep. I love how they have a closed fist exchange instead of a chop or elbow. It really sells the intensity and hatred. You know the kicks to the head that Daniel Bryan always whiffs on well KENTA actually hits those here. He hits three and they look nasty as fuck. An exploding knee later and he retains his title over that jerkface SUWA!

KENTA when not moving a million miles an hour and being forced into working underneath is one of the best workers in the world. Takayama, SUWA and Danielson all had KENTA's best matches by forcing KENTA to work underneath, hit hope spots and make a compelling finishing run. They reign him in and don't let him fall prey to his worst habits. KENTA is no Kenta Kobashi, but stops this from becoming a Kobashi/Ogawa or Kobashi/Takayama classic is that KENTA is too stoic on his comeback. Yes he hits him hard and yes he has urgency, but does not seem all that much different than he is wrestling Marufuji. Kobashi is more expressive and I would have loved to seen more anger from KENTA. SUWA just ripped it up in there with a total master's class in heeling. KENTA is not as easy opponent, you have to suffocate him or he will get away from you and make you wrestle his match. If KENTA found that extra gear in the finish stretch, I would say this is the 2005 MOTY, but it falls just short. ****1/2 

I reward those who keep reading

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AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs AKIRA - AJPW 1/8/06

AKIRA brings out a scale with him to have Kondo weighed before the match. Automatic *****! I actually like how Americanized All Japan was in this period. It was really different than New Japan and NOAH. This is a match that may benefit from watching it in 2014 instead of 2006. I may have been sick of liberal outside interference in 2006, but in 2014 it is pretty fresh (i don't watch 2014 New Japan so the Bullet Club is not something I see). I thought it was a nice little device in this match. Another thing I love about All Japan is they have video packages before their matches reviewing the angles. Awesome, now I know this is going to be hot and heavy instead of a championship style match. Kondo was really into dueling limb work, but blowing off the arm selling when necessary in 2006 & 2007. I do enjoy him as a junior powerhouse, but we did not get to see much of that. AKIRA was really fun in this, but it does not reach the level of the Kanemoto or Minoru Tanaka matches.

The match starts off with some decent amateur wrestling, but could be hotter given what I saw in video package. Kondo lariats the post. So we expect AKIRA to exploit this and remove this weapon. All Japan was really into selling an injury, but then doing a move anyway. I still can't figure out how I feel about that versus outright no-selling. AKIRA misses a kick and his foot gets in ropes and BOOM chair shot to the knee by who I assume is Brother YASSHI, but I could be wrong. The knee work is solid and I love the fact Kondo uses the outside to great effect and throws AKIRA into his buddies. Kondo stupidly sets AKIRA up for a superplex. I hate that why would you give someone the high ground. AKIRA snaps the arm over the top rope. AKIRA works the arm and YASSHI gets nervous climbs on the apron, but brains Kondo with the briefcase. AKIRA climbs to the top and SPLASH! But only two. Kondo abruptly puts Akira in an inverted Texas Cloverleaf. Could have used a better transition there. Then the outright interference happens after a ref bump, but AKIRA's buddies chase off YASSHI. Kondo still hits a superplex. The finish run was concise and mostly well-done. AKIRA gets his hope nearfalls, a nasty German and backslide. Then Kondo hits two wicked lariats to win.

This a fun, breezy 15 minute match. It is entertaining and easy to digest, which I appreciate. Are there flaws, yeah, but it is a fun way to spend 15 minutes. ***

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AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shuji Kondo vs. Kaz Hayashi - Sumo Hall 8/27/06

The one constant of All Japan from the 70s through now is their disregard for the junior heavyweight division. Even NOAH as a spiritual successor to All Japan cultivated a strong juniors division led by KENTA and Marufuji. Even though Mutoh took over AJPW in the 00s coming from NJPW with a strong junior's division did not seem to change AJPW's stance on juniors wrestling. With that being said the token All Japan match of 2006 is a junior heavyweight encounter between two of Ultimo Dragon's students, Hayashi and Kondo.

Before, I get to the match a very skinny Stan Hansen gets into the ring to do the duties of reading from the scroll before a championship match and it was just such a cool touch to see Hansen again. He was wicked over.

This is one of the prettiest matches I have ever seen. It was like you strip Dragon Gate matches of any comedy and just have them play it totally straight, which makes sense since they are both Dragon's students. I can appreciate beautiful execution and from a technical level this is nearly perfect. Hayashi has the best looking hurricanarana I have ever seen and Kondo is one of the best at taking it. Hayashi really looks likes he is grabbing with his legs and forcing his opponent over. Kondo really throws himself into the bump. Hayashi's middle rope senton was fan-fuckin-tastic. He was going a million miles an hour. On the SLOW motion replay, he still looked like he was going fast. Kondo is a great powerhouse junior like a smaller version of Sasaki. He was really able to work on Hayashi's knee and some very impressive powerslams and one great spear. Of course if you are a powerhouse in Japan, you best have a nasty lariat and his destroys Kojima's and looks badass. Hayashi is a big fan of Emerald Flowsion, but when that can't secure him a victory he does what every wrestler does he tries the move from the top rope. In a move, I never EVER thought I would see. Kondo hits a Flip DDT. When we were growing up, my younger brother always said his finishing move was going to be the Flip DDT. I don't know if he is going to be crushed or excited that someone finally pulled off that move. A moonsault and lariat polish off Hayashi and Kondo retains the belt.

So now the other SHOE drops, this match is great eyecandy, but there is not substance to any move. Kondo moves over Hayashi's knee really effectively. I love when he caught a Hayashi rana attempt and put him in a Boston Crab. What does Hayashi hit as his comeback move a wicked fast back handspring elbow. O BUT HE REMEMBERED TO SELL AFTER THE MOVE! He would do this for his 3 next big spots that required the knee, hit the move and sell the knee, before abandoning it altogether. I am happy he did put some effort in, but c'mon man! Look, I don't think just because someone attacks your knee you have to be crippled, but maybe you could hit your spots at half-speed or at least show you are struggling. The end of the match is a total bombfest with very little selling. 

To me this is the PERFECT MATCH to show fans or up and coming wrestlers look you are not going to get a better executed match, but see how they just rattle off moves and without that framework it is all inconsequential. Hayashi and Kondo are amazing to watch and I am sure if you put them in there with a Liger, 90s Sasuke, 90s Otani that they would have had some phenomenal matches. You pair this execution with a great layout, I am seriously saying five star classic without it you are just left wondering what might have been. ***3/4 

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KENTA vs Bryan Danielson - NOAH 12/02/06

This may shock a lot of PEOPLE but the amount of matches I have seen Bryan Danielson wrestle as Bryan Danielson is probably only a handful and the vast majority are live. I was just never one to really ask my parents for money to buy wrestling or any item for me. Of course, my Dad would take me to the matches when they came to town and usually one 1-2 PPVs a year, but other than that not much. This mentality would continue into college. I always saw live events as special exceptions and would go to ROH whenever they were in town, but never felt that my limited college money should be spent on indy wrestling. I am hoping to change this in the near future and really hunker down and watch some golden age ROH. This match gives me hope that really is all that it is cracked up to be because Danielson was amazing in this match.

As I said in the SUWA review, the one constant in great KENTA matches is make KENTA work for it. Don't let him work his million mile an hour match, but make him sell and build up to that frenzy. What is interesting is I really feel like 2013 Daniel Bryan and mid-00s KENTA are really similar in working style. Bryan is better at building a match and slowing it down on his own accord. However, he has been prone to blowing off selling to get his shit in and his real selling point in the ring is his million miles an hour pace. Having not seen a lot of Daniel Bryan as Bryan Danielson, I was interested if they were going to try break the moves/minute record or something. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out. 

The one odd thing to get out of the way is that the crowd is dead throughout the majority of the match. Was this one of Danielson's first tours in Japan? Were they just unfamiliar with him? The feeling out process is slower than I expected and very mat based where Danielson seems to have the advantage. KENTA looks to pick up the pace, but Danielson gets a hiptoss and converts that into a cross armbreaker. Excellent wrestling as KENTA is more as home with an uptempo pace so Danielson wisely slows it down and at the same time damages the arm. KENTA freaked out that Danielson almost got a submission victory actually slows down the match with a chinlock in a way to reset the match because he has been outclassed thus far. Once Danielson get back on top he is just working that arm relentlessly with all sorts of crazy submission moves. KENTA hits a snap powerslam and is still selling. Danielson's answer to KENTA is a Robinson backbreaker and a diving headbutt. I get a little worried here because they move quickly into a roll-up barrage when the diving headbutt was such a big spot. Danielson continues to go for home runs as he hits a huge splash to the outside over the guardrail on KENTA, but in the process hurts his knee.

After the big dive, Danielson sells the knee kipping up on one knee after a missile dropkick, but KENTA had taken more punishment up until that point. So Danielson started back on offense with the missile dropkick. The knee messes him up a bit and KENTA hits a guillotine DDT, which he usually does not expect his opponent to sell (ala the Harley Race piledriver) so he looks to follow that up with a springboard move, but Danielson catches him with a German and then goes to lock on the Chickenwing Crossface (having had worked on the arm). There is a great struggle over this hold and here at his first real chance to pick the knee KENTA does. He applies the Texas Cloverleaf, but Danielson makes the ropes and when Danielson does put on Cattle Mutilation he cant hold it because his bad knee. There is an excellent headbutt vs kick war and Danielson was throwing some Garvin like nasty headbutts. Danielson goes for the Crossface Chickenwing again, which would avoid bridging on the bad knee and almost assuredly secure the victory, but KENTA fights like mad to get out of it. The next time KENTA gets on offense he goes back to Texas Cloverleaf, but gets countered into a pinning predicament. After that Danielson is relentless with a barrage of Cattle Mutilation. He attempts to hit a Tiger Suplex/Cattle Mutilation combination, but KENTA is able to bridge one into a pinfall. Awesome spot! At this point, KENTA has solidly got his ass whipped. He gets an Ace Crusher and quite naturally starts bust out his big guns: Exploding Knee and Kicks. Danielson's last stand is a roll-up barrage, but KENTA is stringing together too many kicks at this point. He hits the Go 2 Sleep to secure the victory.

I love this match as a game of strategies. Looking at this from a kayfabe perspective, Danielson is a better all-around wrestler. KENTA thrives in the uptempo game and with his kicks. Danielson stymies him early and never really lets him get going. Danielson is working the arm effectively, but does not have the knock out blows like KENTA so he goes for big gambles like the diving headbutt and the big splash, but this costs him his knee, which messes with one of his best submissions: Cattle Mutilation, which requires bridging. KENTA goes after the knee, but he is not very adept at working over body parts and nearly gets burnt with a cradle counter to a Cloverleaf. So KENTA has a fucked arm, has been getting his ass beaten and cant really take advantage of the knee, but has an opening with an Ace Crusher. So he goes to what brought him to the dance, big fuckin home run swings right at Danielson's head. KENTA always has the puncher's chance and he landed some big ones late. Danielson should have stuck to the arm game plan, but got lured away with big gambles then ended up ruining his chances to apply Cattle Mutilation. If only he was able to get that Crossface Chickenwing. Larry Z would have been proud at this exhibition of the HUMAN game of chess. My match of 2006 so far! So I went back and rewatched Akiyama/Taue GHC Championship and by the slimest of margine, I am putting that one over this one because the continuity from beginning to end. ****1/2

A True Happy Ending

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Next week for Puroresu Thursdays, we cover all the best All Japan matches from 2005-2009 highlighting such awesome matches like Nakajima vs Kondo and Tanahashi vs Suwama.

Best of Toryumon: Genki Horiguchi, Magnum Tokyo, CIMA (Toryumon, 2000-2003)

Hey yo Stud Muffins and Foxy Ladies,

THANK YOU ALEX! THANK YOU ALEX! THANK YOU ALEX! 

Toryumon, the predecessor to Dragon Gate, doubled as a wrestling school and promotion for the students of Ultimo Dragon. Ultimo Dragon spent his formative years in Mexico having been told he was too small to wrestle in Japan even though he was trained in New Japan dojo by notable lucharesu wrestler Gran Hamada. In fact the first lucharesu promotion in Japan was run by Gran Hamada known as the UWF (not to be confused with the shoot-style promotion in Japan, Bill Watts' UWF or Herb Abrams UWF). Long story short dont name your promotion UWF unless you want to go out of business in two years. Lucharesu is just as it sounds the combination of lucha libre and puroresu usually practiced in Japan by the junior heavyweight wrestlers.

The next lucharesu promotion was Great Sasuke's Michinoku Pro, which gained a cult following in the US in the mid-90s especially when they were featured on the ECW first PPV Barely Legal and Sasuke and Taka Michinoku were featured on WWF's Canadian Stampede. The Kaientai stable that some fans may recognize from WWF Attitude Era were all wrestlers from M-Pro. Dragon Gate would eventually become the M-Pro of the mid-00s gaining a cult following among indy wrestling fans as they showcased their styles for the ROH crowds in similar vein as the M-Pro wrestlers did for the ECW crowds. This actually led to the formation of Dragon Gate USA promoted by ROH's former booker Gabe Spalosky and is the first serious Japanese led promotion in America that comes to mind. It allows American fans to see the Japanese stars live and in vivid technicolor against each other and some of the best of the American indy wrestling scene. Before all this, Dragon Gate was just Toryumon, the wrestling school for the students of Ultimo Dragon.

Ultimo Dragon, well-versed in lucha libre and puroresu, had become a major star throughout world as a junior heavyweight including one of the big three stars in WCW's hot crusierweight division of the late 90s. Dragon decided to open a school and a foster a culture of learning similar to his own upbringing in puroresu and lucha libre. WCW fans may remember one of his students, Magnum Tokyo getting actual airtime as a member of the Dancing Fools, Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. Growing up as a kid, I was a total mark for dancing gimmicks and loved Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. To this day, the Alex Wright is over like rover at the dance club. I would like to personally thank Das Wunderkid for the bitchin' Saturday I just enjoyed. ;)

Toryumon is known for its impressive multi-man matches filled with comedy and high-flying acrobatics. I am not a total curmudgeon, but this is not exactly up as alley as I prefer violent street fights or well-worked ground warfare. What I love about pro wrestling is how there are some many styles and there is a little bit of everything. There is definitely a place of wild, million miles an hour spotfests. Toryumon is exactly the type of wrestling I would show non-fans because anybody could appreciate the athleticisim  on display. I would not go far as to say that Toryumon openly mock pro wrestling as a work or it is too self-aware as some promotions *cough* Chikara *cough*, but they wink and nudge at the audience and it is clear from the comedy that it is to be treated more like a violent form of Cirque Du Soliel. I am not saying that everyone who sees Toryumon will love it, but I think of all the styles of wrestling it is friendliest towards non-fans.

Besides the comedy and the high-flying, I really loved how when it came time to get down to business for the finish of the match it really started to feel like a contest. I loved Don Fuji taking on 9 men in a chop war, but thats for shits and giggles. However, in the last 5 minutes of a Toryumon match, it was always on!  I thought the matches definitely improved once the hair-thinning Genki Horguchi gets involved. Horiguchi's gimmick is that he gets upset when fans and wrestlers mock his receding hair line. This leads to hilarious SCALP PSYCOLOGY~! in his matches. It gives the Toryumon wrestlers a really strong tool in their arsenal to pop a crowd and he is just a great heel. He clowns to make the faces look good, but can be violent when it is time to get heat. I highly recommend the 4-team trios match from 2003 with a ton of comedy, high flying and a crazy finish run.

HAGE~!

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1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00

7. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05

8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

9. GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji  Budokan 04/25/04

10. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03
11. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06

12. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

13. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW  6/25/00

14. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title

15. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07

16. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01

17. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04

18. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03

19. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05

20. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01

21. Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00

22. Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03

23. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03

24. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03

25. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005

26. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01

27. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00

28. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03

29. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06

30. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04

31. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03

32. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01

33. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 

34. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03

35. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02

36. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02

37. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00

38. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00

39. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00

40. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04

41. KENTA vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 06/27/04

42. Yuji Nagata vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/06

43. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05

44. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04

45. Kenta Kobashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 4/23/06

46. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03
47. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06

48. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival '00

49. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00

50. Genichiro Tenryu vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Vacant IWGP Championship 02/15/04

51. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02

52. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01

53. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02

54. Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04

55. M2K vs. Do Fixer - Toryumon 6/29/03

56. Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05

57. Yuji Nagata vs Giant Bernard - New Japan Cup Finals 04/30/06

58. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuyuki Fujita - Vacant IWGP Championship 6/5/04

59. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06

60. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02

61. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - U-Style 02/04/04

62. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Vader vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 2/27/00

63. All Japan Triple Crown Champ  Toshiaki Kawada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 11/03/04 Non-Title

64. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Kanemoto & Minoru vs Liger & Makabe - NJPW 9/12/00

65. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 11/13/04

66. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final

67. Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Finals 08/17/03

68. Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Dick Togo & Hidaka - Z-1 12/26/03 

69. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Champions Carnival '00

70. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02

71. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00

72. Kenta Kobashi/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuhiko Nakajima - KO 2/11/06

73. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02

74. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Liger & Minoru vs. Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02

75. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Giant Bernard - NJPW 06/18/06 Vacant IWGP Championship

76. Sterness  vs. Burning 8-Man Tag - NOAH 08/03

77. Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 01/17/00

77. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02

79. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals

80. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin

81. Toryumon Trios Three-Way - Toryumon 7/7/02

82. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask

83. GHC Tag Champs Misawa & Ogawa vs Saito & Inoue - NOAH 9/10/04

84. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka - Zero-One 3/02/02

85. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01

86. NJPW(Liger, Minoru , Makabe) vs Osaka Pro(Delfin, Murhama, Tsubasa)-NJPW 12/14/00

87. Toryumon Trios Three-Way - Toryumon 08/14/01

88. Toshiaki Kawada vs Vader - AJPW 2/17/00

89. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01

90. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Champs KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi Budokan 9/12/03

91. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - Tokyo Dome 01/04/05

92. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01

93.  Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - Battlarts 01/30/2000

94. Dick Togo vs Tiger Mask IV - M-Pro 08/25/02

95. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02

96. GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06

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SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask 

This was different thats for sure. It was like someone took ECW/Lucha/Japanese Juniors put in a blender and out came this oddly fun match. There was a lot leaving me scratching my head. Was it 2 out of 3 Falls or did Ultimo Dragon just restart the match? Maybe if I spoke Japanese that confusion could have been avoided but that was 2000 WCW at its worst there. Still maybe it is because I grew up in the late 90s, but there is something about gratuitous interference that does not bother me as much as other wrestling fans. It is entertaining its own way. Actually most of my problem with this match was with Dragon Kid. His offense was so Indy-riffic and pointless. I thought Kojima was bad with Ace Crusher variations, Dragon Kid was killing me with all these setup spots for his stunners. Then add that he will get his ass kicked and just pop up. You are the tiniest dude on the roster you can butter your bread selling. Like for instance SUWA makes a big deal that he is going to elbow Dragon Kid in the balls and he does. Immediately Dragon Kid avoids his next move and does a somersault off the top rope onto the floor. It was a ball shot, dude. Given the two other reviews I read for this match I agree that SUWA was very good and could have been something more if he ended up in a different promotion. Though my disagreement with the previous reviewers is I liked the first/fake fall (?) more. Dragon Kid leaping out onto SUWA during his entrance. Then SUWA as his only defense chucked a chair at Dragon Kid when he tried coming off the apron. I loved SUWA throwing him into the chair and punching young boys. Even though he is bigger than Dragon Kid he still rakes the eyes as a cut off and then goes and rips the mask. At that point, I was just thinking this maybe a fun lucha brawl. I was not buying Dragon Kid's hope spots at all. I was glad SUWA pinned him with a powerbomb, but I think Ultimo Dragon restarted the match because his feet were on the ropes. Dragon Kid tries the only strategy he seems to know and that is bullrushing, but SUWA just uses his momentum against him. I actually dug the dropkick spot where SUWA dropkicked him and Dragon Kid went halfway across the ring. It is worth checking out. Kid hits a rana off a splash mountain attempt. Ref bump. Melee ensues with what seems like the entire roster in the ring. I was digging the chaotic feel of this. I thought the ending was the weakest part, but others seemed to like it. Dragon Kid should stick with hurricanranas because he hits those a lot more wickedly than those awful Stunner variations in his comeback. They hit this convoluted powerbomb that looked like it should be an gymnastics routine where basically does a 360 front flip. I will say the Dragonrana was pretty fuckin bitchin'. Evil Dragon Kid beats up Dragon Kid, but Dragon kid still has the wherewithal to shave SUWA's head. SUWA extends the hand in respect. The audience applauds and then SUWA kicks a field goal right through the uprights. He fuckin destroys a chair around this young boy's head. SUWA is pretty awesome. I didn't hate this. I actually found it a breezy, entertaining 25 minutes. I would not want all wrestling like this but SUWA gave a pretty good heel performance and Dragon Kid was not too cumbersome a piece of luggage. ***1/4

You have not even seen SUWA's performance against KENTA, yet! Get a grip, lady! 

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UWA World Trios Champion Crazy Max (CIMA, SUWA, Big Fuji) vs. Sekigun (Magnum Tokyo, Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito) vs. M2K (Maasaki Mochizuki, Kanda, Darkness Dragon) - Toryumon 08/14/01

Nothing like jumping feet first into Toryumon with their first three-way trios match. Dragon Gate is always something I read about, but never really took the time to watch. Who has time for Dragon Gate when they are watching 90s All Japan for the first time? I don't know if it would help or hurt this match if I understood the backstory better. From my understanding, M2K (leader, Mochizuki) and Crazy Max (leader, CIMA) are both heel stables, but M2K is more heelish. Sekigun (leader Magnum Tokyo), meaning home army, was comprised of two of Toryumon's biggest babyface stars, Magnum Tokyo and Dragon Kid, both of who I remember appearing in WCW in 1998. I was really into dancing gimmicks as a child and I have very fond memories of Alex Wright, Disco Inferno and Magnum Tokyo stable. My perception of Ryo Saito was that he was any up and coming babyface and the general whipping Boy. Darkness Dragon is the evil mirror universe Little Dragon. Kanda, Mochizuki and SUWA are you standard heel Japanese characters. Fuji is notable for being bigger than the average Toryumon competitor (Magnum Tokyo is also pretty big). CIMA is a lot more fliptastic than your standard heel.

All that being said, I don't always turn my nose up at spotfests especially when the out and out intention is just have a fun spotfest, but this did have long stretches where not a lot seemed to be happening. I liked the tentative beginning between the three leaders and their knucklelock, before a weak melee broke up. I enjoyed little spots like messing ultra-heel Mochizuki by knocking out all his tag partners out and doing a dive train on him in the corner. Fuji turning on Saito with a lariat was fun, but set up a boring heat segment. Dragon Kid was much better in this setting than in the singles match with SUWA with all his flips. I liked Darkness Dragon dropkicking Dragon Kid while he was in a Giant Swing. Also the double huge bump off SUWA dropkick was cute. SUWA hits a super bomb for two on Dragon Kid. In a melee, CIMA takes a slam and La Magistral cradle (yep its Ultimo Dragon's promotion) by Darkness Dragon eliminates Crazy Max. Surprisingly, the finish run is pretty boring. Dont get me wrong a Shooting Star Press is always a badass grand finale, but the run-up was pretty dull. This was pretty underwhelming by normal spotfest standards. ***

----------------------------------------------------------------------

UWA World Trios Champions Crazy Max (CIMA, Don Fuji, TARU) vs Sekigun (Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito) vs. 

M2K (Magnum Tokyo, Darkness Dragon, Genki Horiguchi) - Toryumon 7/7/02

Crazy Max comes into the annual Trios Squared match with the titles again, but will they retain them. CIMA has dumped SUWA for another Caps Lock fiend, TARU, who is a scary looking muthafucka. Big Fuji is no longer Big. Instead he is a Don with the slick black hair, which I dig. The other change-up is that Mochizuki and Tokyo have switched sides, which I think better suit their personalities. Mochizuki was too bland to be a heel, but as a babyface he fits right in with Dragon Kid and Saito. The cocky Tokyo can use his flash to really draw the ire of the fans. I have decided that it is is the nine men that really ruin the flow of the match. Whenever, two teams are building some sort of rhythm all of sudden you have another team getting into the fray and it is jarring rather than chaotic. Most of the heat was between Dragon Kid and M2K, but Crazy Max would keep ruining the flow. Really I felt like Crazy Max did not have much to offer in this match in terms of the storytelling of the match.

The 2002 incarnation of this match was much more action packed the 2001 match and for that reason I enjoyed more. I liked spots like Horiguchi playing up his surfer past by riding the "waves" on the back of two opponents. My favorite spot was when sworn enemies Darkness Dragon and Dragon Kid team up on TARU. Only for Darkness Dragon to turn on Dragon Kid. The Fuji chopfest where his six opponents chopped him and he chopped each one of them was also cute. All the suplex stuff was not as fun. I liked Tokyo fucking around with Dragon Kid and wish that it was just M2K vs Sekigun because I think that would be a badass match. Dragon Kid spikes someone with a hurricanrana, but Darkness Dragon swipes his mask and in the shock he is pinned. Great first elimination and sets up the mask vs mask blowoff. Again, I didn't think the finish run was all that strong, but then again the heat was not really between Crazy Max and M2K. CIMA wins with one of his slams (Schwein, maybe)

I am still waiting for Toryumon to really knock my socks off. ***1/4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wish that was Dragon Kid holding a picture of himself holding a picture holding a picture of himself holding a picture of himself

UWA World Trios Champion M2K (Genki Horiguchi, Ryo Saito and Susumu Yokosuka) vs.

 Do Fixer (Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Kenichiro Arai) - Toryumon 6/29/03

A year later and once again the complexion of the Toryumon landscape has greatly changed. Plucky upstart Ryo Saito has been seduced by the Dark Side and now rides with M2K. Genki Horiguchi has parlayed his LeBron-esque hairline into a huge heel gimmick as he is quite annoyed the Japanese fans keep heckling him with "Hage" (Bald). In addition, he has developed a new weapon that all have fallen prey to: The Backslide From Heaven. Even though I have not seen Susumu Yokosuka yet, he is quite important as he is a original founder of M2K. In fact, his original last name was Mochizuki, no relation I believe. When Mochizuki turned face, they feuded over the surname ala Booker T and Big T with Mochizuki winning the name and forcing Yokosuka to change his name. Kenichiro Arai is just a longstanding Toryumon babyface. Do Fixer is a babyface stable that was born out of the conclusion of the Dragon Kid/Darkness Dragon feud with Dragon Kid winning Darkness Dragon mask and his respect. The three formed Do Fixer the first permanent babyface faction to my knowledge in Toryumon.

Sometimes less is actually more because these six guys rocked it in a way that past nine have not achieved. It was not just telling a more coherent story that helped because it did break down into a spotfest, but there was more rhythm to the spots. It is hard to explain but everything seemed more natural. The beginning was actually some pretty good fundamental wrestling. It did get boring at times, but there was plenty of quality. I really liked them playing up Horiguchi's receding hairline by him selling them yanking his hair so well and begging off. The Arai hand heat segment was really well done. It actually did play a part in the rest of the match. I liked that a simple elbow kicked it off, but if your hand was taped and elbow you would be hurting too. Lots of stomping, taunting, biting and chair slamming always equals great work. Then they ratcheted everything up. I love Mochizuki's axe kick. They did some great work eliminating by attacking his knee. Dragon Kid was really good in this with a spring hurricarana to the floor and his spike one with a nice break up by dropkicking him in the head. Horiguchi was so great at being a heel, violent on offense (especially attacking Arai's hand) and a chump on defense. BACKSLIDE FROM HEAVEN~! Kick out at 2!!!! WHAT!?!??!! Arai is getting his ass kicked. Arai able to get the Double Chickenwing but all focus on the blue briefcase and dropkick by Horiguchi. Mochizuki blasts Horiguchi with blue briefcase and a Arai Tiger Suplex wins the titles!

I loved that the whipping boy of the match was able to get the big win over the main heel. Dragon Kid was great as a spot monkey. Arai was awesome as the face in peril. Mochizuki has a strong leadership quality to him. Ryo Saito was awfully quiet and thought he would deliver more. Susumu did not show much either. Horiguchi was definitely the star of this match and I look forward to more of his matches. ***3/4

------------------------------------------------------------

UWA World Trios Champions Do Fixer ( Maasaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Kenichiro Arai) vs M2K (Genki Horiguchi, Magnum Tokyo, Susumu Yokosuka) vs Crazy Max (CIMA, SUWA, Don Fuji) vs Italian Connection (Milano Collection AT, Condotti Suji, YOSSINO) - 

Toryumon 08/30/03

This is the Three Stooges if the the Three Stooges were twelve wicked athletic Japanese guys, three of whom think they are Italian. The first half of this match is some of the best comedy wrestling you will ever watch. I loved the thread that was woven throughout this whole match was gang up on M2K. When Dragon Kid and Arai turned on Horiguchi and worked over his scalp that was hilarious. I thought the testicular psychology of Liger/Minoru vs Kanemaru/Kikuchi was bitchin, but the SCALP PSYCHOLOGY~! of Horiguchi matches has been so funny. I am not going to ruin this match with some recap of the spots. Go and watch these dudes rip it up in the ring. Also a midget in a Gorilla costume gets involved. This match has everything. What is great when it comes to time to hit the finish, they get more serious, but still keep it fun. Everybody has a chance to shine. I had always heard of the Italian Connection and on paper is sounded tremendous and they did not disappoint. I highly recommend watching the other Toryumon matches first even though they are not as good because it gives you a feel for the style and an appreciation for how bitchin this is when it all comes together. ****1/4

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We got the Best of the Junior Heavyweights in 2005-2006, the Best All Japan in 2005-2009 and the Best of BattlArts in 2005-2009! WOOHOOOO!!!

Youth Gone Mild: Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Morishima, KENTA (NOAH, 2006)

Hey yo Stud Muffins and Foxy Ladies,

Im going to Bologna and Florence in a couple weeks. Anybody who knows any hot spots especially discotheques please tweet @superstarsleeze.

"God gave us the Papacy...now let us enjoy it"

Times, they are a changing? Or the more things change the more they the same? Rikio's 2005 title experiment was a total bust, but with Kobashi on the undercard the Budokan remained sold-out. If you look at my 2005 NOAH blog you would think that Kobashi just took the year off from singles and focused on badass tag team matches and that Rikio did not even exist. With Rikio gone belly up, Misawa went with the steady, reliable Akira Taue to transition the championship. The man who held the belt for most of 2006 was the familiar, but tarnished Jun Akiyama.

After his red hot 2000 & 2001, Akiyama dominated tag team ranks and still sort of bubbling under. Looking back, I would have saw Akiyama to Kobashi as Kobashi was to Misawa. He was inching ever closer to top dog status, but just a half-a-step behind Kobashi. A lot people say the Dome loss to Kobashi destroyed any chances of Akiyama ever being an Ace in NOAH. I truly believe they could have recovered from that, but the booking after the Dome loss was horrible and especially towards Akiyama. In 2005, Akiyama was relegated to playing second fiddle to Genichiro Tenryu in tag matches and his best match was a non-NOAH street fight against Katsuyori Shibata. His title victory over Taue was fantastic and return to his peak 2000 form in how focused he was. I would say that this match or Danielson/KENTA is the best match of 2006 so far. However, after the title victory Akiyama just drops off the face of the Earth ala Rikio. Had the belt become cursed?

The focus of 2006 seemed to be a stronger commitment to pushing the new generation. The younger guard was comprised of Rikio, the agile giant Morishima, KENTA and Marufuji. Given the success of KENTAFuji and the fact Marufuji was the bigger of the two, Misawa took a gamble on the undersized Marufuji and pushed him to the moon. He defeated ex-champion, Taue at the Budokan in March and in April he went toe-to-toe with Kobashi coming up short, but looking great given his performance. He would go to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Akiyama.

Amazing MOVES~! like this mean nothing when there are 50 of a match and they are inconsequential.

In the interim, disaster struck. Kobashi was diagnosed with cancer and would not return until late 2007. Without Kobashi on the card, Marufuji was not going to have the same luxury as Rikio having Kobashi buoy attendances while he got a feel for his new responsibilities. The results were catastrophic. The November Budokan headlined by Marufuji vs. KENTA: KENTAFuji EXPLODES~! did just 11,500 you would have to go back to the early 90s to find an All Japan card that did so poorly. To make matters worse, in my opinion, the match fucking shit the bed and was a total clusterfuck.

By the end of 2006, Misawa had no choice, but to pull the trigger on this experiment and put the strap on himself. Without Kobashi and with a neutered Akiyama, he had no choice to put himself in position to lead his company both on and off screen. It is like they always say if you want something done right, do it yourself. So the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.


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1. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 02/27/00

2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03

3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04

4. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - All Japan 05/26/00

5. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Keiji Mutoh - Budokan 6/8/01

6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00
7. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05

8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04

9. GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji  Budokan 04/25/04

10. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03
11. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06

12. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00

13. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Kanemoto & Minoru - NJPW  6/25/00

14. IWGP Champion Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada - 10/00 Tokyo Dome Non-Title

15. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 07/06/07

16. Keiji Mutoh vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 04/01

17. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04

18. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03

19. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05

20. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama - NJPW 4/20/01

21. Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murkami - Tokyo Dome 01/04/00

22. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03

23. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03

24. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005

25. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya - AJPW 6/30/01

26. Kenta Kobashi vs Takao Omori - Champions Carnival Final '00

27. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03

28. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 12/10/06

29. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04

30. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03

31. GHC Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 07/27/01

32. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 

33. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03

34. New Japan (Liger & Minoru ) vs. NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 4/7/02

35. GHC Tag Champions Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga - NOAH 10/19/02

36. Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 07/23/00

37. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki - 01/04/00

38. Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada - Vacant All Japan Triple Crown 10/28/00

39. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04

40. KENTA vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 06/27/04

41. Yuji Nagata vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW G-1 Climax 08/12/06

42. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - Budokan 01/08/05

43. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04
44. Kenta Kobashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 4/23/06

45. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03
46. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06

47. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival '00

48. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH #2 08/06/00

49. Genichiro Tenryu vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - Vacant IWGP Championship 02/15/04

50. GHC Champion Yoshihiro Takayama vs Mitsuharu Misawa - Budokan 09/23/02

51. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Vacant GHC Title 04/15/01

52. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 07/07/02

53. Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04

54. Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05

55. Yuji Nagata vs Giant Bernard - New Japan Cup Finals 04/30/06

56 U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuyuki Fujita - Vacant IWGP Championship 6/5/04

57. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06

58. IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - Tokyo Dome 05/02

59. Kiyoshi Tamura vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - U-Style 02/04/04

60. All Japan Triple Crown Champion Vader vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 2/27/00

61. All Japan Triple Crown Champ  Toshiaki Kawada vs Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW 11/03/04 non-Title

62. IWGP Jr Tag Champions Kanemoto & Minoru vs Liger & Makabe - NJPW 9/12/00

63. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 11/13/04
64. Keiji Mutoh vs Yuji Nagata - Sumo Hall 08/12/01 G-1 Climax Final

65. Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Finals 08/17/03

66. Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Dick Togo & Hidaka - Z-1 12/26/03 

67. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Champions Carnival '00

68. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Budokan 02/17/02

69. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama - NOAH #1 08/05/00

70. Kenta Kobashi/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuhiko Nakajima - KO 2/11/06

71. New Japan (Liger & Inoue) vs NOAH (Kikuchi & Kanemaru) - NOAH 2/17/02

72. IWGP Jr Hvywt Tag Champs Liger & Minoru vs. Kikuchi & Kanemaru - NJPW 8/29/02

73. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Giant Bernard - NJPW 06/18/06 Vacant IWGP Championship

74. Sterness  vs. Burning 8-Man Tag - NOAH 08/03

75. Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 01/17/00

76. Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 02/24/02

77. Yoshihiro Takayma vs Osamu Nishimura - G-1 Climax Semifinals

78. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax Round Robin

79. SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 08/24/00 Hair Vs Mask

80. GHC Tag Champs Misawa & Ogawa vs Saito & Inoue - NOAH 9/10/04

81. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka - Zero-One 3/02/02

82. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 10/08/01

83. NJPW(Liger, Minoru , Makabe) vs Osaka Pro(Delfin, Murhama, Tsubasa)-NJPW 12/14/00

84. Toshiaki Kawada vs Vader - AJPW 2/17/00

85. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - Zero-One 3/2/01

86. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Champs KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi Budokan 9/12/03

87. U-30 Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - Tokyo Dome 01/04/05

88. Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 06/06/01

89.  Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - Battlarts 01/30/2000

90. Dick Togo vs Tiger Mask IV - M-Pro 08/25/02

91. GHC Tag Team Champions Wild II vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - Budokan 9/23/02
92. GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06

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NODOWA~!

GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06

Wow, Akiyama looking like it is 2000 with his urgency and focus. Akiyama has looked great in certain instances since 2002, but here he was wrestling at the level that made him the preeminent puroresu star at the turn of the century. Everything was focused on Taue's head and neck. He was throwing knees like Misawa would throw elbow. Everything had a purpose and a sense of urgency behind. Taue is the King of Efficiency. There are no overwrought sequences. He is a straight-ahead wrestler. His goal was to Nodowa Akiayama to hell and retain his title. It did not feel like  macho pissing contest, but two men struggling to win a championship.

The bout starts off pretty even with Taue having a slight advantage. Akiyama looks to strike early ascending the ropes, but Taue big boots him to the outside. Taue consolidates with a great dive to the outside. Taue chucks him back first into the railing and then drops him neck first on railing. Taue looks to get the Nodowa setting up with hotshots, legdrops and big boots, but Akiyama is able back body drop him out. In the spot of the match, Akiyama absolutely wipes Taue out with a running knee from the apron from behind. Akiyama does the same move again, but this time with Taue on the railing. Akiyama is relentless with knees to the head and does his trademark top rope diving elbow to the back of the head. Taue makes a mini comeback with a back drop driver that sets up the Nodowa/Big Splash comb. In a sequence I loved, Akiyama dropkicked Taue's knee to be able to knee him in the head, but the knees only get two. He looks for the Exploder, but Taue knows to avoid it. Akiyama DDTs him on the ramp. Akiyama looks to seal the deal with a running knee, but eats a big boot. NODOWA OFF THE RAMP~!

They tease the countout finish, but Taue rolls him back in to only get two. Taue hits Nodowa and holds onto throat to hit a Dynamic Bomb that looked dangerous, but only gets two. Backdrop Nodowa and cocky Taue covers with hand just on throat. Taue wants the Nodowa off the rope, but Akiiyama fights off. Akiyama jumping knee off the ropes. The Exploder gets two. They are really both showing much they want to win this with constant barrage of nearfalls. Akiyama goes for his guillotine choke, but still cant negotiate the pin. Another exploder still cant get the job done. "TAUE! TAUE! TAUE! TAUE! TAUE!" Now it's Akiyama going for the Top Rope Finish and it is SUPER NODOWA~! Taue can only get a arm on Akiyama and it is a kick out. Taue has an enziguiri left in him, but Akiyama unleashes knee after knee and eventually Taue succumbs to the onslaught.

An absolutely terrific match with both wrestlers working hard to win the match, which should not be a novel concept. Akiyama's commitment to the knee and the attack on Taue's head and neck was tremendous to watch. Taue has enough tricks in his bag to work effective control segments and then surprise during the big finish run. Clocking in at around 20 minutes, the match felt fresh and energetic throughout with Akiyama in top form. ****1/2

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Kenta Kobashi/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuhiko Nakajima 

Kensuke Office 2/11/06

Kensuke Sasaki is out to teach his young protege, Katsuhiko Nakajima, some tough love at what I believe is the first Kensuke Office show. I believe Akira Hokuto, Kensuke Sasaki's wife is on commentary, and his children are shown in the crowd. I loved how everytime Sasaki lit up Nakajima there was an insert window that shown Hokuto's conflicted reaction. The beginning was great with Kobashi and Sasaki pumping each other by chopping each other and then giving out a bellow and shaking hands. If I was their opponent, it would be rubber pants time for me.

Nakajima hits a spinwheel kick right off the bat to get a quick two and Sasaki bails. After that, it is all Sasaki who throws him half way cross the ring on a headlock and Sasaki is not taken off his feet by Nakajima's kicks. Kobashi wants Tenryu. Tenryu at first avoids the chop by ducking under ropes, but then instigates the chop war. Bad idea. This time Tenryu only has a trickle of blood come down his chest. Tenryu says enough of this bullshit and kicks his knee. DDT on the floor. Kobashi is all like WTF, MATE!?!?! Tenryu holds the ropes open, but then blasts Kobashi with an elbow and then grabs some woman's chair and blasts Kobashi with it. Tenryu and Nakajima are clearly outgunned by the dream team of Kobashi and Sasaki so they need to fight dirty. Nakajima can not contain Kobashi. Tenryu is in quickly to choke Kobashi with his tape. Kobashi is madder than a hornet and makes a beeline for Tenryu. Tenryu retreating into the crowd grabs a chair and jams into Kobashi's mouth. OW! Kobashi is bleeding profusely from the mouth. Nakajima takes a wicked bump off a Kobashi chop. He hits the back of his head hard. Kobashi has to tag out due to his mouth. The same Nakajima cant get the brickhouse down. Tenryu comes around the corner and whips a full water bottle at Kobashi. At the Sasaki family show, things are getting heated.

It is the point of the match where they lose me. I was loving all the Tenryu's prick work and Nakajima as spunky underdog. Then the match just turns into a legalized mauling of Nakajima. This is not the heat segment where you are like I cant wait for the hot tag. It is more like I feel really bad for Nakajima and Tenryu please just end it because you are pricks for running the score up on them. At one point, Tenryu tries to save Nakajima, but Sasaki chops Tenryu down in the corner and he just seems so helpless. It is more hopeless and depressing. Again Tenryu tries to save, but Sasaki bulldozes him and puts him in an amrbar while Kobashi has Nakajima in a Texas Cloverleaf.

All of sudden, Nakajima just out of self-perservation starts throwing big boots and avoids Sasaki, who bulldozes Kobashi! TAG TO TENRYU! Lariats for everyone. Enziguiri and punches to Kobashi. Tenryu gets a wicked abdominal stretch on Kobashi, but once Tenryu starts chopping it is all over. It is now the legalized mauling of Tenryu by the two powerhouses. Northern Lights Bomb Nakajima Saves! Tenryu blocks a Northern Lights Bomb and hits a Brainbuster. Tag to Nakajima! Give em hell, Nakajima!

Nakajima finally takes Sasaki down with kicks. He elbows Kobashi off the apron. He ascends to the top. Can the kid do it? Missile dropkick for one? FUCK YOU KENSUKE! Sasaki blocks the Northern Lights Bomb so Tenryu punches him in the face. Nakajima Northern Lights Bomb gets two. Goes for his German, but Kobashi hits the half-nelson. Tenryu hits a lariat on Kobashi. Sasaki lariats Tenryu. Nakajima German for two on Sasaki. Again another "This is Awesome" chants moment. Nakajima controls Sasaki with kicks to head, but Sasaki catches axe-kick into powerbomb, which should have been the finish. Hey Masa Saito is there! That's cool. Kobashi and Sasaki do the Bash Brothers. Wicked lariat with Nakajima basically taking a headdrop off of it gives the win to the all-star team.

In a cool moment after the match, there is a group picture with the likes of Keiji Mutoh, Takayama, Kojima and the M-Pro guys with Sasaki, Kobashi, Nakajima, Hokuto and Sasaki's kids front and center.

As much, I really enjoyed the NOAH heavyweight tag team matches from 2005, this was a clear step down. This was more of an exhibition of how Kobashi and Sasaki are the baddest men that ever lived. The take away from this match was there could be an alien invasion in 2006, but they would have no chance because the human race has Kenta Fuckin Kobashi and Kensuke Fuckin Sasaki. There was enough from Tenryu and Nakajima that this was not a total squash. I loved the early heeling from Tenryu, but we really never got the heat segment on Kobashi to make you want to see Kobashi beat the living shit out of Nakajima. If you restructure the match with a Kobashi FIP segment, this had the potential to be a real classic. Instead, it may have been a feel-good match if you are a Kobashi or Sasaki fan. Nakajima was the MVP of the match with his crazy bumps and selling. By the end of the match, Nakajima was rocking and rolling, but just did not have enough firepower to compete with Sasaki. It is a very good match and worth the watch, but could have been so much more. ***1/2

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Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04

Taue's specialty is reigning wrestlers in and there is no wrestler on the NOAH roster that needs to be reigned in more than Marufuji. Taue rises to the occasion and pulls out a pretty good match from Marufuji. It is a straightforward story if the veteran giant against the undersized, plucky young hotshot. Taue dominates early with his size throwing around Marufuji. Taue mocks Marufuji by doing his own moves and then teasing the big dive to the outside. The crowd and I were ready to pop big for the dive, but it was for naught. While Taue was on the apron, Marufuji wisely went after the giant's legs and getting into the ring to apply a figure-4. After tangling up in the ropes, Taue wins a suplex struggle and hits a hot shot. He is selling the knee, but fighting through the pain. On the outside, Nodowa into post and Taue's heat segment is pretty tame. The match picks up once Marufuji hits a Nodowa when he is on the turnbuckles calling back to how Taue was hitting his moves. Taue tries for a Nodowa, but Marufuji flips out and hit a basement dropkick and running kick to head. Marufuji hits a Human Capture Suplex and then a superkick/sliced bread combo. I hate Sliced Bread No. 2. TAUE COUNTERS SLICED BREAD WITH NODOWA!!!! If that was the finish, FIFTY BAZILLION STARS! Taue counters a schoolboy roll-up with a triangle choke. If that was the finish, FIFTY BAZILLION STARS! Taue Nodowa and Dynamic Bomb only get two! Oh Shit! Marufuji counters Backdrop Nodowa and Taue goes to town with chops on Marufuji. I love Taue! Marufuji blocks the back drop Nodowa with holding his hand and converting into a cross-armbreaker, which Taue breaks with overhand chops. They told a stupid Spanish Fly tease and Marufuji wins with a superkick and intricate cradle.

The finish run was wicked hot, but I thought the body of the match was pretty tepid. Everything made sense, but Marufuji just is not that fiery compared to Kobashi or Akiyama so there is a lack of struggle. The finish was lots of fun with some really cool moments like Nodowa counter to Sliced Bread and Marufuji countering the Nodowa, but not enough to make this a classic match. On a night where the theme was old guard versus new guard, it seemed like the new guard just was not there yet. They split the matches 2-2 with the big guns, Misawa and Kobashi going 2-0. Probably the most telling statement was that Akiyama defended against an outsider (Minoru Suzuki) rather than Rikio, Maurufuji, Morishima, KENTAor Shiozaki. The new guard still needed more time to develop unfortunately for everyone involved there was not much time left. ***3/4

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Wendy vs Lana in a Firecracker on a Pole Match! BOOK IT, VINCE~!

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06

At a Budokan show that featured four old guard vs new guard matches, Takeshi Morishima looked to shine against the resilient Mistuharu Misawa. Early on, Morishima looked like an unstoppable force in the ring. His lariat was crisp and I wished that would his strike of choice. His elbows are fine, but Vader-esque forearms tends to leave a lot to be desired. Still he was showing great energy and mobility for a man his size. I have always loved Morishima's look and the Japanese commentators compare him to Terry Gordy. The match told the classic Misawa story of rope-a-dope with Misawa letting his opponent punch himself out and time his comebacks. Misawa hits a diving elbow, but takes more out of Misawa and Morishima hits a shoulder block from the top rope to the floor. While some of these spots looked impressive, Morishima felt like a plug-in-play wrestler in the Misawa formula and was not bringing that extra spark to separate himself from the pack of young guns. Morishima is bleeding from the nose for no apparent reason and hits a powerbomb. He looks for another on the ramp, but silly Morishima you can't powerbomb Misawa twice and Misawa-rana follows. Misawa goes offense with his usual aerial spots. He hits the Tiger Driver and then goes for the Tiger Driver off the apron, but Morishima throws him off the apron. Morishima is confident when hitting the lariat. Sometimes he look lethargic and indecisive in the ring.

In the big spot of the match, Misawa hits a Tiger Driver off the apron onto the floor. So much JIGGLE~! on the slow-motion replay. The count is on, but Misawa rolls him in. Morishima hits him with a wild forearm. Morishima runs through his big offensive run: back drop driver, exploder, lariat and back drop driver. The final kick out gets a big pop and we all know it is over for Morishima. Misawa roocks him huge with a massive elbow in corner. Misawa relentless with elbows throwing the ref off. Morishima makes a final stand, but succumbs to the Elbow Onslaught.

Misawa by the number is a great formula and produces enjoyable matches. Morishima went on offense early and Misawa peppered in his hope spots. Then Morishima got one big run before the eventual Misawa elbow barrage. It is up to the opponent to make them something special and memorable out of this well-designed formula. Morishima gave an uneven performance. There were some great spots, but there was something lacking in charisma and selling. Outside of the lariat, he did not seem to having anything he could fall back on. Morishima has the look and good fundamentals to build on. He just needed more time to mature. Unfortunately, 2006 was pretty much now or never for the NOAH young guard and no one was ready. Misawa pitched him a softball and Morishima hit a double. Aint nuthin wrong with a double except when you needed that home run. ***3/4

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Kenta Kobashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 4/23/06

The last Kobashi match at the Budokan, until his 2008 return after surviving a cancer scare, features him working with Marufuji during his push towards to the GHC Heavyweight. I don't wish cancer on anyone. I am a big Kobashi fan, but he was descending into self-parody. If there was any silver lining it was that he needed the two years off. Of course, when I go to watch the 2008-2009 work, I may end up saying he just should have retired, but I will wait and see. Marufuji came to work during this match and prove that he was capable of working the heavyweight style. I thought this was his best individual performance to date.

NOAH is really, really good at the first 5-10 minutes of matches. They always establish these cool stories, but never follow them to an interesting conclusion. Instead they settle for fireworks displays. It is really disappointing. After a handshake of respect, Marufuji is trying to prove himself to Kobashi, but he finds himself thwarted at every turn by Kobashi superior strength, I loved the head fakes during the chopfest only for Kobashi to finally catch him. The wristlock only ended up him being chopped. The headscissors lasted longer, but he suffered a similar fate. Kobashi looked like he was going to make easy work for this pretender. Then Marufuji took to the high ground and dropkicked Kobashi in the knee. Marufuji's knee work was totally on point with figure-4s being the choice. Kobashi still can turn on the sympathy sell when he wants. It was 1995 all over again with him selling the knee like a million bucks and we were all buying it. Kobashi eventually catches him with a  chop, but collapses in the ring. Kobashi desperately suffocates him knowing he cant afford to let him regain his strength. Marufuji catches Kobashi's chop in an awesome moment. Lariat. Kobashi unphased says bring it. Marufuji superkick and Kobashi's sell is perfect. "Damn it that little kid actually hit me." Marufuji hits a big splash to the outside and he is starting to feel it. In one of the best uses of springboard dropkick as Kobashi is crawling back into the ring, Marufuji nails him in the head.

Of course, it is now time for the finish run and they just lose it. It is a barrage of Sliced Breads and Half-Nelsons. The best sequence was actually this rather overwrought counters, but looked actually like they were struggling and finished with a Burning Lariat. Obviously that should have been the finish, but of course Marufuji kicks out. Brainbuster wins it for Kobashi.

I didn't know that the goal of wrestling was to get a bigger pop on a false finish than the actual finish. Snide remarks aside, the match was very good for the first 3/4s or so and they just fell into the usual NOAH finish pattern. They gave Taue/Akiyama a run for their money for NOAH match of 2006, but came up short. ****

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Bad Haircut, Badder Attitude

KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06

Mori-Fuckin-Shima, welcome to the party, brutha, why dont you stay awhile? Talk about a breakout performance in my eyes. He looked like a cant miss prospect in this match. Morishima is someone I have not explored fully (I really want to watch the Danielson series after this), but if he is hitting these highs he looks unstoppable. I don't if in the other matches it has been a lack of confidence, he looked like a star in this match. The number one reason I want to watch the Morishima/Danielson matches were for his double hot exchanges with KENTA. KENTA reminds me of 2013 Daniel Bryan so much. He is a wrestling in a body that is not his own and is three sizes bigger than he really is. He is just a friggin' dynamo. The dude can sell his ass off when the time comes for it. Now, my big qualm with him is sometimes he wrestles too big. A superplex to Morishima or a powerslam should be treated like a big deal because of the size disparity, but because KENTA is trying to really show the audience that he is an equal these moves come off as ordinary moves. It is like Misawa or Kobashi is doing them. KENTA should be leveraging his size as an actual advantage by getting people to pop by saying "Holy shit look at that little guy superplex Morishima" by really struggling to accomplish the feat.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Marufuji and Rikio fucking sucked. Yes, they took part in this match, but fuck them for ruining it with their laziness and apathy. I am a positive guy so I am going to focus on the good, but if the rating does not reflect my enthuasiam it is because I have to judge the match as a whole and unfortunately Rikio and Marufuji were a part of this match.

The majority of the first ten minutes were relatively tame (give you one guess who to blame). However, guess who just rocked it from the get go. KENTA and Morishima, BABY! KENTA is flying all around like D-Bry off a hot tag and Shima murders him with a lariat and then another one. Shima goes for the Back Drop Driver, but Marufuji hits a superkick and a double kick stuns Morishima. There was a boring control segment on Morishima. Morishima catches Marufuji coming off the top with an overhead belly to belly.

Rikio is a very pedesterian wrestler. He is just sort of there. His main source of offense is a slap. It is pretty much the only thing KENTA and Marufuji consistently sell from him. Rikio tags out. My notes just say MORISHIMA RULEZ~! Because he does. Morishima sprints in and bascially jumps and sits on KENTA. As a fuck you to Marufuji, he does a back handspring, but then just starts unloading on KENTA with forearms. He hits this ragdoll urnage/exploder thingy that looked awesome. The aforementioned KENTA superplex was in there somewhere, which I thought could have been highlighted more. The climax of this sequence was Morishima diving onto KENTAFuji on the floor. What follows was an excellently worked heat section on KENTA's ribs and midsection. Rikio would stand on KENTA and then Morishima would climb on Rikio for extra weight. Of course, double stomps and ab stretches. KENTA was really taking a pounding and he was milking it for everything it was worth.

I have to mention this. Marufuji at one point comes in to save with the weakest looking little kicks to Rikio back. They looked downright dainty. It is too bad Morishima never really got a hold of that little chump. Rikio runs into a corner and KENTA hits a back suplex to tag in Marufuji for the lukewarm tag. Marufuji fucks up a spot and runs through his usual stuff: dropkicks to knees, human capture suplex, superkicks. Morishima hits a massive missile dropkick. Marufuji only postive contribution to the match was that bump. Marufuji escapes the Doomsday Device with a victory (a pretty neat counter). KENTA much too easily hits a powerslam and German on Morishima. Fuck it though at least we finally get a hot tag after Rikio's and Marufuji's and the crowd goes mild tags. KENTA beats the piss out of Morishima with his exploding knee (Bryan's current finish), wicked kicks to head, Sliced Bread/powerbomb combo and the Go 2 Sleep. Punk's and Bryan's finish by the originator cant get it done. Morishima's big run is a back drop driver and a lariat I totally bit on. Once it became Morishima's lariat and KENTA's barrage of cradles, I knew the finish...Draw.

This is the tale of two matches: KENTA/Morishima rocking it and Marufuji/Rikio phoning it in. It is such a shame that Marufuji is bigger than KENTA. KENTA does suffer from trying to get all his shit in and not building to big moments. He definitely could sell, but needed to work on long-term selling. The offense and crowd connection was there. Morishima it was all about being able to hit that high level consistently. It is on the job training and thus it is a shame they just did not strap a rocket to these two's ass because the crowd was buying what they were selling. Just leave RIkio and Maurfuji in the dust. It is a tough match to rate. Rikio and Marufuji were not in there much. I tend to reward awesome more than subtract for apathy because I am a postive dude. ****

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GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06

HOLY OVERKILL, BATMAN! This match was like a bad progressive rock album (I know that's redundant ;) ). Sacrificing hooks for more notes at lightning speeds. Sacrificing meaningful transitions for inane time changes. You could probably have constructed 4 or 5 great matches around some of the spots in this match. They easily could have built a classic match around the dueling body part work at the outset of the match, Marufuji establishes why he is the champion countering KENTA at every turn and taking the lead with a DDT onto the apron. He works the neck well to contain the lightning fast KENTA. Any time KENTA gets spunky, he elbows him in the neck, but one time KENTA sneaks in a roundhouse kick. KENTA work on the ribs/abs of Marufuji is really excellent and probably the best continuous portion of the match. So that was one match that could have been great.

Then Marufuji hits a springboard dropkick to send KENTA to the outside. KENTA whiffs on a kick and straddles the railing. Marufuji decided to his and KENTA's life in his own hands with an Asai Moonsault that busts KENTA's nose open hardway and nearly decapitates himself on the railing. They could have been built an entire match around this hook with each struggling  to overcome the injures from this high risk move. It shows how much the Heavyweight Title means to two Junior Heavyweights.

Instead, a minute later they keep going balls to the wall. I am not taking anything away from their toughness because I would be running for the locker room if I was either one of these guys, but fuck talk about killing the severity of legitimately scary spot. Shit like Marufuji ramming KENTA's head into the post only for KENTA to catch him mid-air with an Ace Crusher was just like what the hell is point of all this. Or KENTA slapping Marufuji and now Marufuji has all this energy to run the ropes and lariat KENTA. It was like I was playing my brother in a video game and finally hit an L1 enough to make my guy run to the ropes to avoid his strikes. I can play my brother in Here Comes The Pain for 35 minutes and have a great time, but I am pretty sure no one else wants to watch that.

In another spot that I think they could have built a match around was KENTA sending Marufuji to the floor on a sliced bread attempt. If Marufuji had been kicking his ass for 10-15 minutes and KENTA finally hits this tide-turning move that would have been a great Wow moment, Instead some shit happened involving the ramp where nobody took a move,

Another sequence that could have been the hook to a match was the apron struggle with KENTA hitting a Steiner Screwdriver off the apron. It is high-risk transition that could lead to a sweet heat segment and eventual hot comeback. Marufuji does a great job writhing in pain and when KENTA comes over the top with a double stomp, Marufuji is really good at making me feel for him. Before you know it Marufuji has hit a Sliced Bread as a transition move. Did I mention this was after KENTA hit his Exploding Knee (his secondary finish)? Shaking my head.

In a hilarious moment, they are just suplexing each other. KENTA does not have a good grip and lets go and Marufuji just suplexes himself. Fuck this match. They hit a bunch of huge bombs and start running ropes really fast and hit some kicks and Spanish Fly and a Cradle Piledriver gives Marufuji. I don't give a fuck. The fact that this only drew 11.5k (lowest to date in NOAH history) mean about 5.5k did not either.

It is too bad I am not a promoter because I now have a great template for my next 4-5 main events. Every match is a collection of spots. In this match, the spots did not connect nor did they mean anything. They had some really nifty spots, they had some overwrought spots and they had some pathetic spots. Spots don't make a match. I can forgive a match that is 20 minutes of a spot-a-thon, but at 35 minutes you are wasting my time. Don't waste my time. Worst match I have watched for this project.

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Dont stop me now! I am flying baby! Toryumon! 2005-2006 Juniors! Best of 2005-2006! Fingers dont fail me now!