Superstar Sleeze

Disorderly Conduct makes a yearbook, HOLY SHIT!!! For whatever reason, Mean Mike & Tough Tom and High Voltage were the two jabroni tag teams from Saturday Night that have stuck with me from my childhood. I need to see this. Big Sexy's website still exists in all its turn of the millennium glory updated through his Magic Mike role. Awesome!

There is not much to add to my initial review, This match holds up really well as a well-done match that is focused around who is the best wrestler. The crowd was really dead, but Danielson did the best he could to make up for it with his verbal selling. I had forgotten how much I liked the beginning between Danielson's tricked out matwork and his armwork. I liked KENTA slowing things down at first to sort of reset the match after having his arm attacked only for Danielson to go back to it. I loved they took their time with things like setting up the surfboard. After the big Danielson dive, I have already chronicled how great the finish run is. Re-assessing, I would say Akiyama/Taue was a better match in 2006 and KENTA/SUWA is the best KENTA singles match of the decade. KENTA/SUWA and KENTA/Suzuki rely on face/heel dynamics to really hook the viewer in so I would say this is KENTA's best pure singles match. It feels like it should be for a championship, but alas it is not. It should be in the 20s. ****1/2

Tanahashi is the best championship wrestler of the 00s in Japan. Everything builds to such a satisfying climax and everything makes sense all the way through the match. The first highspot is ten minutes in and it stems from a great suplex struggle. Before that, you get a very good wrestling contest with well-done work because it feels organic. Even little shit like Nakamura working over the ribs, but he shoots Tanahashi across twice and each time Tanahashi is able to attempt a counter (whiffs on a cross body and a rollup through a knee lift). If you think about Nakamura is taking a big risk by allowing Tanahashi separation just to hit a bigger move and Tanahashi almost makes him pay. That's how you make someone earn something within their segment. Tanahashi never just sits around and takes Nakamura's shit. He is going to attempt to counter but come up short. Nakamura was really trying in this match from attacking with purpose to selling for Tanahashi. I liked the curveball of Tanahashi starting his finishing sequence early only to be cut off by a flash triangle, which nearly costs him the match. I always love when a challenger goes for broke (ala Super Landslide) and it leads to his demise via a sweet powerbomb, High Fly Flow, Dragon Suplex combination. There are some issues with lack of selling at times and how transitions are performed, but the first half and finishing run are really high-end stuff. I wish they built on this to give even better performances in 2008 and 2009, but it looks like 2006 is their best match together that I have seen so far. In the 40s probably at ****1/4

The last great singles match between the Five Pillars ends an era in a fitting fashion with an all-out tour de force. Akiyama wrestles like it is 2000 with laser-focus on Taue's neck and those knees off the apron are nasty. The Taue resurgence is still in effective and looks as great as he ever did. The transitions were so smart in this that you wish all 2000s Japan remembered how to build a match this way. Everything builds from the first Taue big boot while Akiyama was on the top rope and he crashes to the floor. From there, each has to one-up the other. Akiyama wipes Taue out from the apron to the floor with two wicked knees. Taue responds with a crazy NODOWA off the ramp. All the work in between these transitions is incredible. The fact they make the transitions to be the most impactful spots shows such a deep understanding of how to layer their match. The spot that has made me lose my mind both time was when Taue knows he needs the Super Nodowa, but Akiyama nails him with a knee to the head. It puts over everything in the match in one simple exchange. Taue has hit his big moves, he knows he needs this one to polish him off and retain the title. It puts over how high-risk the spot to basically put your opponent in an offensive position (Akiyama has the high ground), but he has to do it to win and keep the title. Finally, it calls back to all of Akiyama's work on head/neck with the knee and puts him over as a resilient challenger. They say don;t make matches like they use to, but on January 22, 2006 Akiyama and Taue captured the magic one more time. In what I consider the weakest year of the decade, they salvage it with a performance worthy of the 90s. I see this in the #15-#25 range. There is actually quite bit of good shit from this decade. ****1/2

This definitely is not thinking man's wrestling, but why overcomplicate something like Kobashi/Sasaki. It is a testament to Shiozaki and Nakajima that this match does not become Kobashi/Sasaki with props. They do a great jab establishing the hierarchy. Kobashi/Sasaki and Shiozaki/Nakajima are equals, but Kobashi will dominate Nakajima and Sasaki will dominate Shiozaki. In a lot of ways, it seems like who wins the Kobashi/Sasaki war will will lead his team to victory because a weakened captain would be the death knell. When Sasaki's chest turns a nasty purple hue, Kobashi wins that skirmish and puts Kensuke Office in the hole. Kobashi is a great tag wrestler. We know this from the 90s, but he does not get to showcase it enough in the 00s. He works the apron like the best damn cheerleader. You really feel how badly he wants to get into the match. When he does, you can't help up pop because you know shit about to go down. Once everybody hits a suplex the match just goes into spotfest overdrive, but in a good way. It is not totally mindless because the overarching theme is Kobashi has let Go Shiozaki in the match, this is his big moment, can he get that big first victory? For the most part, it is just crazy spot after crazy spot with a ton of shit and it is so entertaining. On rewatch, one of my favorite things was watching crowd reactions. These people were losing their shit down the stretch the whole time, which only enhanced it for me. All four played their roles perfectly. I liked my initial placement of this match in the 30s. ****1/4

September 18, 2005 Budokan was one helluva a show to attend. It was probably the last great NOAH Budokan show with multiple MOTYCs as the current NOAH recession was about to begin. I thought this was the sprint version of the All Japan tags of the 90s. Just everything was red-hot. The beginning was really good with Tenryu avoiding at all costs and Taue just being a steamroller. It really set the tone for an action-packed match that never let up, weaved stories between all four, and set Taue up for his big GHC Title win. You can tell how rabid the crowd was for him and really added to the match. Nothing in this match overstayed it welcome, just four of the greatest of all time kicking ass in the squared circle. The finish run was one of the best of the decade with an incredible climax. It will be tough to dislodge this from the Top 10, but I have 13 matches I am eyeing as top ten contenders. Something will have to give, but I don't see this falling below #15. ****3/4

The best babyface veteran/young lion versus two heel pricks match of the decade and I love this genre because of the great, natural story it tells. Then add the amazing characters of Kobashi, Tenryu and Akiyama you have a recipe for something special. The amount of struggle is in this match is amazing. Everybody is contesting everything in a smart and heated fashion. There is no finisher overkill. Yes, they tease their finishers, but they never get to hit them instead they focus on telling the story through physical violence. Tenryu and Akiyama taking out their frustrations for Kobashi on Shiozaki. Shiozaki trying to prove his mettle. Kobashi cheering Shiozaki on and wanting to cave Tenryu's chest in. I loved how Akiyama was there to meet Kobashi right as he got in the ring and meet him head on. I loved Shiozaki attacking Tenryu on the apron and getting punched in the face. I loved Shiozaki stomping forever on Akiyama to get the choke broken up. I loved Tenryu being the world's biggest prick ending up with a murder scene happened on his chest. One of the best character performance matches of the decade. The only thing holding this match back is that definitely feels like the first in the series. Wrestling series unlike movies tend to peak with the final match. The first match just whets your appetite and it is the rematch that satiates you. This match will be in the 20s no doubt and one of the best matches of 2005. ****1/2 Exit Shiozaki, Enter Taue and you have a Top Ten Match of the Decade.

I rewatched specifically because I thought the Suzuki match was so good and I remember SUWA's violent heel performance being amazing, but I remember the match not sticking with me as much as Suzuki's chickenshit heel performance. 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. The rewatch definitely took this match to next level for me. The referee dynamic and SUWA going all out on his heel antics takes this above the Suzuki match as the best singles KENTA match of all time. I would put this right below the Murakami performance. What separates the two is really I think Murakami is a psychotic, violent bully in real life and he just had this crazy energy. I love revenge matches though so this will do really well. I will have this in the teens. ****1/2

Funny, I thought Morishima was the best worker of the four by far. Mitsuharu Misawa & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima - NOAH 5/6/09 Knowing what would happen to Misawa a month later makes this match unnerving and pretty sad. This struck as the best representation of generic NOAH work. It is like those RAW tags they were throw out and they are fine while you are watching them, but are totally unmemorable. Morishima is such a hot and cold wrestler. Sometimes, he looks like a timid wrestler not ready to grab the brass ring. Then other times he looks like a total badass (well besides his 9-year old girl haircut) and the future of the company. It is better late than never, but it maybe too little too late. There is a big difference bringing this type of performance to a throwaway tag team match and GHC Heavyweight Championship matches. He looked wild and unbridled throwing some great lariats and just moving with vigor and purpose. I love the spot where Shiozaki got a hope spot and he immediately leapt on him and then splashed him again. The Morishima rocket launcher was also badass. Misawa barely gets involved. Sasaki slept walked through this match. Shiozaki wrestled another strong face in peril performance. More responsibility than necessary was foisted on him too soon once Misawa died and probably would have happened even if Misawa lived, but that was the nature of NOAH. Shiozaki is great at peppering those hope spots in and always struggling. In the Holy Shit moment of the match, Sasaki superplexes Morishima onto Shiozaki's face. The look on Shiozaki's face is "What the Fuck was I thinking?". That looked like it fucking hurt. The one things Shiozaki is not good at is Frakensteiners. The one off the top rope was so frigging bush league. Misawa and Shiozaki double team Morishima to get the beast down. Morishima throws Shiozaki wildly on a back drop driver, but can't follow up. Shiozaki downs him with brainbusters, moonsaults and lariats. When Morishima was not tearing it up, it just felt like Shiozaki/Sasaki were in another strike exchange or people were just getting their shit in. It is a fun match, but nothing I will remember tomorrow. ***1/2

I loved this a lot more on rewatch. Yes, this match really suffered from overkill problems, but the first 20 minutes was really incredible work and it just felt absolutely HUGE! I have liked a lot of post-split All Japan matches, but this is one that felt like the biggest. I didn't really care for the first match from a standalone standpoint, but watching it before this match makes this match that much better. Kojima spends most of the first match getting his ass handed to him. Here you can really seen how he has grown. He is doing Tenryu signature chop/punch combo in the corner, winning shoulder tackles and besting him on the mat. I loved his selling of Tenryu's high chop and Tenryu throwing a water bottle at Kojima, saying get back in here, you pussy. Some of the transitions again were a bit lame, but still I liked Tenryu working through the knee attacks at first with his own offense felt like some high-end struggle. But then Lariat to the knee on the apron was too much. Tenryu is not above punching to the midsection or the head. That is the real difference is Tenryu is going to take shortcuts. I thought Tenryu looked offensively crisp and this was definitely his last great singles match. Once it got into punch vs lariat and brainbuster versus Ace Crusher they definitely lost a little steam, but that's where the crowd buoyed the match with their overwhelming support for Kojima. I loved Kojima actually hitting the Lariat on this Fighting Spirit run, but still didn't have enough. Tenryu has to bust out the powerbomb to win. As the decade progressed, it was harder to put on these titanic showdowns, but this felt like Kojima was going to be a huge star. Tenryu did not carry him. Kojima looked great on offense, he was taking it too Tenryu and when selling he was firing up bringing it. I loved Tenryu selling the knee, but at the same time never losing his arrogance. He was still confident he could beat this punk if he could just punch him in the face. I will have this in 30s and I have it #3 on the year. ****1/2

Kojima reminds me of a passable modern WWE main eventer. Someone like Edge, who just does not have a ring presence or character. Edge has the benefit of promos and commentary to get over that he is The Ultimate Opportunist, but once he is in the ring, he just feels really normal. Kojima is just a really normal puroresu wrestler. I like this about the same as I did initially, which means it won't make my ballot. I think this time I could pinpoint my issue. The transitions in this were capricious as all hell. There was no flow to the match at all. It was just Tenryu kicks Kojima ass. Kojima gets a spot and then Tenryu kicks his ass. I don't mind cut offs, but it just felt really my turn, your turn. They were coming up with logical ways to countering each other it was done through kicks to the gut and no-selling. What this match was great for was as a Tenryu offensive showcase. He looked amazing all match with great punches and chops. Then he was moving around like it was 1984 and his big bombs looked great. Kojima is a pretty good fighting spirit worker. I still liked the fighting spirit yell-> flop -> brainbuster finish. It feels like a good first match because it gives Kojima a lot of room to grow. He clearly got his ass kicked, but put up a decent fight so you believe he can get better in a rematch. The transitions in this sucked and I have seen this story told a million times better. ***1/2

Liked this a good deal more on the rewatch. At first this had a nice Clash of the Titans feel with the gritty grappling early and then Nagata scoring early throws. However, a weakish Takayama roundhouse kick puts Nagata in a hole. Takayama has such a great presence to him and really knows how to carry a heat segment. Nagata is effective when he put in a position to react against a charismatic figure. He is able to feed off the natural story of him being overmatched by the larger Takayama. I liked the leg sweep and follow up Nagata work. The match is hurt when they overreach and Nagata is overselling then still coming back.; The simultaneous punches leave a lot to be desired. I have it in the 60s, but a higher rating. ****1/4

If you combine the beginning of this match with the ending of the 2001 match, you probably have at the very worst a Top 5 Match of the Decade if not the best Match of the Decade. I really understood and was engaged by the beginning. This time Takayama is not trying to avoid the strikes Misawa. He is engaging Misawa head on as an equal. He is kicking his ass in a kickboxing match and in tests of strength. I loved Misawa restoring to a tight, tight headlock just to end the onslaught. Then when Takayama is being a dick about his chinlock and kneeing him in the head, he gets pissed and starts kneeing Takayama in the head. We never see that from Misawa. I loved Misawa diving elbow through the ropes. Takayama catches Misawa with a knee lift off the top and then sick butterfly suplex bridge and those wicked knees in the corner. At this point, I really thought this had Match of the Decade Contender written all over it. Then they just blew up. It was such a shame. It was still violent and really showcased Misawa overcoming Takayama. If only they had just enough gas to finish it out. I project this in the 30s.****1/4

Who am I to doubt myself? Again, thought I may have overrated this match, but I thought this was really fun again. Ogawa was without a doubt the most entertaining wrestler of the decade, it is a shame, he disappeared in the latter half of the decade as you would have been great as the decade got staler. I had forgotten about Ogawa's loud "Shit!" at the 19 count when Takayama rolled back in in a nick of time. I popped all over again. He sold so well in the beginning making you believe Takayama was going to run away with this. Even with the size disparity, once Ogawa went on offense it was totally credible because he used the ring-post initially and just kept on it. I loved those cutoffs by using the ring post late in the match. Takayama was so in the zone at this point that this is just perfect confluence of great wrestling. Takayama is such a great bully that you actually start rooting for Rat Boy to stick to this arrogant asshole. Then when he is forced to sell for Ogawa, he goes all out. He is so critical in making Ogawa credible and making you doubt the outcome of the match. Then you start to root for Takayama to kick his scrawny ass. It was just a really well done heel vs heel match whether neither sacrificed their character in order to wrestle the match. It really felt like a match that only these two unique wrestlers could have. I have it #2 for 2002, but I severely short-changed some other 2002 matches, but we will see how it holds up. I am projecting in the #20s. ****1/2

GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama vs Yoshinari Ogawa - NOAH 4/7/02 This did not make the nominations for the Best of Japan project and I wouldn't have it in my Top 100 for the decade, but as a newfound Ogawa fan this is a real cool moment. I thought this was a smart way to actually have Akiyama drop the belt without losing any face. It was clear that the plan was for Kobashi going forward in 2003 and beyond and NOAH did the rare three transitional champions. The money was clearly in Misawa/Kobashi torch passing, but Akiyama losing to Misawa in an "epic" would have hurt Akiyama and shown regression. Takayama is an invader heel so you don't want him going over Misawa, but he is perfect to drop the belt to Misawa. It is similar to how All Japan would use a gaijin transitional champion, but how to get the belt on him? Enter Rat Boy! This is not as good as their amazing 1998 match, but it was not supposed to be, It was supposed to be Akiyama underestimating his opponent and falling prey to a flash pin. They built the match perfectly. I loved how Ogawa unleashed the full court press early with a ton of backdrop drivers. It makes the fans think ok that was his big "teased" finish now that is over, Akiyama will kick ass win. Akiyama kick ass with usual vicious set up moves. Ogawa gets a couple roll up attempts. Ok nothing unusual. Akiyama starts rattling the Exploders, well this was surprisingly short match, but hey good win for Akiyama. Roll through on the Exploder, HOLY SHIT, OGAWA JUST WON THE MATCH! I love Ogawa selling the surprise that the ref actually counted three. It is a really well booked match to blindside the viewer with the finish. Long Live Rat Boy! ***

If we were giving an award for Overachieving Match of the Decade, this has to be lock to win. Total exceeds the expectations from the names on the paper. Honestly thought I had overrated this, but nope totally held up on second watch. This is exactly what I love about pro wrestling in about 15 beautifully violent minutes. Murakami turns in the best second heel performance of the year just being most unlikeable douchebag ever in a wrestling ring. The clapping and goading at the beginning after he literally stepped on Nagata was just incredibly annoying to me in a good way. I want to see this prick dropped on his head. Yes, he sits in the armbar a little long, but fuck I loved that head drop out one of Murakami's attempted rips. Just classic babyface champion versus heel asshole brawling with a bit of shoot-style flavor to it. Should be in the teens somewhere. ****3/4

If we were just going based off coolest names in wrestling, Jaguar Yokota and Lioness Asuka would be number one and two.

Kobashi/Ogawa is without a doubt my personal favorite match of 00s Japan. To me it embodies the absolute essence of what makes pro wrestling just so damn fun. It strikes me as a match that even if you were a fan of just American wrestling you could get into this puroresu match and cheer for Kobashi to beat up this little cheating chump. I will have it in my Top Ten, but I don't think it will make the Top 5. I thought I may have overrated Takayama/Ogawa, glad other people dug it. I am going to rewatch it soon. I have said it before and I'll say it again, Yoshinari Ogawa is my spirit wrestler. Right down to the zebra print tights, hair style and body type I would wear if I was a wrestler. I would be the most UN-macho wrestler always looking to cheat or get under someone's skin. I am so sick of everybody being a tough guy in wrestling. Ogawa is a breath of fresh air and one of my favorites to watch.

I like 7/05 for what it was: a Big Dome nostalgia match, a great Best Hits of Misawa vs Kawada match. It really should have been Misawa's retirement match, a near perfect way to send him off. Also I am not a huge watch everything in chronological order nut, but All Japan is the one exception. It really should be watched in order. When I first got into it, I jumped around and really liked what I saw. I thought it was the greatest shit ever. Then I watched it order and it became greatest shit ever times infinity.

Another rewatch and another improved rating. I loved the energy of this match so much. Ogawa is just so much bigger than Kawada. He looks so imposing. Kawada feels like the underdog Cinderella story of March Madness taking on Duke in the National Championship. That speaks volumes to both men's charisma. Clearly Kawada is the more decorated pro wrestler, but you would never tell that from this match. Ogawa had the arrogance and presence you want in a shoot style bully. Kawada was cautious, but never hesitant, he was going to fight fire with fire. He knew he was going to get hit in the mouth he was just going to have hit harder. He was out to prove pro wrestling was the true king of sports. Everything about this was chaotic. With that came some awkward moments, but that just fed into the mayhem. The two flaws of the match that keeps it from the Top 10 is Kawada whiffed on a couple kicks to head and Ogawa is really bad at registering moves. He kinda just hops when he takes a kick. It is weird and jarring at times.It is kinda cool because he does not feel like a pro wrestler, but it seems like he is trying to be one. I am picking nits. This is should end up between #15-25. I loved the crazy energy with Kawada going to town on the leg to press his advantage with the STO looming ever-present to knock him out. Awesome brawl! ****1/2

What is about Mutoh legwork you hate? I love the urgency of it. It feels like a full court press. Rewatched this match because I fucking loved it the first two times, but it had been like seven months since I last saw it (can't believe that) so I wanted to know if it held up. I found something new to love. After Mutoh hit an out of nowhere Frakensteiner, Tenryu actually baits Mutoh to hit the Shining Wizard setting up his big bombs. That's fucking awesome. Everything I said holds true the key is Mutoh's full court press early throws Tenryu for a loop and when he eats a Shining Wizard early Tenryu has to spend most of the beginning shaking the cobwebs loose. The apron work is enough to make Taue jealous. It is so dramatic as wrestlers are flying over the ropes, through the ropes, on the apron and off the apron. I just love how much these guys are putting on the line to be the Triple Crown Champion. In 2001, Mutoh brought the dropkick back in all its sexy glory. The Fuck You Dropkick to Mutoh's knee is just amazing. I have popped for it every time. Tenryu is amazing on offense with his knee work, but his knee gives out on the Texas Cloverleaf. I loved how Tenryu would keep Mutoh at bay with his nasty closed fists to set up his big bombs. However, on the coup d'grace Mutoh knees him in the head and it is just academic, Mutoh takes shot after shot at his head with his knees and then a moonsault takes the Triple Crown Championship. I am a transitions mark. To me there is nothing more important than the transitions in a wrestling match. These are the critical moments that move the plot along. 1. Right off the bat, you have Mutoh flash Shining Wizard and then the kappo kick that ends Tenryu's first resurgence and brings the match to the outside. 2. You really felt who came out from the war on the oustide/apron would win and Mutoh was able to get the Dragon Leg Screw as Tenryu looked to take the high ground. 3. However not to be outdone Tenryu Fuck you Dropkicks to the Knee put him in the drivers seat 4. Tenryu baits Mutoh into a Shining Wizard that he blocks to hit a brainbuster. 5. Mutoh knees him in the skull calling back to #1 and sets up his victory. I was wary of going the full monty before, this match is truly a Top 5 match of the decade and a definite ***** match in my opinion.

Rewatched this as I felt I short-changed it. It is amazing that I am agreeing with my reviews almost wholeheartedly I just absolutely hate the ratings I am giving. What is my problem! After Misawa lost in 2000 this is the exact match they needed especially if Akiyama is scheduled to win. Misawa has, has to reestablish himself as a major obstacle for Akiyama to overcome and he does that by elbowing through everything. Akiyama and Misawa are making each earn everything. Akiyama is not standing around just getting elbowed he is forcing Misawa to elbow through his offense. By the same token when Misawa hesitates like he did on the top rope early Akiyama dropkicks him off the top rope. I loved how they constantly attacking, but with Misawa getting the better. Thus Akiyama earns another victory over Misawa, but this time it is through resiliency rather than pure offense. He plays Misawa's game and wins. Misawa is forced to one-up himself and more often than not does more harm than good. Thus the Super Tiger Driver was the key to victory, but could not follow it up. Akiyama has enough fight to counter the Emerald Flowsion and hit a bomb. Like I said, they are both recovering in opposite corners. It comes down to who can pull the trigger first and Akiyama hits the knee and the rest is history. Akiyama outlasts Misawa and wins proving February 2000 was no fluke and that he can come from behind. Some of the transitions were a bit lame and it was a bit bloated and listless in the middle. The overall story propels this to fourth best match of 2001 and probably no worst than #30. ****1/2

Loved this match even more on second watch. This was just an all-time Kawada performance. It reminds you why he is one of the greatest of all time. I am at an all-time high on Misawa and Kobashi and Kawada has sort of lagged in the background because of some weak individual performances in the 2000s. He brought it here on offense and defense. The neck targeting was just pinpoint accurate. Then he continued to sell the leg and arm throughout the match as Mutoh was changing his strategy. One of the hardest things I have found in my wrestling watching is conveying that struggle to still perform offense. Several will just blow off and then return to selling, most will just blow off altogether. Kawada really conveys that struggle demonstrating why he is elite. Tanahashi could learn a thing or two from Mutoh. Mutoh is not perfect in this match, but gives a great performance. I loved the early work to avoid Kawada's strikes only to fall prey to them. He did blow the selling of the neck off to get to his offense, which is why I would say this is not the greatest performance ever from him. From offensive standpoint, this is incredible. I really don't know how you can fault his urgency in his attacks. He was just pressing and pressing. Dropkicking Kawada's entire right side just peppering with dropkicks the knee and arm. I just loved the suffocation. This was the full court press, but in pro wrestling. Would love to see Tanahashi pick up something like this because he shows great urgency on his High Fly Flow, but would love for him to extend this to his entire game. I would say from strategic standpoint just an absolutely genius performance that has not been replicated frequently enough. It also leads so seamlessly and beautifully into the Shining Wizards, which are sold so well. Between Mutoh's offense and Kawada's selling, it made for an all-time great finish run. The slow start and Mutoh blowing off the neck selling on the transition (loved him getting so frustrated and trying to get a chair) keep it from Top 10. I see this in the #15-25 range. Really high-end stuff from both wrestlers. ****1/2

As I was progressing through the years, I could feel that I really short-changed this match.There is nothing from my initial review that really warrants such a low rating. I think I picked up on a lot more little details and totally agree that this should be a lot higher. Even if it was a slow start, it was a start that established Takayama was going to use his size to control Misawa on the mat and avoid the strikes. That is a pretty different game plan than I have seen against Misawa. We have seen Kawada attack the elbow and Kobashi just fight fire with fire. This is a more conservative that could pay dividends. The problem is Takayama's hubris gets the best of him. He goes for the one foot cover and then kick to the back and this wakes Misawa up. However, Takayama always has a cutoff. In this case, he catches Misawa off the top with a kick to the midsection, which Misawa sells really well. Another case was Takayama putting his hand over Misawa's mouth and talking trash. if you really think about it, there is something naturally upsetting about someone having their hand over your mouth. They are in a position of power and are controlling your ability to breathe and talk. So Misawa elbows the fuck out of him and then goes to the leg with a legbar for maybe 20-30 seconds. Takayama sells the leg better than pretty much any Tanahahasi opponent that has had his leg worked on for 5-10 minutes. Again Takayama has the answer with the knee lift, but can't fully capitalize due to that bad knee. Then we get that nearfall stretch with the struggle on the Everest Germans and Takayama's realization he is not just in there with anyone he is in there with Mitsuharu Fucking Misawa. The blood that stems from the kicks by Takayama is just the cherry on top to incredible heat segment that had stretched the entire match. After being covered with one foot and his mouth covered, this blood was the last injustice Misawa would suffer and he unloads with absolutely fucking sick two elbow to Takayama's face. It is a short and compact Misawa finish run, but it is one that is satisfying and appropriate. This is a lock for the teens of my top 100 now, but misses the Top 10 because my slight, slight issues with the slow start and the Misawa arm work that really did not feel as heated as the Elbows or go anywhere. I am picking nits, but you have to for the Top 10. ****3/4

Tanahashi working underneath is why I would put this match above the other one. I agree they went a little long with the strike exchange, but I actually how well the false finish for Nakanishi was built on that last German you really felt like he had Tanahashi's number. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Manabu Nakanishi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 6/20/09 In my opinion, this is the better version of their first match. They work a lot of the same exchanges and sequences, but they add little touches here and there that make it that much more compelling as the first match. Plus this match has the luxury of building off the last one. Tanahashi made a big late match mistake when he went for the High Fly Flow on the knee and went for a Cloverleaf, but Nakanishi was just plan too big. This basically cost Tanahashi the match as Nakanishi recovered and hit three big suplexes to win the match. We know that Tanahashi will be focused on the knee, but will he trying to get a submission victory or will he use the High Fly Flow for the pinfall? Does Nakanishi just have Tanahashi number and is just too big to fail in this rematch? The best part of this rematch was restructuring the match with Nakanishi working on top with power and Tanahashi having to overcome that. The last match pitted two equals, but in this match they established Nakanishi's power game and really added an obstacle to Tanahashi's stragety. Early we see Nakanishi take Tanahashi down, win a test of strength and even with all his strength Tanahashi could not hold a side headlock as Nakanishi just threw him off. The amount of these spots really put over how strong Nakanishi was and that Tanahashi faced an uphill battle. So of course, Tanahashi went to the knee. The knee work this go around was a lot Tanahashi was stomping better and liked Nakanishi peppering his hope spots with chops and the iron claw. Another example of how this match improved on its predecessor was how when Tanahashi went to Irish Whip Nakanishi he would yank twice and he just wouldn't budge. On the second time, Tanahashi smartened up and went after the knee. In the criss cross sequence, Nakanishi scores a dropkick and throws Tanahashi down on the suplex. They run through the missed knee drop, Polish Hammer and Nakanishi aerial spots which are basically the same as the previous match. They reestablish that Tanahashi still cant turn him on a Texas Cloverleaf. I liked the pop-up no-sell this time to use as a way to catch Tanahashi coming off the top and hoisted into the Torture Rack. Tanahashi uses an eye rake to apply a Dragon Sleeper and again improved this with Nakanishi letting his hand drop twice and really take his time rehoisting him into the Rack. Nakanishi's rack does suck, but I do like him constantly going back to it and boom wicked gutbuster. When Tanahashi wins a top rope battle with headbutts, his High Fly Flow eats knees. Nakanishi runs through the same finish sequence that won him the title except on that final suplex, Tanahashi uses the ropes to whip his head back and crack heads. So far, I have really enjoyed the match and yes Nakanishi still sucks at selling the knee on offense, but they have told a much more compelling story and Nakanishi is taking his time to really put himself over as a powerhouse. Then a strike exchange that just won't end happens. I liked Tanahashi jelly-leg selling a lot and you really buy into Nakanishi German Suplex finishing him off. Nakanishi is shocked and finally the crowd wakes up and cheers for Tanahashi. As much as I like Tanahashi not having that one knock out blow it is in these situations when he is because half-dead that one knock out blow would be more credible than Sling Blade out of a Torture Rack. I actually really would have liked the heads cracking to be the lead in to the finish run. The usual Tanahashi finish run restores him to his rightful place as IWGP champion. I really loved the booking of Nakanishi getting the upset victory for the championship. It shows Tanahashi is still a young champion and not quite The Man. He is still prone to make mistakes and maybe overlooking opponents. It also allows you to milk a bit more of a lackluster career of Nakanishi. Then on the rematch you show how resilient Tanahashi is and how much the championship means to him. Here he is getting his ass kicked, but still had presence of mind to crack his head back. The finish run seemed a little too disjointed. I really liked that Nakanishi false finish because you bit on it due to Tanahashi's selling. Then Tanahashi starts to fly around after and he looked crazy suplexing Nakanishi when he was that beat up. They could have been more creative there. This falls short of Nakamura/Ohtani as the NJPW Heavies MOTY, but I'll have it in the Top 50 pretty sure. This was a very good championship match and Tanahashi overcoming a mountain. ****1/4