Superstar Sleeze

WWE Champion John Cena vs CM Punk - Money In The Bank 2011 For one month, wrestling was cool again. Much like WWE right before this time period, I had been going through the motions. Sure I watched every single week since Wrestlemania XIX, but I was in funk. Just like that CM Punk woke me and the WWE the fuck up and I have never really looked back having gone to two Wrestlemanias since then. It was because of the Punk angle that I started investing more time watching older footage and now even when the product gets depressing or mundane there is always Piper/Snuka, Islanders/Striker Force, Flair/Luger, All Japan and 8 million other things to be watched. So as I try to remember the 21st century haze that I lived through, I figure what better match to start with then the match that rekindled my love for pro wrestling. As much as I love WCW, it is like when WWF bought WCW they inherited all their stupidity when it came to booking: random burials, discontinuities, lack of clear direction, last minute booking, and bad finishes but without any of that panache that WCW brought to stupidity. There was usually something charming about WCW's idiocy whereas WWE is just mundane and depressing at times. Well for one night, they got everything right. I loved the dichotomy between the crowd and the announce team. The announce team openly cheering for Cena, Mr. WWE with Lawler openly questioning why the crowd would be loyal to Punk. Cole did an amazing job putting over how colossal this match is. By the time the opening bell rings, even three years removed from the match, this match feels like the biggest match since Rock/Austin at Wrestlemania X-7. The term "big match" feel gets thrown around but it is amazing how colossal the whole event feels. Cena is just so solemn. He is portraying so well from the get go how much pressure he is under and how big the match is. Not to be outdone, Punk's cool swagger reminds you the most dangerous man is the man who does not give one fuck. I do not think this match would work in front of any other 21st century crowd except this one. They were able to take advantage of the natural molten crowd heat deliver a slow-build championship match, which has never ever been the forte of the WWF, except for a smattering of them during Bret Hart's heyday. Both men are very cautious at the outset, which proves under his cool exterior CM Punk does care very deeply about this and his bravado may carry him so far. I like how the pepper in big bomb teases like a Punk roundhouse, Anaconda Vice (EDIT: didnt come off that great in my re-watch), FU early to keep everyone on their toes in between well-worked chain wrestling. It is not the best chain wrestling in the world, but it is better than what usually passes for chain wrestling in the WWE. I actually liked how back and forth it was because it really established them as equals. (EDIT: I liked how they worked in and out of headlock because it made the sequences breathe. I liked how in the first movement sequence that Punk won gave the crowd their victory. The second movement sequence gives the crowd a pop for Punk doing You Cant See Me and the double finish tease. Things feel more calculated and mechanical this watch, you can see Punk calling long sequences in the headlock.The crowd heat is still tremendous and spot selection is smart. Cena got more offense than I remembered at the beginning, Sting-style Bulldog, Big Clothesline and fisherman suplex, which I think is smart to establish Punk as the underdog and keep the crowd hot for Punk. I am kinda surprised action marks like Meltzer rated this so highly because there is a lot work in and out of holds.) The first transition is brilliant as Cena gets caught going for a home run early and pays via a Punk DDT (EDIT: Punk hit a back suplex out of a chinlock and there was no DDT, Cena gets dumped outside and then kneedrop happens. A stronger transition would have be much better) and then a knee drop from middle rope on to neck. Punk looks to hit a cross-body but it is a bit low and it looks like it could have jammed Cena's leg. Cena kicks out and immediately retreats to the apron to tend to his knee. Planned spot or not, it is brilliant work by Cena. (EDIT: Thought the same thing all these years later. It looks like really smart improv on Cena's part. The suplex by Cena from the ring to the floor is such a huge spot.) It is time I bring up my quibble of the match. I really liked the layout, but the execution was sometimes suspect (Punk not landing on his feet on the FU and seeming to be a bit off in general on spots) and the lack of struggle (transitions in & out of submissions) was very noticeable. There was token resistance by Punk before he was suplexed over the top rope all the way to the floor by Cena. The selling and bump by Punk were incredible and were the main focal points of the spot. However, all the details count and maybe it is because I have watched so much NOAH at this point, but you got to sell you don't want to go over the top rope too. Where was the struggle and tease to really build that spot to the next level. The match was almost too neat at some points is all. (EDIT: Yes that what I meant by mechanical is that it is too neat. I liked overarrching layout of Punk working from underneath, but I think it is inefficient. There are some superfluous spots. ) Even though struggle within a move was not always there. The struggle over the course the match is what drove this. Punk really had to earn his offense to keep Cena down. (EDIT: I do think this is the strong suit of the match is that Punk has to prove himself to Cena in contrast to the Summerslam 2013 D-Bry match where Bryan felt like Cena's equal from jump.) It really felt like you were watching a star being born because Punk was not backing down. He was never discouraged every time Cena had an answer (Edit: Like Cena using his raw power to counter the G2S with a gutwrench suplex) but Punk kept pressing. I love when Cena knows he is about to get a big heel reaction for something and he just plays it up as it's just Johnny being Johnny. Nothing is a better example of this then when he goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle and the crowd boos furiously only for Punk to kick him in the head and hit a suicide. What an ingenious crowd pleasing spot! Cena had answers, but Punk kept coming. Then Punk hitting those stiff, stiff knees to the jaw to Cena when he was leaning on the ropes were probably my favorite moment (EDIT: Great context as this was after Cena had gone for the FU). Neither Cena nor Punk is particularly stiff and that made those knees really stand out. (EDIT: Punk springboard clothesline was a great nearfall surprised I didnt mention it) Finally, finally Punk seems to have Cena on the ropes, but again Cena has an answer this in the form of the STFU (EDIT: Cena ducking the kick and picking the ankle was awesome). I loved Cole cheering for a Cena tap out victory added so much to the atmosphere (EDIT: There were 2 STFS actually and each one was awesome. This one was created by a finish switcherroo into an STF and then leads to Anaconda Vice, which I mentioned as poor submission struggle, which it was.) Cena hits the first FU, (Edit: which was a flash FU) but Punk kicks out, which triggers a big pop. I have to say it, but fuck, I hate the catch you midair powerbomb, it has never looked good (EDIT: Not only is that always a bad spot, it was particularly bad version of the spot). (EDIT: The back half of this match is far superior to the front half. I was surprised how almost pedestrian the front half was with the crowd, commentary and story bailing them out of a pretty much tepid start). The follow-up to second FU with a super FU had a pretty lame set-up. I take it back the best spot of the match is Punk finally hitting Go 2 Sleep only for Cena to roll out of the ring. His expression said it all. The championship may have eluded his grasp. Vinny Mac and Johnny Ace worried that Punk is edging closer to victory come out as an insurance policy. Given the storyline, you got to do the Montreal Screwjob tease while Punk is in the STFU, but Cena DECKS Johnny Ace. (EDIT: GREAT SPOT!) Cena says NOT THIS WAY! Punk says YES THIS WAY when he hits him with a Go 2 Sleep to win the title. Love the Del Rio tease and the blowing a kiss to Vince! (EDIT: What a great finish!) In retrospect, this match is the inverse of the 2013 RAW match (EDIT: Another match I need to rewatch). Punk had Cena's number and it was Cena's last hurdle before going to Wrestlemania to face Rock to exorcise his demons. In the 2013 match, Cena had to prove to Punk that he was on his level as Punk had an answer for each of his moves, but eventually Cena would "unlock" his moves and go on to finally vanquish CM Punk. In this match, Cena was the King and Punk needed to prove he was on the level of the champion. Punk with dogged determination withstood all of Cena's best shots and finally hit the Go 2 Sleep only for Cena to roll out of the ring. You get the fun chaos at the end and when the fracas ended it was Punk blowing a kiss to Vince hightailing it through his hometown crowd. I would need to watch the 2013 match again, but Im pretty sure I liked the work in that match more. However, this match just has so many extracurriculars to deny it the highest praise. (EDIT: Disagree, the front half is just not high enough quality to still call this *****) They worked a very novel match in front of a molten crowd with great commentary. (EDIT: I dont think it is that novel) It all culminated in a fantastic finish. (EDIT: Yep it did) I know I bitched about a couple things above, but this perfect confluence of match, opponents, crowd and finish overwhelm any minor complaints. (EDIT: I agree the wrestlers, story, crowd, and commentary bolster what would be otherwise just a great match into a classic, but this is not a ***** match like I thought. Both men were so stolid early on. I understood they were selling caution, but it felt very mechanical artificial. Once Punk kicked Cena in the head for five-knuckle shuffle the match kicked into high gear, but before that it felt bereft of emotion. The finish run was electric. Punk felt like he was letting it all hang out and Cena became his Everest. The extracurriculars with Vince and Johnny Ace were done perfectly. Still a classic, just not the greatest of all time) ****3/4

I don't know if I would go back to re-watch the match or anything. There actually were not any real transitions. The entire match was Wyatt on top with Jericho occasionally getting some offense, but never stringing together a comeback. I thought Wyatt did a good job building his offense to escalate to Sister Abigail that never materialized. It was a pretty awesome beatdown. Jericho's offense is just not very suited for this match besides a nice back elbow. What I didn't like was it felt like they were putting over Jericho's resiliency more than Wyatt is playing with his food. Wyatt would be shocked Jericho kicked out. You would think that Jericho is the up and coming star and Wyatt was the established monster based off the structure of the match.

Bray Wyatt not winning WWE World Title at MITB was their one shot to revitalize the character. I have no great love for the Wyatt character, but if you were going to salvage the investment then he should have won the title. It would have been perfect coming off the loss in the Cena feud to immediately reestablish him as a top flight act. Instead, he was the most un-noticeable wrestler in the match. Wyatt/Usos matches have had diminishing returns. I was live at MITB and I thought that was their peak and each match has lost its luster. Mostly because they follow the same template and have not really tried to differentiate them. Still definitely one of the feuds of the year so far. Bray losing to Jericho was so weird. I would have never predicted that in a million years. Jericho can get violent and insane see the HBK 2008 feud but that is a heel. You would think Jericho would be better suited in a role against a Cesaro where they can have a "workrate" (for lack of a better term) match as opposed to a Wyatt match that feeds off of hate. It was a solid match that was built around Wyatt bullying Jericho. Jericho peppered in some good hope spots and Wyatt would cut him off. Wyatt kept him hanging around too long before Jericho was able to hit his home run. It had a pretty good build and followed a pretty basic formula. I would call it good, but not great and probably second best match on a lackluster card. I don't really know where you go with the Wyatts from here besides adding more members or a face ugh turn.

Three blogs two days!!!! So much bang for your buck! Wait you don't pay for this content?!?!?! I am no gigolo. I am one man gangbanging your brains out because I love doing it! You know who has been blowing my mind: Akira Taue! Old muthafucka just don't how to quit. After winning 2005 Japan Match of the Year, he says Father Time FUCK YOU! I aint done yet. I am going to toss another MOTYC with Jun Akiyama! While those two vets kicked old school, the Youth tried to rise to the top. The results of this "ascension" is best described in my favorite title yet, "Youth Gone Mild". Click it, stud muffins and foxy ladies. Riding Space Mountain has it all and then we throw in a Pope Leo X quote. Because what is a ONE MAN GANGBANG without some Papal lovin'! Aint much of one in my book, BABY~! 18. GHC Heavyweight Champion Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 01/22/06 - ****1/2 (Throwback match as they two rip it up. Akiyama looks like it is 2000 in there. Badass) 70. Kenta Kobashi/Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Katsuhiko Nakajima (Is the beating on Nakajima still going on? I am surprised they didn't finance a film where Godzilla jobs to the Sasaki & Kobashi mega-team, very masturbatory) 53. Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04 ***3/4 (Marufuji blocking the Nodowa was a mark out moment. Taue does it again, the king of efficiency) 57. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06 ***3/4 (Misawa plugged Morishima into the formula, but Morishima did not bring much) 44. Kenta Kobashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 4/23/06 **** (Last Kobashi Budokan match until 2007. Marufuji's big singles coming out party) 46. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06 **** (The Big Four of the New Generation square off and Mori-Fuckin-Shima comes to play!) 92. GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06 (Holy Clusterfuck Batman! Marufuji suplexes himself at one point. Embarassing) http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/2006-noah.html

KENTAFuji are definitely a polarizing tandem. Their adherents see them as the bastion of workrate masters with their innovative moves and break neck pace. Their detractors cite no structure and glue to give these spots any weight or consequence. The truth of course lies somewhere in between. Left to their own devices, Marufuji and KENTA indulge their worst inclinations and deliver unmemorable clusterfucks. However, when they are in their with wise veterans like Liger, Misawa or Takayama the results can be truly spectacular. They are very carryable wrestlers and when their opponents provide the structure their matches can be classics. 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 9. GHC Tag Team Champions Misawa & Ogawa vs KENTAFuji Budokan 04/25/04 ****1/2 (Misawa and Ogawa kick ass for the first half and in 15 seconds the game changes and a monster finish run unfolds) 21. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03 ****1/4 (Balls to the wall action with Liger providing structure) 43. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03 (Cocky douche AJ vs ultra-serious Low-Ki is always a great match) 58. Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - NOAH 11/13/04 61. Takaiwa & Hoshikawa vs Dick Togo & Hidaka - Z-1 12/26/03 (Hoshikawa is great and Takaiwa seems content just to hit spots. Match of two halves) 80. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Champs KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi Budokan 9/12/03 (Watch this and Liger&Murahama to see the difference between great and mediocre KENTAFuji) http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/kentafuji-best-of-junior-heavyweights.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With that post, we can finally put 2003-2004 to rest. Pretty much single-handlely thanks to Kobashi the quality level was able to match 2000-2001 and rise from the nadir of 2002. Kobashi was in the five of the top six matches including match of the decade contenders against Misawa and Takayama. The Misawa match is particularly astounding as it is Misawa's Last Stand as the Undisputed Man of Japan. It is not so much a passing of the torch, but Kobashi seizing it in an incredible match that jumpstarts and incredible title reign. Even though, he did not have the output of Kobashi (he did not have quite the same list of opponents), Toshiaki Kawada managed to have two best non-NOAH heavyweight matches of the year against Ogawa and Hashimoto as he embarked on his own 1.5 year title reign as Triple Crown Champion. Kawada had a sneaky good front half of the decade with six matches in the top thirty and legitimate match of the decade contender with Fuchi against Nagata & Iizuka. Kobashi is leading the field in terms of quality matches with 13 matches in the Top Thirty. Misawa who has the top two matches at this time has four matches in the top thirty. Akiyama who is the other person in top ranking has a total of 6 in the Top Thirty. The fifth pillar of heaven, Taue has three matches in Top Thirty and one in the Top Ten. Takayama who has two 5 star matches (#s 3 &4) has no other matches in top thirty. The Grumpy, Old Man of Puroresu, Genichiro Tenryu has four matches in the Top Thirty and Two in the Top Ten. Here are all the matches from Japan in 2003-2004 that gave four stars or more to: 1. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03 2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - Budokan 04/25/04 3. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04 4. GHC Tag Team Champions Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs KENTAFuji - Budokan 4/25/04 5. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 6. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 09/10/04 7. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03 8. Toryumon Trios Four-Way - Toryumon 08/30/03 9. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03 10. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03 11. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03 12. AJPW Triple Crown Champion Toshiaki Kawada vs Shinya Hashimoto - AJPW 02/22/04 13. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03 14. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03 15. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/04 16. KENTA vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 6/27/04 17. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kensuke Sasaki - G-1 Climax '04 18. AJ Styles vs Low-Ki - Z1 1/05/03 http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/best-of-japan-2003-2004.html

Jun Akiyama vs Katsuyori Shibata - WRESTLE-1 08/04/05 To my understanding, WRESTLE-1 was just another strange manifestation of Keiji Mutoh's Pro-Wrestling Love Campaign, which involved more outsiders and some shoot fighters. Hey at least it brought us this badass match. What is with 00s Japanese starting off absolutely great and then just going off the rails. These had a really nasty street fight brawl goign and then they do a pretty standard finish run. They had something really special going for about 10 minutes there. Shibata jumps Akiyama early and stuns him with a back drop driver. He nails him in the head twice with a pair of wicked kicks that busts Akiyama open hardway. Akiyama pissed off absolutely tears into Shibata and goes bezerk with non-foldable chairs. The way he was throwing those chairs just seemed vicious and dangerous. Akiyama loses control when Shibata holds onto a Back Drop Driver into a choke. Shibata works his ribs with kicks and knees sending him to the floor. I love how the ref really contested Shibatat going after him gave it that really uncontrol feel and that Akiyama was hurt. Shibata ends up kicking the post full on. Akiyama throws him onto the announce table where of course Takayama is announcing. Besides his own matches are there any matches in the 2000s he did not commentate on? Akiyama piledrives him on exposed concrete and hits pretty full on in the back of the head with a chair. Just a vicious street fight. When Shibata makes it into the ring, Akiyama is right on him with a knee and hits a back drop driver and applies his guillotine choke. I am absolutely loving this match. Shibata ina desperation bid for self-preservation just starts throwing his body parts (fists, elbows, knees and kicks)and is able to daze Akiyama in the corner for a pretty flush dropkick to the head. Shibata whiffs on a kick to the head and here comes the suplex->pop-up barrage that ends with a Shibata kick and both men are out. It really felt like at that moment it departed from that crazy street fight brawl into a standard 00s puro match. Akiyama hits an exploder and locks in a Crippler Crossface, which I have never seen him use. Shibata shows the usual fighting spirit at the end in midst of a barrage of knees before succumbing to a head-drop wrist-clutch exploder. They had something really special in the first 10 minutes before they settled into a standard finishing pattern with pop-ups and young lion fighting spirit. I don't mind that fomrula, but did not think it fit the street fight they had in the beginning. Could have had something really special, but still a very strong match. ***3/4

I disagree with the finish ruining the match. After the big dive, Danielson sells the knee, 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 and here at his first real chance to pick the knee KENTA does. He applies the Texas Cloverleaf and when Danielson does put on Cattle Mutilation he cant hold it because his bad knee. The next time KENTA gets on offense he goes back to Texas Cloverleaf, but gets countered into a pinnning predicament. After that Danielson is relentless with Cattle Mutilation. KENTA is able to bridge one into a pinfall. At this point, KENTA has solidly got his ass whipped. He gets an Ace Crusher and quite naturally starts bust out his big guns which are the his knee, kicks and G2S. I don't take meticulous notes, but I don't think he ever hit a suplex in the post-dive portion of the match. He was working the Cloverleaf, but almost got bit. If I am KENTA and I got my arm fucked and I don't really work the leg and I am getting my ass kicked, if I have an opening I am hitting my home run shots. My cross-court forehand in tennis is a lot better than my down the line. If I want to access to a righty's backhand, I need to hit a cross-court backhand or create a inside out forehand. There is a lot of time I want to work over someone's backhand, but it is a limitation in my game to work it over. When I start to get down, you best believe, I am hitting the big cross court forehand even if their forehand is pretty decent. I don't fault KENTA for relying on what brought him to dance. He gave it a try to work over the knee, but it almost bit him when Danielson got a two count on a small package. 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! ****1/2

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. My hero! 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. 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

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. ***

I missed the Ishikawa cardio hook that would have probably made this match more interesting to me. Yuki Ishikawa vs Carl Greco - BattlArts 06/01/08 A mat grappling lovers dream match as this features no strikesand just one throw. It is all takedowns and grappling, BABY~! I love matwork a lot and think wrestling should always have a little wrestling in it, but too much of a good thing ain't always good. Story is really want drives my interest in wrestling. It is why I prefer it to real sports because you can create an interesting narrative and it is worth watching over and over again. This featured some of the best matwork I have ever seen. I just did not get a sense of a story. Carl Greco was trained by the Malenkos in Florida and Ishikawa is the owner and Ace of BattlArts. Opening jockeying was won by Greco with a front chancery/back heel trip. The opening work on the amr was excellent. Each men was moving and looking for an advantage. It never felt like an exhibition. They were always struggling with each other. Ishikawa may catch Greco in a crossface or Greco may catch Ishikawa's leg. Greco was the first to use the ropes. Greco was really adept at figure-fouring with the legs. He figure-4'd Ishikawa body forcing a rope break. Ishikawa was able to pancake him on a takedown, but instead of taking his back, he shot the half (it always amuses me that of all things is in Michael Cole's lexicon) and went for a top wristlock or armbreaker (cant remember) forcing the rope break. Ishikawa up 2-1 on points in my head, but there is no scoring. Greco pancakes Ishikawa and forces a break with a figure-4 on the arm/crossface combo. Ishikawa throws Greco in a desperation attempt, but this flashy move has no effect on the All-Man Carl Greco. You, young whippersnappers and your confabbed suplexes! Greco vines a figure-4 on the arm and bars Ishikawa's arm, but still can't wrangle a submission. Ishikawa is able to get a heel hook evening it up 3-3 going into the home stretch. The time calls were getting closer in frequency I thought. Was this nearing a draw? As the two stand up from a tussle on the mat that goes nowhere it looks like Greco grabs a cravat or 3/4 facelock and Ishikawa submits. The work in this match is all struggle. It is gritty and nasty. I'd be curious if you could get this by an MMA expert's smell test. I mean if Volk Han/Tamura RINGS matches are still listed as shoots these workers can still hoodwink some people. Of all the shoot-style matches, I thought this one was the most realistic, but also the least dramatic. I like mat wrestling more than most, but still does not do enough for me to warrant a high ranking. ****

Nothing like a sharp departure from Dragon Gate with some Shoot-Style. Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda - FUTEN 4/24/05 A Japanese Shoot-Style promotion that allows closed fists, my prayers have been answered! As soon as the ref breaks them, Ikeda punches Ishikawa right in the face to get an early knock down. Ikeda never really looks back earning 4 knockdowns and forcing 2 rope breaks to Ishikawa's one knockdown and 2 rope break forces. These punches are incredible how they are laying them in. I was watching Ishikawa punch Ikeda right in the face on the ground and could not believe the force. Ikeda seems better at take downs, striking and submissions. Ishikawa just has crazy resilience and even crazier hair. They work their double wirstlocks from odd angles sometimes. They are definitely better off standing up. I love that Ikeda would not break his leg lace, but once Ishikawa reversed it, he was desperately grabbing the ropes. Ikeda absolutely ripped up Ishikawa fact with boot lace kicks. Is Randy Orton secretly a huge Daisuke Ikeda mark? Ishikawa makes his big comeback with a pair of back drop drivers. Ikeda is definitely the better "pro wrestler" of the two based on how he sells and feeds Ishikawa. I love him climbing up the ropes trying to escape it. Ishikawa ends up closing the gap earning 5 knockdowns and forcing 3 rope breaks against Ikeda's six knockdowns and 3 rope break forces. FUTEN does not use a point system, but it is interesting way to keep tabs on the flow of the match. Ishikawa finally forces a submission with a crossface chickenwing. I preferred the drama of Tamura's U-Style matches with the point system, but this had the way better striking. I am going to put this somewhere around the Tamura/Ito match given it is hard for me to place shoot-style match still at this point even though I really enjoy them. ****

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 which 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

This may be a groan-inducing post because I am sure it is has been discussed, but what are the 16 recognized Ric Flair reigns. I am under the understanding that he had 10 NWA World Title Reigns, 8 WCW World Title Reigns, 2 WWF World Title Reigns and 2 WCW International World Titles. I imagine the International World Titles and four of the NWA World Title Reigns are discounted. Flair and Cena both had plenty of long title reigns. Modern booking definitely helped both, but only Flair was really helped by Russo-esque booking towards the end of WCW. To answer the question, I think he will break Flair's record. I hope they do a big chase out of both the 16th and 17th title reign. He needs a 1000 more days to catch Hogan so nothing doing there. They should have made it a bigger deal when he either past 1000 days as champion or when he past Pedro for fourth all time.

Damnit, that was supposed to be a babyface shine segment on Parv not a heat segment. Damnit, I don't know if we heeled ourselves or if Parv is too damn likeable. I cant believe there is clamor for a Parv babyface comeback on my hero and yours, Bob Backlund. Great episode. Yeah, I don't have much of a Boston accent. Comes out on certain words and at certain times. Never heard the Tim Kurkjian one before. As long as I don't sound like Bob Ryan that's a great thing in my book! Always happy to do these specials and can't wait for the next time I am called upon.

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

THE GUESS WHO, WHY OF COURSE!

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

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. ***

BJPW Deathmatch Champion Takashi Sasaki vs Yuki Miyamoto - BJPW 03/14/07 No one can declare any other match the worst match ever until they have set through this horrible torture porn wrestling match. I did not think any match could ever top Tito Santana vs Don Muraco from MSG 01/84 in terms of being just absolute piece of shit, but wow did this manage to encompass all things that suck in one 25 minute clusterfuck. I try not to be dismissive of a genre that I really don't know much about, but this was just rotten. As much as Kobayashi/Sasaki just made me feel nasty at least that was "intriguing" (for lack of a better term) because it felt like a hardcore match ratcheted up to 11 and really like something I had never seen before. This was just a horrible NOAH match with Light Tubes and a Scaffold. There was the perfunctory wrestling that is ironic because it is a deathmatch except they are just going through the paces. The first light tube shot almost cost Sasaki's his sight and he is just gushing. Then we get multiple fighting spirit sequences and no-sell suplexes.There are not even any spots. It is just plain boring. I didn't think a match where a mat covered in glass could be this boring, but I was wrong. The scaffold did lend itself to best spots mostly for the "Wow, did somebody die in this match" factor. The double stomp off the scaffold was ridiculous. How Sasaki did not internally bleed and Miyamoto did not destroy his knee I do not know. We of course get a kick out from Emerald Flowsion through lightubes. Miyamoto hits a moonsault from the scaffold, kick out. They fight at the top of the scaffold. Sasaki Emerald Flowsion from top of the Scaffold through a TABLE! Kick out?!?!?! Fuck this match. Sasaki wins with a kick to light tubes to the head. Absolutely boring when the scaffold was not involved. It felt like bad NOAH roleplay. Total amateur hour. The scaffold did generate high drama, but it was not even the climax. What a truly wretched match!

NWA World Tag Team Champions LAX vs AJStyles/Christopher Daniels - Ultimate X Alas, I could not find the street fight. This was not as good as I remember, but it is one of the better TNA spotfests. I don't feel like re-watching all of TNA 2006, but for the most part TNA fans just pop for spots rather than well-laid wrestling psychology. I think there is an argument to be made that TNA wrestlers ought to please their fans rather than drag them kicking and screaming through a good match. TNA matches have weird heat because the fans are only looking to pop for spots and can be quite dead for extended periods of times. This was pretty much a non-stop-spot-a-thon. There were plenty of eye-pleasing spots with AJ getting thrown by Hernandez, a nice dive train, some nice work with the ladder. I literally just watched that match and cant remember the order of the spots and all of them. In the moment, I thought it was cool, but now just minutes after I am struggling to piece together where AJ's comeback was in relation to the second dive train. The finish was smart because it was actually the two most impressive spots in the match. If you are going to do a spotfest then you best hold your last two trump cards for the end. AJ Styles Clash Homicide off the apron into table and Daniels leaping for the tag belts were visually very impressive. Very disappointed by both of these matches and hopefully Bound For Glory can save it. It is starting to feel this feud is all talk and no walk

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 Tau/Akiyama a run for their money for NOAH match of 2006, but came up short. ****

Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - NOAH 11/13/04 Surprisingly this was not for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title. I figured that was the only reason to really have the two tag partners wrestle. They may have already realized they wanted to push Marufuji and did not want the Junior Title to pigeon hole him. KENTA did win his first Junior Heavyweight Title until January of 2005, which is later than I would have expected. It is sensible given how integral KENTAFuji was to the Junior Tag Scene. This is just a good 'ol fashion respect contest expect someone forgot to tell KENTA. I loved the beginning with KENTA coming out a million miles an hour looking to be the aggressor with the kicks. Marufuji really put over how much he did not want to take one of those. The slaps woke up Marufuji and told him he was in a fight. He tackles KENTA and is ready to punch him in the face. The ref admonishes him and he relents. That was a really damn good sequence. Marufuji continues to sap KENTA's strength in holds, but in a criss cross sequence KENTA catches him in a leapfrog and powerslams him, cool spot. The first annoying spot is KENTA tornado DDTs Marufuji, who sells, but seconds later is running around and hits a sunset flip powerbomb. Marufuji hits a DDT on the floor and works a cravat in the ring. I love how Marufuji is controlling the explosive KENTA with holds. Very sound psychology so far. KENTA whiffs on a big boot, but finally connects on a kick to Marufuji's knee when he was going for the Asai Moonsault. I have liked how Marufuji has been winning by playing it conservative and letting KENTA make the mistakes, but once Marufuji tries to play KENTA's game, he gets burnt. KENTA does not work a very good control segment, He has a tendency to put a hold on and then just let go for no reason. I have always hated the mid-air powerbomb spot. It just looks so stupid. It is a bit too my move, your move at this point. I did like KENTA's counter of the Sliced Bread into a tombstone piledriver. He really spiked him. I also hate the Van Terminator and KENTA does that here. Exploding knee gets two. Go 2 Sleep, but Marufuji is too close to the ropes. I like that way of protecting a finish. Marufuji runs through his usual end of match moves. He goes up for the Spanish Fly, but they both take a nasty spill off the top rope onto floor. I really, really think that should have been the finish. They are tag partners and equals at this point. It shows the great lengths they would go to prove they were the better only for them to render both of them senseless. Instead they are up at 7 (Kobashi would have waited until at least 16 and he is very macho). Marufuji hits the Spanish Fly to win. The match is infinitely better than their big Budokan GHC Heavyweight Title match in 2006. They told an interesting story in the beginning and then ran through big moves. Yes it was disjointed and there are better way to build their moves, but at least it was not absolute overkill. They had their finish right there, but decided to go to one extra move. That's story of NOAH always at least one move too much. ***1/2

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.

BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion Abdullah Kobayashi vs Takashi Sasaki - BJPW 3/31/06 Oh how I wish certain things could be unseen. When they say Florescent Light Tube and Bed of Nails Death Match, they don't fuck around. I feel like I should go to the police with what I just witnessed. I have never watched a "Deathmatch" before. The closest match was probably Terry Funk vs Sabu, which I liked a good bit. This match made that look like a Bed of Roses match. I am not going to dismiss the style out of hand and will watch the other Big Japan matches with a open mind, but I am pretty sure this just is not for me. At first, I was actually pretty amused with the match. The struggle over who would go into into the big Light Tube Lattice and Sasaki just grabbing a light tube smashing over Kobayashi's head to get out of a wristlock made me think okay maybe this will be pretty good. I also really liked the spot where Kobayashi blocked a tornado DDT so Sasaki grabbed light tube and smashed it over his skull. Then the light tubes really started flying and they lost me. I love how Kobayashi at the beginning put over not wanting to be whipped into the light tubes only to elbow drop lights tube repeatedly, Vader Bomb them, break them over his own head and yes even break multiple by biting them. When he chewed the light tube and spit it into Sasaki's face. I thought to myself, there is no way it could get worse than that. I forgot we still have the Bed of Nails portion. The Nails where in little rectangles segments that could be strewn over the mat kinda like thumbtacks. Both of them got slammed into the nails and it looked painful. Then it happened. Kobayashi dropped Sasaki head first into this bed of nails and Sasaki ended up with these beds of nails embedded in his skull. I tapped the fuck out at that point. Sasaki would go onto NO-SELL a piledriver while having nails in his head to hit a superplex, I think, I don't know, I just remember, he popped up and started wailing on Kobayashi on the top rope. Normally, I would go check, but I am good. You know this is 2006 however because there are still fighting spirit exchanges and Shining Wizards albeit the worst fucking Shining Wizards in history. I did enjoy that they kept up with the wrestling tradition of "He who sets it up, must take it". Somehow even though Kobayashi mauled Sasaki the entire match, Sasaki mounts his comebacks and actually has some pretty nice kicks. So he sets up a bundle of light tubes next to Kobyashi and kicks them into his head. I can now say I have watched a Japanese Death Match. I don't know if that should be a real point of pride. I am not going to rate it. If you liked it, more power to you, but I am happy I saw it,