[2001-05-26-NOAH] Takeshi Morishima vs Jun Akiyama

I don't know how much play Morishima will get in the upcoming GWE debate, but if you are looking for his first great singles match, I would seek this one out. He has shown a lot of signs of life in 2001 and is stretching things out more with the 30 minute draw with RIkio and longer shingles match in the GHC tournament. Still, this was a match that would have been sub 10 minutes a year or two earlier and was stretched to 17 here. Morishima has his head shaved and I am unsure if that is some sort of punishment given the culture or just a new look. I had been waiting on Akiyama to deliver a performance that felt like a successor to his WOTY output from 2000 and this was the closest so far. He grinds Morishima down with a nasty combo or leg scissors and headlocks. The torque and crank on Morishima's neck looked impressive and it was a great strategy by Akiyama in doing things in a heelish way without actually breaking the rules. Morishima's comebacks were well timed and he got the right amount of nearfalls before the finish calls back to the earlier neck work and revisist the front face lock of Akiyama as a lethal finisher. Overall, a very sucessful match. **** (7.9)