WingedEagle

I've seen some of the Tak greats from a few years later, but this was my first look at him in the aughts and it was awesome. He establishes this isn't your respectful, athletic Japanese wrestling contest by heeling it up immediately with a high kick KO as the ref checks Kobashi's boots, then another at the bell for an immediate near fall. You don't need any over the top character work here to mix things up and be wildly effective, just simple, basic heel tactics that stand out so much when everyone else is playing it straight. Kobashi has his hands full with the beast and goes big early as well, with a DDT on the floor after a bunch of chops. Loved Kobashi adding a wrinkle to his offense by delivering chops to Takayama's big, nasty forehead and constantly picking him for more rather than relying on beating his cheat red like usual. Takayama isn't just big though, as he blocks a backdrop suplex and works to a cross armbreaker, then doesn't break right away when Kobashi reaches the ropes. Heel Takayama for President! Tak returns to his high kicks, which eventually piss off Kobashi and lead to more chops to the head. Omori is on the apron and the ref has to hold him at bay but he takes a spinning chop from Kobashi and we've got legit American-style booking with Japanese action. So great. Takayama capitalizes on a distracted Kobashi by working the lariat arm with kicks and a big legdrop, then back to the cross armbreaker. This is someone who knows his role and how to effectively play it. He zeroes in on the arm, posting it and again working it with submissions. Kobashi fights back and catches Takayama up top with a superplex while still selling the arm. He then gets greedy and eats a knee from the monster on his try for a second lariat. Everest German gets us a 2 count and now they're trading strikes with Kobashi having to rely on his bad arm. Angry, fiery Kobashi may just be my favorite wrestler ever. Takayama with another German that leaves them both dead, but Kobashi pulls out the win with an off-arm lariat and then the Burning Lariat. Okay, this was great as well and needs to be looked back at side by side with Misawa-Akiyama because its right there. ****1/2. For now.

Really nice, aggressive work on the knee by Omori early which Kobashi sells through chopping him to death, and then Omori gets to break out the big guns on offense with a pair of dragon suplexes and then stopping a Kobashi moonsault by going after the knee and coming down with a flying knee. Omori's Axe Bomber gets a big near fall, which is pretty impressive given no one in the building including Mr. & Mrs. Omori thought Takao was taking this done. He gets to kick out of a lariat after eating a sleeper suplex and power bombs, before eventually taking the fall. I really dug Omori's fire here. He played the upset candidate as well as he could given the circumstances and left you wanting to see him break through on another occasion. ****

Why can't wrestlers everywhere work a headlock like they do at the open here? You shouldn't gas out on it but try a little to make it interesting! Not a classic, but like Kawada/Misawa fromthe Carnival, they can still pull off something very good while operating in cruise control. The big moves are there, the emotion is there from Kobashi while you've got Misawa putting over a younger star once again. It also makes sense that this isn't as epic as February vs. Akiyama or what's standard for these two given the setting. Watching this crew you really appreciate great counter wrestling and how they can almost endlessly string together really complex, back & forth sequences and make it look so smooth and effortless. ***3/4

I recently watched Flair/Steamboat from Spring Stampede on the '94 Yearbook and these 2 thoughts really encapsulate this match for me. Its a sprint from these two which is nice twist, but they older, slower and the drama of the golden years isn't quite there. Despite that, they make everything they do matter and its still better than what most can pull off. Was this the first emerald frosien? ***3/4

Nothing much to add here -- it was not memorably, the layout was poor and the action outside the ring was really a stall, which is pretty inexcusable for this crew. Still, its Vader and Kawada and even when mailing it in its stiff and acceptable. ***

This was stiff and pretty heated, with what I've always found a great match up. These two look like they should produce a classic. This isn't that as they really get by with wailing on each other rather than putting together any kind of structure, then slide into a nice stretch run with a lot of Kobashi kick outs before finishing the big guy. ***1/2

So I happened to read the comments on this one before I watched it, and thus didn't go in blindly but rather expecting a MOTDC. Despite that this was still awesome. Just top 10-15 awesome rather than surefire #1 candidate. Misawa brings the heat right away with an early diving elbow, flying dropkick and establishing his elbow from the outset as the ultimate counter. Things change when Akiyama goes after the neck with a calf branding into the railing and then a piledriver and exploder that just kills him. Would not have expected Akiyama the axe murderer here. His attack on the neck is just relentless. For some reason the heat doesn't yet seem to match the level of intensity in the ring (and on the floor). Maybe the crowd wasn't yet buying an Akiyama upset? After a brief Misawa control segment, Akiyama regains the edge by dropkicking him to the floor and *again* going to the jumping knee and a calf branding into the railing to try and snap that neck once and for all. Tombstone, flying elbow to the back of the neck and an Exploder only gets a near fall, but now the building has been sold and is all for it. Akiyama even blocks a tiger driver but the German Misawa follows with isn't about to get him out of this jam. Misawa eventually hits the tiger driver and Akiyama gets to kick out -- shit's about to get real. A series of great counters results in a released German by Misawa and Akiyama gets to kick out of ANOTHER tiger driver in what was probably the spot I popped the most for. Misawa hits his rolling elbow but Akiyama hulks up with 2 exploders that leave both dead. That was a little much for me and one reason I can't go the full monty here. Another run of finishers culminating with a wrist-clutch exploder lands Akiyama the biggest win of his career. So maybe this is a top 10 candidate. Its definitely on the short list of those I will rewatch before finalizing my list. But that neck work and the escalation building to Akiyama's win were dynamite. ****1/2, my 2000 MOTY and plenty of room for an upgrade.

Yeah, we'll see what this looks like on a rewatch later in the year but watching live this felt as tremendous as anything from the Dome.

Watched the promos this morning. Heyman really is a miracle worker. Had me interested in Reigns/Brock there.

No Raw tonight, and many are probably snowed in for the next 36 hours. What wrestling are you watching in the meantime? On tap for this guy: 1994 Yearbook (up to the beginning of June) Best of Japan 2000s list -- up to Kanemura vs. KENTA (NOAH 5/26/2002) Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori (AJPW 6/15/2014) Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (AJPW 12/6/2014) Rush vs. Negro Casas (CMLL 8/1/2014) Titan vs. Barbaro Cavernario (CMLL 7/29/2014) Maybe some '89 NWA as well. What you got?

I think a Royal Rumble crowd in that city (and the same would hold for certain other cities) exacerbated the situation. But the way that Rumble was booked wasn't working anywhere. You could argue that the only people booked to look strong at any point, for any amount of time were Bubba, Wyatt (briefly, before he settled into doing nothing and waiting around so that he was there late), maybe Kane/Show, and Rock. And arguably all of them looked like shit along the way. Forgetting for a moment the decision to bounce Bryan when they did and the decision to give Reigns the win. Nobody looked impressive.

So they bring in Rock to try and get Reigns a babyface pop. That wasn't going to work on this night.

Goddamn this has been awful. Has anything this bad ever followed a match as good as the triple threat?

Nobody is standing out here. Really strange how this is put together for so late in the match.

Truly mind boggling. Rock comes out at 30, gives his spot to Bryan, who wins and which also sets up Rock-Reigns? This is the kind of madness they have me imagining now.

Not even long enough to piss.

Having the announcers acknowledge the chants for Bryan is even stranger. They going to have him steal someone else's entry? Just really odd decisions here.

Really perplexed. If Bryan's not winning, the crowd is likely shitting all over the finish unless its Rock. Why not at least let him hang till the end so they don't crap all over things on the way there?

Fuck man. That was not cool.

Pretty cool they gave that big a plug for DDP Yoga. Surprisingly flat given Bryan has been in for a good stretch here. Looks like Rusev will make things a bit more interesting.

This push makes it pretty clear Taker is coming back for him. Really fun and fast so far.

So, so jealous. Was that as amazing from where you were sitting as it was on TV?

FUCK. That is right there with anything from Wrestle Kingdom. On my feet from almost the word go. Incredible action the entire way, brilliantly laid out. They even teased the tired get up off of the stretcher spot but didn't quite go there. Unreal spectacle.

Enjoyed the tag title match quite a bit. Usos almost always deliver and this was no exception.

That second dive nearly killed an Uso. Kudos to the ref for immediately checking with him.