Superstar Sleeze

Look at Ryback in 2012 for an example of how being repeatedly screwed over can kill a babyface's heat. I agree to a point what you are saying. The main problem was that Ryback had the 3 match post-WM series with Cena where he was hastily turned heel and subsequently buried. The critical point to which I agree was that Ryback was transitioned out of the Shield feud too soon. He was the main target of the Shield wrath. He was the one destroyed at Survivor Series. He was one having excellent six-man tags with them. Then *poof* a meaningless feud with Mark Henry while Show, Orton and Sheamus get to fight the Shield at Mania that was fucking stupid. Until, you realize what their true intentions for Ryback were to be Cena's job boy for three PPVs. The Ambrose example is not as egregious because he at least got to have Hell In Cell with Rollins and exact a modicum of revenge. It could be worse, Cena could have fought Rollins and Ambrose already transitioned to Wyatt or Orton. So he made it further than Ryback. The general feel for yearning is still there because he did not get the outright victory. The other problem most likely being that Rollins won't even sell this beating long-term. So the only true way to have hurt Rollins would be take Money IN The Bank or put him on the shelf so to speak, which if he had done the cinder blocks may have happened. What makes this all as bad as Ryback is just like the Mark Henry feud, the Bray Wyatt will be just as pointless.

Agree with this. Taue produced some great moments in NOAH. I just watched the 9/18/05 tag with him and Kobashi against Akiyama and Tenryu, and he was arguably the best guy in it. Not only was he the best guy in that match, I have that match in my top 10. 2005 Kobashi tags were all really great. "Chopbashi" may be my least favorite pejorative in wrestling. Yeah, the Dome Sasaki match is not all that great, but I chock it up to their freaky negative chemistry they have with each other. Kobashi still had one Match of the Decade contender in 2005 and three other great matches in 2005. In 2006, he had a great match with Marufuji. which I thought was on par with the Taue match. During his comeback, he crushed it in his return tag match and had a great six-man. I didn't think "Chopbashi" really became a self-parody until Burning vs KO shit in 2008. I may be alone, but I think the 2000s add a lot to Kobashi's case as a Number one and at the every worst a top ten candidate. When I am not at work, I will delve deeper into it. The crux is that Kobashi is one of the few wrestlers we saw the entire journey. The 90s is the chase, he is the underdog, working hard, climbing the mountain, but the 00s allows us to see him on top. In wrestling either, we are missing the beginning or the full ascension never happens. There is a fullness to Kobashi's career that I feel like no other wrestler can claim. If you just watch the 90s, you are missing the ending of the movie when our hero finally makes it.

I am actually a little surprised more people didn't like Sheamus/Miz, I thought it was the second best match on the show. Once they played ring-around-the-rosie with the midcarders I knew Sheamus/Miz would be the second best option after Sheamus/Cesaro. That is not any coincidence because Sheamus is clearly the best wrestler on the roster. This is the match where Miz can actually play to his strengths. He is going to be the underhanded heel that will eventually get his ass kicked. It is my favorite story. Sheamus establishes early that he is going to dominate, but gets caught up outside and BAM! Miz hits him on the transition. Then it plays out well. I wish WWE would actually let their heels cheat and have Miz do some eye rakes and fish hooks, just desperate shit to keep control. It would be just a good, solid match with this, but then Mizdow takes it way over the top with just being a totally awesome ham at ring side. I know someone said somethinf about liking the goofier elements of pro wrestling. This to me is exactly what they need! They knee more good comedy and more levity to break up the show. To the person, who said it was just a comedy match, it was a great one! Super serious pro wrestling all the time is boring. On the flip side, I am shocked how much people liked Cena/Orton. Besides the two beautiful RKOs, this match was just finisher trading that killed the momentum dead. The fucking finish was Orton punching Cena in the head to daze him so he could climb onto Cena's shoulders and hit an FU. That has to rank as one of the worst finishes ever. Fuck that match. Rusev/Show was amazing and match of the night. Rusev/Sheamus *drool* I actually liked the Ambrose/Rollins match a lot before that stupid fucking finish. Ambrose is a lunatic and wants to deliver the maximum pain to Rollins. What is one option for maximum pain you can do, throw him off something really high. However, his pride got the best of him because he really couldn't handle three guys at once even if he was willing to take the chance just to throw him off. Plus, in a kayfabe sense, I bet Ambrose's response would be "it seemed like a good idea at the time". The double bump off the cage was great. Credit to them as performers and WWE for actually milking it! You had to make the fans believe that would be the fuck finish so that when Ambrose made his comeback it would be sweet. The crowd was lapping it up and we were at home. Inside the cell they had a great brawl with Ambrose kicking his ass and the use of Kane & fire extinguisher was excellent to have Rollins get a little offense in to put the match in doubt. You get the Ambrose comeback and I am telling you if you end with the cinder block curb stomp, this is at the very least in my Top 5 matches of the year from WWE. Here is my major malfunction, I am not a purist when it comes to finishes. You want to do a swerve, clusterfuck or a run-in, I think that can be very powerful and useful booking tool. For instance, Kane debuting and interfering in the original Hell in a Cell is some of the best booking ever in my opinion. Ultimate, chickenshit, arrogant asshole heel tries everything to avoid his imminent demise at the hands of the Grim Reaper who is killing him, but then his presumed dead brother returns after it being built for over months since his former manager had wanted revenge for being burnt in April and previously had been feuding since August of the past year. That is the difference. Kane was a logical surprise. No one knew when he would appear but they knew he would. Michaels has even more heat on him for avoiding final damnation and you have a molten hot Taker/Kane feud. Why the fuck did Bray Wyatt interfere? Rollins looks like an after thought. Even though, presumably the finish was to protect him, but it hurts him because he does not seem relevant. Ambrose is just being transitioned from a feud with some momentum to the fifth Wyatt feud that has just started because Wyatt randomly targeted someone. I fucking hate Bray Wyatt. He is the worst character ever. He never has any motivation other than "You all have been fooled to like this man. I am your true savior. Blackjack Mulligan and Uncle Barry spoiled Bo Dallas rotten and I was unloved as a child". Would it kill them to actually fucking layer their storylines? I refuse to believe they have actual soap opera writers writing this show. I have watched soap operas all my life with my mother and grandmother and you would never see such ham-fisted storytelling. Ambrose could have at least called Wyatt a wacko or maybe during an Ambrose/Rollins brawl they destroy his rocking chair and that was the rocking chair of his sister and that the last remaining vestige of his sister. Anything besides the oncoming Wyatt bullshit promo that shows absolutely no character development. The Ambrose comedy, cringe. Sheamus, vs Rusev please start tonight, please start tonight, please start tonight!

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs Shuji Kondo - AJPW 11/03/08 I have a biger problem with the bomb throwing fests where I run though my moves for a bit and then you run through yours especially in this context because it does not treat the wrestlers as unique entities. Marufuji and Kondo have enough stylistic differences that they should be responding to each other rather than working as if they were against a generic create-a-wrestler. I understand the viewpoint that I should judge the match I got not the match I think I should have got, but I think when the match I get effaces character of the wrestler I don't think it is a very good match. The beginning of the match was easily the best part because you got to see those stylistic differences in action. Marufuji was outwrestling and using his quickness to stay in control. Then he went for a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron and Kondo just stepped on his face. Kondo used his power to attack Marufuji. Then as soon as Marufuji busted out that weak ass transition where the opponent literally carries him over into the ring so Marufuji can suplex him the match just plummeted him for me. It was a blinding barrage of suplexes, superkicks and lariats then just kept on going and going and going. I loved how they did "we are too exhausted to really hit each other" strike exchange about 8 minutes before the actual finish. I was just like fuck both of these asshole and I actually like Kondo. Kondo runs a bunch of his impressive power spots, but when he goes for Splash Mountain it is countered. Now Marufuji hits Spanish Fly, lariats and a Michinoku Driver for the victory. It was not even really that entertaining of a bomb fest. It was just really long, meandering and aimless.

Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Fujita Jr Hayato vs Ou Kobushi - Michinoku Pro 9/5/09 Hayato is consistently best midsection seller I have ever seen. I have seen better one off performances (Akiyama in 2003 against Tenzan comes to mind), but Hayato has knocked it out of the park at two occasions and even in Kanemoto registered it really well. I liked Kobushi as a Hayato opponent because he could match Hayato strike for strike, but was a little bigger so he was a great opponent to allow Hayato to work underneath, which seems to be what he prefers. Is Hayato a babyface in M-Pro? He seems to have an asshole demeanor, but seems to be cheered even against guys like Sasuke, which surprised me. He does have a Stone Cold vibe to him so maybe that is it. I loved the tentative beginning with neither fully committing to strikes or takedowns for fear of making a mistake. Hayato gets a sleeper/chinlock, but as he tries to run the ropes Kobushi meets him with a wicked knee lift. I love how something so simple was exposed as such a big risk. Running from your opponent to build up momentum is usually taken for granted, but here it was a risky maneuver and Kobushi made him pay. The heat segment is excellent synergy. Kobushi attacks the ribs with pinpoint accuracy and Hayato is writhing in pain. Hayato tries to escape but Kobushi is a rib-seeking missile with his double stomps. I loved how Hayato would spill to the outside. I was not too enamored with the transition out with Hayato just powering up and Kobushi allowing himself to trade kicks with him. Hayato big knee into ropes and a huge spear. I would have liked a more abrupt transition where Hayato throws a wild kick to the head and it lands. Hayato goes suplexes crazy. I know you had to do something here to have Hayato not look he was going to die, but seemed pretty artificial. Hayato's control segments against Kobushi and Yoshitune are not as good because they are letting moves happen to them where as vets like Kanemoto and Sasuke know how to take a move without feeling like it is an exhibition. The match is back on track with a great roundhouse kick to the ribs cutoff. Kobushi double knees in the corner and a top rope double stomp. Kobushi applies the best Camel Clutch after that really looks he is yanking and Hayato sells it well. It was probably the most drama-filled Camel Clutch in history. Kobushi hits a dragon suplex, but cant get the two. Kobushi lets Hayato up and here come the fighting spirit kicks. Shaking my head. Hayato hits a German, a kick to the head and applies his signature guillotine choke, but nada. His uppercut knee does NOT get it down, well I think I know who is winning now. The best transition is Kobushi catching a head kick and hitting one of his own. Hayato is struggling to get to his feet. Kobushi hits one of the greatest Germans of all time as he just rag dolls Hayato and one more kick to head gives him the victory by KO. There are some flaws in the transitions, but overall this is a great match. Hayato is a champion of early match selling and he also sells exhaustion well. The Camel Clutch was a great way to exploit the midsection work. Hayato needed to go for his big weapons: choke and uppercut knee and when those failed you knew Kobushi would not be denied. I loved how Kobushi finished with knockout blows. It is a really exciting way to finish. Hayato is four for four in terms of great matches and making my top 100. ****

Please read my reviews in2009 folder. On my phone so cAnt c&p. He definitely ate him up and showed him up in the rematch where he just straight up did not sell Nakajimas work. The first match could have been one if the best matches if the decade if they didn't go into the standard KENTA/NOAH finish run. Watching enough Nakajimas and KENTA, I pin this on KENTA, but that was not instance of being uncooperative like the rematch in March.

I thought it was 9k vs 16k. I will look it up, but could have sworn Budokan was AJPW exclusive. So I was slightly wrong. NJPW never ran the Budokan in the 80s. In the 90s, they ran one show in the summer a year (June time) and occasionally in Feb or Sept. It was clear that AJPW was drawing a lot more frequently than NJPW which was largely playing to smaller arenas except for the Dome shows.

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion KENTA vs Kotaro Suzuki - NOAH 1/25/09 Kotaro Suzuki was made for fighting KENTA and KENTA was made for fighting Kotaro Suzuki. Do do do do do do. The more I watch of KENTA the more you can see how influenced he is by 2000s Kobashi. They have the same flaws (they love to be ass-kickers and they love getting their shit in), but they tend to be magnified with KENTA because Kobashi definitely has a better sense of psychology even in his bomb throwing contest. They are similar also in that they are at their absolute best against a pure heel. When Kobashi is fighting that "Rat Boy" Ogawa or that big bully Takayama, his natural babyface charisma takes you on a fantastic ride. You can't wait for him to pulverize this putz. Similarly when KENTA goes up against that pure heel like SUWA or Kotaro Suzuki, you know the ending is going to be sweet, sweet, well-deserved violence towards this asshole. With KENTA's role in this masterpiece understood, how does Kotaro Suzuki play into this. Suzuki, a Misawa protege, has only shown up once in a disappointing tag match with Misawa against Ohtani & Takaiwa. Overall, I get the impression he has underwhelmed his entire career save for this one shining, standout performance where he goes balls to the wall heel. Think of every underhanded tactic, Suzuki tries it at least once if not twice in this match. It is very reminiscent of excellent heel performance of Austin at Bash at the Beach '94 against Steamboat. Except ratchet this cowardly heeling up to 11 and then instead of Steamboat you get supreme asskicker KENTA and it takes this match to the promised land as my current 2009 MOTY (still plenty of big hitting matches from NJPW and NOAH heavies left though). Kotaro Suzuki comes off as the world's biggest cheating asshole. He knows he has absolutely no fucking chance against KENTA. His entire strategy is how can I fucking break the rules to not only survive, but win the match. This match embodies pro wrestling. The heel cheats like muthafucka gains the unfair advantage, you are pissed at the injustice and then go crazy for the comeback when the babyface kicks major league ass. It does not matter if you are in Europe, Asia, North America, 2014, 2009, 1979, or 1905, this match is going to get over. KENTA is whupping Suzuki to establish that Suzuki is totally outmatched and overwhelmed. Suzuki's first tactic is to pull the ref in front of him and when KENTA and ref collide, he punts KENTA in the nuts. It was love at first ballshot. I am going to like this match a lot. Suzuki takes the time to sell as if he was the one in the nuts or I am going to like this a lot. Suzuki is so frigging inept that KENTA retakes control and is just pummeling Suzuki's midsection. KENTA gets tired of kicking this loser's ass in the ring so he takes him outside the ring. In a tense moment, Suzuki backdrops out of a powerbomb and send KENTA onto chairs. The ref keeps Suzuki from hitting KENTA with a chair. Back in, again Suzuki pulls the ref in front of him and in the commotion grabs a briefcase. He jaws with Joe Higuchi, which really gets the crowd fucking going. KENTA exploding knee. Out of nowhere, the game changes drop toehold onto the railing. Suzuki grabs a spike and carves KENTA up. In the moment that solidifies this as a MOTYC, he parades a bloody KENTA around the outside of the ring to all the fans. GLORIOUS! A moment of silence is necessary for how amazing that heeling is. Back in Suzuki is working the cut and licking the blood, but at the end of the day he is still Kotaro Suzuki so KENTA starts to fire up. Eye-poke. All Hail Kotaro Suzuki. KENTA goes for a springboard dropkick, but gets dropkicked. KENTA finally on outside gets a back drop to buy some time to recuperate. In a weird moment, one of Suzuki's buddies (Kanemaru?) throws a chair in. Suzuki breaks the chair and covers himself in red paint ostensibly to draw a DQ. What I don't get was that he was in command so why not press your advantage. You can't win the title by DQ in Japan, I don't think. This is a spot that would make more sense either in the beginning or end when he is getting his ass kicked not when he is in control. Joe Higuchi points out to the ref it is paint. In the hullabaloo, KENTA has recovered and he sees red. KENTA unloads with kicks and knees to Suzuki. The Korakuen and me are rocking as this asskicking. Suzuki is able to shake the ropes and crotch KENTA on the top rope. He gets a pair of suplexes, but can't put KENTA away. He goes for the 619, but KENTA catches and puts on the octopus stretch (Black Widow). Kanemaru causes a distraction. Suzuki goes for the spike, but KENTA kicks him in the head before he can use. KENTA has no need for a spike when his feet are lethal weapons. KENTA hits a wicked double powerbomb and the a big G2S tease ends with a Suzuki STO. The finish run is great Suzuki gets his nearfall off of a Widow's Peak and then goes for Miracle Ecstasy Bomb, but KENTA victory rolls out. Huge corner powerbomb by KENTA and then KENTA hits a knee on a sitting Suzuki that sends him flying like 3 feet backwards. What a motherfucking knee! Go 2 Sleep through contested elbows 1-2-Suzuki catches the ref's hand. MIND BLOWN! KENTA kicks Suzuki's head off and Go 2 Sleep to win! Crowd goes wild! From the opening ballshot to catching the ref's hand as it falls for three and climaxing with parading around a bloody KENTA, this will go down as one of the all-time great heel performances. Yes there were some misfires as I mentioned and the finish sequence was a bit longer than it needed to be. Overall, Suzuki crushed it and KENTA did his part killing Suzuki on the comeback. Easy Top 20 match of the decade and Best KENTA Match EVER! ****1/2

In regards to NJPW vs AJPW venues, the one thing that has always piqued my curiosity is that it is generally accepted and proven that NJPW has been historically a more popular promotion than AJPW yet NJPW never ran the Budokan and AJPW consistently ran the Budokan in the 80s and 90s doing very well in the 90s. Obviously the fact that NJPW could run the Dome speaks to their popularity, but how come their lesser shows are at the Sumo Hall, which is half the size of the Budokan. I understand if AJPW had a contract with the Budokan similar to WWF & MSG, but if NJPW is this powerhouse promotion why would they not at the very least find a 15k-20k arena to run in or actually get the contract for the Budokan? I believe people when they say NJPW >AJPW in drawing and popularity, but the Budokan vs. Sumo Hall is just an inconsistency for me regarding that fact. If anybody could shed more light on this that would be appreciated.

Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - NJPW Super J Cup 12/02/09 Hard Rock Hallelujah, big ass hair and a middle finger to the sky, move over Yoshinari Ogawa, I think I have a new favorite wrestler and his name is Fujita Jr Muthafuckin Hayato. The beginning of this match was absolutely electric. I know Hayato always comes in with a bad attitude, but I have no idea what he did to piss in Kanemoto's corn flakes It was just amazing stand up fighting that felt hate-filled and violent. I loved how Kanemoto would grab Hayato hair and unload. Kanemoto in a full mount with his hand around Hayato's throat and throwing closed fists was the best opening to pretty much any match so far. I loved the early matwork as it was a struggle from the beginning with Hayato gouging the eyes and getting a cross armbreaker which triggers flailing from Kanemoto. Kanemoto gets his facewashes in to show up Hayato. Outside the ring they throw each other into chairs and wipe out fans. Kanemoto pulls Hayato down from the apron by his hair. There is just great atmosphere for this match. The crowd is hot and there is just a buzz to this match. Hayato wins an apron battle and punts Kanemoto with a wicked kick. The fight continues in the ring with Hayato's bone-crushing kicks. Kanemoto applies a deep double wristlock out of a German suplex into a heel hook that Hayato sells like a million bucks including a lunge for the ropes and then not being able to walk. Kanemoto drills a Steiner Screwdriver, but goes back for a facewask, which seems more like a move of humiliation and weird choice this late. Hayato jumps at the opportunity to apply a guillotine choke. Kanemoto makes the ropes. They simultaneously kick each other in the head. Kanemoto ends up on his ass; Hayato looks to take his head off, but Kanemoto catches the kick for a heel hook submission. What a fucking fight! Has 2009 been the year of the juniors or what! I loved the energy and the hate. They were just leaving everything they had in that ring. I don't know if this match had a buzz coming into it, but fuck man as soon they opened up they had that place going mad. My complaint is the lack of selling. It is a fucking fight. I am not expecting Ricky Morton selling, but sometimes Kanemoto seemed to just plain not care about selling and would just go on a no-selling rampage. It felt like he was showing up Hayato but in a borderline unprofessional way. That just keeps it from MOTDC status still a strong 2009 MOTYC. I got it number two behind KENTA/Suzuki. Badass fight that everyone take a chance to watch, ****1/2

I glad you liked the match. I really went in expecting a decent power match, but was totally caught off-guard by great Sasaki was in the match. If you think about it, I really shouldn't have been because as you pointed out he has delivered in spades throughout the decade. As long as Kobashi was not in the match, he was gold during this stretch. This was the first instance he was in the ring with a lesser worker and delivered an awesome match. His other great matches were with the likes of Kawada, Tenryu and Takayama. It shows that Sasaki was not being carried in those matches if anyone were to doubt him.

Nakajima is my favorite Japanese wrestler to have debuted in the 2000s. He wrestles way beyond his years as he was just 18 when he debuted in 2004 and by 2005 he was winning MOTYs (w/Sasaki vs Kobashi/Go, Purotopia), In 2007, he was crafting well-laid out matches against Shuji Kondo at a level that few wrestlers ever reach. In 2008-09, he was essential to the Kensuke Office vs. Burning feud that could have culminated in the greatest series of juniors of the decade had KENTA been a bit more cooperative. Nakajima is a prodigy in every sense of the word. His basic fundamentals and commitment to sound wrestling psychology make him stand out in the decadence of the 2000s. It begins and ends with selling. If you don't make the move feel critical, the transition feel consequential, the contest worth winning, if you don't believe, then nobody will believe. When you watch Nakajima, he believes in what he is doing. He has a game plan, it is dynamic and adaptable, but he has a strategy to win because that is what wrestling should be about. Along the way especially as a rookie, he is going to take his lumps and he responds to these lumps by selling and adapting. His selling is among the best of his generation and his fighting spirit more convincing than most. I believe that the only thing holding him back is lack of junior peers for him to excel against. Just googled Nakajima vs Hayato, O FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!! Not one, but two matches, so pumped. At 28 years old, he is already a ten year veteran and with the right push, the sky is the limit. Want to go all the way back to his rookie year (won the Tokyo Sports Award for Rookie of the Year) in 2004 against Great Sasuke. Great Sasuke vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - Michinoku Pro 6/19/04 Right from the get go, Sasaki really did know he had something special with Nakajima and was able to convince a lot of his peers. Japanese matches are very hierarchical, based on that tradition you would expect this to be a shit kicking, but Nakajima shows some fighting spirit, but ultimately succumbs to Sasuke. The Sasuke treats Nakajima like his peer. Having watched a lot of puroresu, this makes Nakajima right then and there in my eyes. You know he is a wrestler to watch immediately. Just like the Sasuke match I watched recently with Hayato, they are working a match around struggling for a victory, but along the way they are popping the crowd. Nakajima takes advantage of Sasuke giving his back with roundhouse kick and kicks him in midsection. He makes the mistake of breaking without protecting himself and Sasuke takes him to the mat. The matwork is really sound with Nakajima doing some great verbal selling, but fighting Sasuke every step of the way. I loved Sasuke pounding the mat in frustration when Nakajima grabbed the ropes on a cross armbreaker. Once Nakajima starts revving up and looks to dive, Sasuke hightails it. Nakajima continues to dominate once Sasuke returns. I will say Nakajima for how comfortable he looks selling and working spots would get more fluid on offense. I loved Nakajiam wriggling out of a powerbomb with a backslide and then immediately following a whiff by Sasuke he goes for a roll up. On the second nearfall, he pounds the mat and lets out a yell because he knows how much a victory would mean over a legend like Sasuke this early in his career. He goes for an axe kick and Sasuke dumps him on his head. Does this spell the end of Nakajima's cinderella run or does the phenomenon pull off the unbelieveable and score the upset? Watch the match as it is worth it. Great little veteran vs rookie match that really showcased Nakajima. ***1/2

Both of the Tito matches are pretty good with my recollection being the lead-in to Survivor Series '89 being the better of the two, but overall it was a disappointing program because it was booked around the loop as a 4 minute match. You have the best blood feud worker in the company up against a hot new heel that just backstabbed him. Infuriating! My thought process: they wanted to push Martel (he is a top 3 heel WM VII), but the booking mentality was not to have a face lose a feud like that hence 4 minute matches. The best singles Martel match was a Primetime match with Bret Hart in '89 (NOT the MSG house show match from '90 that was a borefest). This was during the year where they were teasing a Bret babyface singles run as he barely tagged with Neidhart all year. You could tell Bret's effort was at all time high in the WWF because he wanted that singles push. If you don't care about just singles matches, the obvious great heel Martel match is Santana/Rockers vs Martel/Rougeaus Summerslam '89. Martel. Bravo, Valentine, Rougeaus would have been an all-time great WWF Jimmy Hart heel stable.

2009 could have been the year of the juniors if KENTA just treated Nakajima with some respect. KENTA absolutely hit out of the park with Kotaro Suzuki in my current 2009 MOTY. Then this match just killed pretty much any non-KENTA/Danielson juniors match. Love seeing the juniors stepping their game up. Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Fujita Jr Hayato vs Great Sasuke - Michinoku Pro 6/19/09 Great Sasuke is truly one of the greatest junior heavyweights of all time and it really shines here. He is partying like it is 1994 out there with his crazy bumps, but always consistently selling and working an angle to win a match never just to pop the crowd. If he pops the crowd so be it, but he is here to win and that is what I want out of my wrestling. The whole match from the get-go to ending feels like Sasuke trying to prove to himself, the world and most importantly this punk, Hayato he can still hang with the best of them. He bullrushes with a dropkick, but Fujita side-steps. The matwork in the early part of the match is fierce and heated. Sasuke scores an early victory with an Ultimo Dragon like baseball slide and Hayato wipes out a bunch of chairs. Ultimo Dragon is looking on and rooting for Sasuke. Back to the matwork, Hayato comes out of the fracas with a heel hook that bothers Sasuke, but is not enough to fuck him up yet. Sasuke hits a T-Bone off a criss-cross and Hayato powders. Sasuke looks for the Asai Moonsault (lots of Dragon influence) but on the all important back kick to set it up, Hayato catches the foot and yanks him to the ground, which now really messes up his leg. Hayaot sends Sasuke through the chairs in a fashion that has to be seen and takes a chair to his leg. Hayato works the leg well, but the key in this type of early leg work is always on the seller and Sasuke really makes you believe with how he is writhing. Sasuke meets Hayato on the top rope with great shots to the midscetion, he looks to regain the advantage with an elbow drop, but eats apron. OW! Hayato sees his opportunity and seizes it by the throat literally. Twice he applies the guillotine choke and on the second time Sasuke powers out and drops him on his head. Sasuke heads up top to press his newfound advantage, but misses the swandive and sells the back by taking a walk. Hayato follows and Sasuke catches and sends him into the post. This sets up the big Sasuke dives to the outside, the swandive and dropkick that show he has not lost a step since 1994. He looks to end it with a painful looking chickenwing crossface, but before he could really cinch it in Hayato makes the ropes. Sasuke starts looking for chairs and makes a big pile of them. He suplexes Hayato onto them and then decides a high speed swandive is what he needs to be done to finish him off. Hayato moves and OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! Hayato realizes to beat this sick fuck he is going to have cave his head in with strikes. In my favorite moment, when Hayato starts going off with strikes, Sasuke actually moves closer to shorten the distance and move into the clinch. Perfect. He throws him with a double underhook. Sasuke is feeling it dives onto Hayato's bad arm and then a big powerbomb, but nada. He goes up top, but Hayato kicks his head off. Sasuke tries to retreat, but Hayato hits a plancha. Back in the ring, Hayato hits a big German and then obliterates him with big knees. A valiant effort by Sasuke to hang with Hayato, but Hayato is not just the future he is clearly the present after that performance. I would say the second best juniors match of the decade behind only the heated brawl between KENTA/Kotaro Suzuki. Sasuke was amazing in every facet of the game: offense, selling and huge bumps. He was just pouring so much effort into this match. Unlike the Dragon 2007 match, he had an opponent trying just as hard as him. I loved smooth transitions of the match. The early heel hook was not capitalized on until Asai Moonsault, the power out of the choke did not lead to Sasuke full recovery until the posting, Sasuke crashing into a bunch of chairs did not end his run until Hayato kicked him off the top rope. Abrupt transitions can be very powerful tools, but can also be lazy and weak. This match showed how dynamic Hayato could be working well on top and from underneath with equal proficiency. What makes it extra compelling was the emotional connection with Sasuke wanting to see the old time pull off the upset one last time, but falling short in a great effort. ****1/2

After reading the comments, I was afraid of this going really long especially when you see the video is a total of 38 minutes long. However once you cut out intros and post-match, the match is 25 minutes and really did not think there was much in the way of overkill especially relative to NOAH at the time. Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshitune vs Fujita Jr Hayato - Michinoku Pro 12/12/08 Fujita Jr Hayato is a name I have heard bandied around for the past couple months as leading the Michinoku Pro revitalization having about one great match a year from 2008 up until now. From my understanding, the only reason he has not had more is due to a dearth of opponents not because of an inconsistent skill level. Hayato is a shoot-y style junior with lots of kicks, good matwork, a choke out submission, can fly when necessary. His real hallmarks are he is an amazing seller and brutal, violent muthafucka. Yoshitune is one of the coolest looking masked wrestlers I have ever seen with a really cool costume. I thought his strikes were dogshit, but he kills any of the Dragon Gate guys in how well he flies and when he times his highspots. He was amazing at your standard high-flying spots (Shooting Star Press, moonsault press to floor), but he had some fantastic highspots that would be over like rover in America. I loved the balance on top rope superkick to Hayato and the run the top rope dropkick. Between the costume and the spots, he seems like someone who get over really fast with children and lovers of great acrobatics. Yoshitune establishes that he is going to use his speed early to avoid Hayato kicks and matwork. He busts out a 619 and a Space Flying Tiger Drop early to get that blood flowing. He starts throwing Hayato into the apron. Hayato does a great job selling his midsection throughout the match. Yoshitune may have sucked at striking, but he was great at hurling his body at Hayato. I loved the moonsault where he landed with his knees in Hayato's midsection. I love the M-Pro throw people into chairs spot and Hayato takes over on Yoshitune. The main flaw in this match is that the Hayato control segments come off as too much like an exhibition because Yoshitune is not really selling nor is he struggling. He is just letting these submissions and throws happen to him. In a match with so many great spots, my favorite may have been, Hayato preventing Yoshitune from diving off a balcony onto him by hurling a chair at him with pinpoint accuracy. They fight on the balcony with Hayato losing and eating a double stomp to his injured abdomen. Great, great wrestling. Yoshitune much like Ultimo Dragon is better on offense because he is so breath-taking and because he blows at selling and hope spots. So in the ring things are way more entertaining with flying around, but with the purpose of attacking the midsection and Hayato selling like a champ. Hayato gets knees up on Super Quebrada. He unloads with a big knee and spear leading to the guillotine choke, but Yoshitune makes the ropes. Yoshitune gets one last run with all his big spots before Hayato takes advantage of him whiffing on a head kick then annihilating him with kicks, knees and suplexes . They worked a great match that felt really fresh because it is the opposite of how air vs ground matches are worked. Instead of grounding Yoshitune and building to the big spots. Yoshitune overwhelmed Hayato with his aerial assault, but had a target that being the midsection. A lot of high flyers fly around, but it does not seem like they are doing damage, but Yoshitune was hurling his body with a specific target. Hayato to his credit made this all the more worthwhile by really selling the injury. Once he made the comeback you knew Yoshitune was at a disadvantage because Hayato's arsenal is loaded with knock out blows where as just does not have that. Also, the way it was worked prevented the "high flyer blows off selling to do dives" criticism. The main flaw was that it still felt too much like an exhibition to me when Hayato was on offense because Yoshitune was not really all that good at anything else besides high flying. Hayato's midesection gave Yoshitune's offense a sense of purpose, but I don't think they did enough with it to develop Hayato's offense around compensating for it. Honestly, I thought Dragon Gate would be more like this: eye-popping spots with some good work around it. M-Pro totally kills the standard fare Dragon Gate (only really high end DG was better than this.). This is exactly my kind of juniors match great acrobatics, a well-defined styles clash and strong surrounding work to prop up those big spots. ****

I have this third overall for the tremendous BatBat year. Ikuto Hidaka & Muneori Sawa vs Yuki Ishikawa & Yuta Yoshikawa - BattlArts 8/31/08 2008 was BattlArts everyone else was just playing for second place. Sawa is just a dynamo in the ring. Hidaka complements him well as a quick paced junior who introduces a little pro wrestling, but can go on the mat. Even though Ishikawa is a lot bigger than his opponents they have some great mat exchanges with Hidaka using his quickness to best Ishikawa's weight advantage. I love shoot-style tags for their internal logic like Ishikawa backing Hidaka into the corner to tag out and Hidaka hightails it out of there. Or when Ishikawa is trapped in the other corner and Sawa unloads with wicked fists to the face and even hits Hidaka because he is in the way. Ishikawa does not dominate Sawa, but the kid gets in his licks. Yoshikawa gets trapped as the face in peril after an axe kick by Hidaka and a really cool Hidaka powerbomb. Hidaka's heel hook gives Team Sawa their target, Yoshikawa's leg. Yoshikawa does a great job modulating his selling as the beating progressing peppering in hope spots early before he gives a last ditch effort which ends with Hidaka almost kicking his head. off. Deep, deep half crab by Hidaka should win it but Yoshikawa gets to the ropes. Ishikawa really ought to interject himself. Yoshikawa mounts a comeback with Zidane headbutts and now an inverted figure-4 and double wristlock combo. He catches Sawa in a heel hook and Ishikawa puts him in an armbar, sweet spot. Yoshikawa knows it is time to get out of there. Hidaka swats Ishikawa out of the sky with a kick to the head. He retreats and tags in Sawa. IT IS ON BABY!!! This is so scrappy. Sawa wants to prove himself to Ishikawa who is trying to weather the storm and knock this punk out. Sawa lands a head kick and then a Shining Wizard and it looks to be over. Ishikawa grabs a German Suplex and wisely tags out to Yoshikawa. Sawa winds up for the big punch, but gets caught in a cross armbreaker. Yoshikawa keeps going back to the cross armbreaker and Sawa goes for a KO punch. Neither gets it done and they both look ready to pass out from punching themselves out. Hidaka and Ishikawa scuffle while the very fatigued Sawa and Yoshikawa look to finish this one out. Another hard hitting gem from BattlArts as they showcase their style through the battle of attrition at the end with Sawa and Yoshikawa. Sawa had plenty of chances to tag out, but pride kept him in there to finish off Yoshikawa. It became a war not just about winning a match, but to see who the better was Yoshikawa or Sawa. Hidaka was great in this match with tons of sweet offense and really added a lot by bringing a little bit of pro wrestling to the match. Yoshikawa was a great underdog face that was there right to the end. Sawa was just a huge bundle of energy and really drove the match home. Would have loved to see more from Ishikawa as he played a backseat to the other three. The match lacked a big overarching story that would have the finish run better if Sawa/Yoshikawa had interacted more earlier as it seemed the issues were Ishikawa/Sawa and Hidaka/Yoshikawa. Still it is a great match and will definitely make my top 100. ****1/4

Tanahashi in 2007-2008 has been undeniable with only one misfire, but I am watching him do his pretty boy, cowardly heel schtick and he is friggin killing it. There are less pissing contests and more focus on actually winning matches. Tanahashi has been a huge breath of fresh air in 00s purorresu. I plan on watching his stuff from 2010-2014 and if he is as good as in 2007-2008 he is a lock to be in my Top 100. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toshiaki Kawada - Champions Carnival 2008 This did not make the Best of Japan 00's voting, but could not simply resist watching one of my new favorites against one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. Tanahashi as the cocky, pretty boy that will do anything to win matches is incredible. What makes him such a great heel is that he is always doing something underhanded to take the advantage. Early on, he gets under Kawada's skin by slapping him on a rope break and running away.He transitioned this into a baseball slide and wiping out Kawada with a plancha. When Kawada started kicking his pretty face in with big boots and then whipping him into the railing, he tried to blow out Kawada's knee. Unfortunately for him, Kawada has not sold his knee all decade and he probably is not going to start for this punk kid. Kawada is the perfect foil for Tanahashi. Unlike Suwama and Goto for are ultra-serious Strong Style pro wrestlers. Kawada has character. He holds Tanahashi in contempt for flaunting his hair and being a punk. So when Kawada is beating the snot out of him it is all the better. They do a great build on the outside to a Kawada powerbomb where he just throws Tanahashi DOWN! Tanahashi has been a great bumper in the matches I have seen. He really makes people's offense look good. Just when it looks like Kawada has him beat as he goes for a second powerbomb, Tanahashi low blows him. Awesome! The finish run is very well-done with minimal no-selling. Tanahashi is just absolutely desperate. He throws everything at Kawada going after his knees, throwing out cradles and sprinting for High Fly Flow. Kawada is also working hard to win the match using cradles, hits his brainbuster and kicks to head. There is a real sense of urgency as the clock winds down to a draw. This is the best Kawada match seen since 2005 and is about on par with Misawa Dome match. Tanahashi played to 00s Kawada's strengths and that is just letting him kick ass and work a hot finish. The more I watch the more I believe that if the NWA travelling champ was still a thing that Tanahashi would be the best NWA champion today. He works great with a variety of opponents, he knows how to shine them up, he always gets the crowd invested in his matches, he knows how to work on top as a face or as heel and his finish run lead to a climax. It was great to see Kawada have another great match and this leaves me only more excited for more Tanahashi matches. ****

Low Ki along with Styles is one of my favorite workers from 00s Indies era. I always thought he portrayed a badass well, but still being able to show vulnerability through selling. I liked his foward posture and how he moved in the ring. It felt very aggressive and offensive. Like Styles, I think he is really smart about integrating cute spots into his match that will pop the crowd and logically fit rather than forcing them in. Here is two Low Ki reviews from the 00s Japan project. Low Ki vs AJ Styles - Z1 01/05/03 AJ Styles as the cocky, douchey show-off heel was one of my favorite things about wrestling in the 00s. He is perfectly contrasted against the ultra-serious, no-nonsense Low-Ki in this match. I have seen this match before and thought it was pretty good, but this time around I was actually blown away how well this came off. The spots were well-executed at a pace that kills, but in addition there were actual transitions and it felt like an actual contest with two combatants struggling for victory. The early matwork was really well done and felt super organic. Each wrestler was looking for a hold, but could never really wrangle one. I dug Ki's kick to AJ's head during a Stampede roll-around on the armbar. Everytime, AJ went to bask in his own glory it usually led to a swift kick to his head (second time he jumps over the railing to avoid contact only for Ki to wipe him and a bunch of fans out was friggin awesome). Or AJ liked to do a kip up hurricanrana at the time and I just watched the ROH 2002 match against Ki where he does it out of nowhere and it looked pretty stupid. Here, Ki has been on offense for the majority of the match, but during a criss cross AJ hits a dropkick to a leapfrogging Ki to hit his kip up rana and it looks so much better since Ki is bending over. AJ was not just some Scotty Steiner doing a spot and then popping for himself. When he nailed Ki with one of his semi-finishers (one of them indy-riffic suplexes), he was pissed off that he did not win and started to unload with a bunch of closed fists. He cared about winning in a wrestling match what a novel concept! Of course, his overzealousness costed him as Ki caught him in a powerbomb. Ki showed the crowd that Styles was not the only one who cared about winning as he unleashed some devastating Kawada kicks. There were a lot of great spots in this one, but spot of the match had to be AJ catching Ki off some crazy flip and seamlessly turning it into Style Clash. AJ, brash as ever, signals he has a three only for a kick out and his face says it all. Now if Ki hit the Ki Krusher and won right there. I think I would have an argument to call this an elite match, but AJ kicks out and the finish sequence goes two minutes longer than it should. AJ counters Kawada kicks with a suplex combination that is indy-riffic in his no-selling and its presentation. He does grab his neck (Ki Krusher) and show some hesitancy to go for Super Styles Clash so I will give him that. Ki is able to take advantage of this to hit his Ki Krusher and roll into a wicked looking Dragon Sleeper for win. There are definite issues in terms of long-term selling and the finish sequence going into spot overdrive, but in terms of a fireworks display with struggle and well-done transitions this hard to beat. **** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Low Ki - Budokan 9/10/04 Low Ki is one of my favorite 00s American Indy workers so I thought I would give this one a look see. It was an entertaining affair with Ki carrying Kanemaru, one of my least favorite junior workers, to a very good match. This is one match where I thought a lot of the cute spots worked really well in a logical fashion to progress the match. Whether it was early on when Ki went for the kill with a springboard double stomp while Kanemaru was hanging on the railing or catching Kanemaru with a rolling kappo kick or utilzing the Tidal Wave better than Cody Rhodes ever has. In addition, to well-integrated "innovative" spots, Ki kept basic early with great arm work and anytime Kanemaru looked to rally he applies the Dragon Clutch from all sort of locations. I thought the missed double stomp outside was a great transition. I did not care for Kanemaru jump, catch, DDT off apron because it is one of those moves you can't tell who takes the damage. Credit to both of them because Kanemaru sold the arm and Ki sold the head the rest of the match. He did a great job milking the count until 19 and then being a bit foggy the rest of the match. I will say this followed more of an All Japan juniors template with lots of selling in between moves, but still executing a lot of moves. It is a weird hybrid that could rub someone the wrong way. I thought they stayed on the right side of things for the most part. Even though I think Kanemaru's offense is pretty much dogshit (has a split legged moonsault ever looked good) I thought his camel clutch, fishhook move was great and that stayed on the head. Once Ki was back on offense whilst selling the head things were more interesting I loved his elbows and that Tidal wave and I am a sucker for the double stomp. Both seemed intent on hitting their finishes: moonsualt vs Ki Krusher. Each got it and kicked out, which is a sign of times, but not something enamores me to the match. I liked Ki's strength spot on the ramp with Kanemaru in the muscle buster I especially liked the presentation of trying to each side of the crowd so they could see. It shows he really understands the showmanship aspect of pro wrestling. Then he impressed me by chucking Kanemaru back into the ring. He hits the Tidal Crush and then blows me away with his splash. You want to impress me add flips and spins to your splashes don't hit modified suplexes those just look stupid. Unfortunately, Kanemaru kicks out and counters the Ki Krusher. He hits a barrage of brainbusters to win. I thought this was a great Low Ki performance, but Kanemaru really did not add much. The match was a bit busy were the transitions made sense from segement to segment, but overall the story was lost, Styles/Ki was the better Japanese Ki performance, but still an entertaining match. ***1/2

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Low Ki - Budokan 9/10/04 Low Ki is one of my favorite 00s American Indy workers so I thought I would give this one a look see. It was an entertaining affair with Ki carrying Kanemaru, one of my least favorite junior workers, to a very good match. This is one match where I thought a lot of the cute spots worked really well in a logical fashion to progress the match. Whether it was early on when Ki went for the kill with a springboard double stomp while Kanemaru was hanging on the railing or catching Kanemaru with a rolling kappo kick or utilzing the Tidal Wave better than Cody Rhodes ever has. In addition, to well-integrated "innovative" spots, Ki kept basic early with great arm work and anytime Kanemaru looked to rally he applies the Dragon Clutch from all sort of locations. I thought the missed double stomp outside was a great transition. I did not care for Kanemaru jump, catch, DDT off apron because it is one of those moves you can't tell who takes the damage. Credit to both of them because Kanemaru sold the arm and Ki sold the head the rest of the match. He did a great job milking the count until 19 and then being a bit foggy the rest of the match. I will say this followed more of an All Japan juniors template with lots of selling in between moves, but still executing a lot of moves. It is a weird hybrid that could rub someone the wrong way. I thought they stayed on the right side of things for the most part. Even though I think Kanemaru's offense is pretty much dogshit (has a split legged moonsault ever looked good) I thought his camel clutch, fishhook move was great and that stayed on the head. Once Ki was back on offense whilst selling the head things were more interesting I loved his elbows and that Tidal wave and I am a sucker for the double stomp. Both seemed intent on hitting their finishes: moonsualt vs Ki Krusher. Each got it and kicked out, which is a sign of times, but not something enamores me to the match. I liked Ki's strength spot on the ramp with Kanemaru in the muscle buster I especially liked the presentation of trying to each side of the crowd so they could see. It shows he really understands the showmanship aspect of pro wrestling. Then he impressed me by chucking Kanemaru back into the ring. He hits the Tidal Crush and then blows me away with his splash. You want to impress me add flips and spins to your splashes don't hit modified suplexes those just look stupid. Unfortunately, Kanemaru kicks out and counters the Ki Krusher. He hits a barrage of brainbusters to win. I thought this was a great Low Ki performance, but Kanemaru really did not add much. The match was a bit busy were the transitions made sense from segement to segment, but overall the story was lost, Styles/Ki was the better Japanese Ki performance, but still an entertaining match. ***1/2

Sterness (Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito, Jun Izumida) vs Daisuke Ikeda & Wild II (Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima) - NOAH 3/16/03 NOAH from inception to the Koabashi title loss was a really cool promotion. Yes, they had a main event style, but there were a lot of neat matches that were a departure of "EPIC" Main event matches. You had the fun Ogawa matches, the stiff Takayama appearances, the early KENTAFuji stuff, the quick Misawa matches all that made for a very diverse card. Here we get a crazy brawl that even includes a concession stand brawl not as epic as the ones in Memphis nor do they end up in the women's bathroom, but for NOAH this was crazy shit. Hell, the match began with a masked man (I assume Marufuji) hitting a sliced bread on Akiyama on the ramp. I love those little twists every so often and it was a great way to jump start the match. From there, Morishima and Rikio are just killing Akiyama. I love how they target the top dog rather the usual policy of going after the low man on the totem pole (Izumida). It was another cool wrinkle. They do a good job showing how this man advantage allows them to keep Saito at bay while they try to get the quick pin on Akiyama. Then Ikeda, who delivers a heel perfromance similar to a Murakami or Ogawa, drags Akiyama to the concession stand. I loathe arena brawling for the most part, but this was really well-done. Back in the ring, Akiyama just owns it selling this beating. It is scary it is not even his best selling of the year because of the Tenzan G-1 Climax match. It was great getting to see Akiyama in this role because as the heel in the Kobashi matches you don't see this side of him and he is very good at it. ikeda and Takeshis really heel it up with double teams and cheating. Then in a true shocker there is a great strike exchange between Akiyama and Morishima. It is a great strike exchange because of the context. It was not just shoehorned in there or because it was supposed to be there. Morishima had started to punch himself out and Akiyama was using the ropes to hold himself up starts throwing slaps. Then BOOM Jumping Knee to tag out to Saito. The finish run falls a little flat. I thought Saito and Izumida were fine hot tags and Morishima sold well and Ikeda was a great prick, but it was a little too strike exchange-happy. The best part was when Akiyama finally got back in and just starts hammering Morishima with closed fists loved it. The actual finish is pretty anticlimatic because the two of the six least important members finish with Rikio pinning Izumida when neither did that much. The wild post-match brawl salvages it some as Akiyama goes crazy with a chair. In fact, I would say that a no contest finish with a crazy post-match brawl would have improved the match and put more heat on Sterness' upcoming tag title defense against Morishima & Marufuji. As it stands, a really fun NOAH brawl that you wish you see more of. Not the best NOAH six-man ever that belongs to the first Kobashi six-man of 2008, but something borderline to making my top 100. ***3/4

Takahashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki vs Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada - NJPW 5/5/09 The star power in this feud sure did plummet in short order. The obvious reason to watch this match is to see how good a young Okada is. He is actually very good relative to his experience level. I love the Face Vet & Rookie vs two prick heels tag match. If Okada was paired with three better workers there was a chance for it to be the best of its genre in the 00s. His performance was every bit as good as Shiga or Miyamoto, but the other pieces just were not there. I loved early on how hard he was trying to get a single leg takedown on Sugiura, but Sugiura just no-sold. Sugiura showed his leg and said go ahead and take it. So Okada slaps him. The kid has moxy. Sugiura squashes any attempt at a takedown. Also, Okada is wicked over especially for a rookie. Besides having a very expressive face (very sharp features), I don't see what innately causes him to be that over. Eventually of course, Okada is thrown to the outside and the fun begins with Sugiura whipping Okada into the railing and generally beating the shit out of Okada. I loved his misdirect whip into a big boot onto Goot. I thought it was funny that Goto's hot tag sequence was basically the same as Sugiura's hot tag sequence from the last NJPW/NOAH match. Sugiura/Goto is a shittier verison of Kobashi/Sasaki, a much shittier version. Things pick back up once Okada gets his false finish run. He has a pretty dropkick and I loved his out of nowhere STO. You could tell he was putting a ton of effort into this match. Maybe the crowd is feeing off that. Sugiura midsirect kick to Goto jarrs Okada long enough for Aokit to hit a missile dropkick. Yes, Aoki took part in this match. Sugiura throws Okada around to "O-KA-DA" chants before polishing him off with Olympic Slam. Okada's effort and selling make this worthwhile, but just a good match. ***

Go Shiozaki & Takahashi Sugiura vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Milano Collection AT - NOAH 3/01/09 Why has Milano Collection AT not been in more nominated matches? I thought the awesomeness began and ended that he walked an imaginary dog to the ring, but this match not only proved he was a great wrestler, but one who could be the driving force behind what might be the MOTY for 2009 in Japan. Not to heap all the credit on Milano, Go Shiozaki looked best he has since his great performances with Kobashi in 2009. Of course, the big difference here was that he was expected to be the senior member of his team and he delivered in spades. I would not say I am seeing next generation ace, but he is definitely a talented wrestler and a boon to any roster. I loved his ability to fight from underneath and be scrappy. So many babyfaces are just dying on me. It makes their comebacks look incredulous. Shiozaki looked like he was fighting through some serious pain but firing off some wicked chops sometimes even from the ground. I loved that sense of struggle from Shiozaki. Overall the whole match had way more heat than the Dome NOAH vs New Japan match. Nakamaura and Milano were in full heel mode and Shiozaki & Sugiura are great at delivering punishment to these dick heels. Milano really got going early with some great fundamentals presisng the advantage inherited from Nakamura by establishing arm work on Sugiura. When Shiozaki tagged in, I loved how Mlano did not just roll over for him so when Shiozaki got that first shoulderblock it felt big. Then the fun began! Milano did a log roll the length of the ring to esacape the hard-hitting Shiozak. He then goaded Shiozaki to the outside only to roll back into the ring. He then kicked the ropes into his leg as he was getting in. The coup d'grace is he hogtied his legs and arms together around the ropes. I was amazed at how awesome and innovative that was. I am usually someone who shies away from innovative, Milano had at least a half dozen spots I had never seen before and were all awesome. Nakamura and Milano did some very good basic leg work on Shiozaki using the railing, kicks and submission holds to control him. The beauty was Shiozaki's selling and that ability to express fighting through pain in a credible fashion. It some of the best selling I have seen in a while. This middle portion is where they lose me for a bit before the badass finish run. Nakamura inexplicably lets up on the knee, which allows Shiozaki to chop his way out of trouble. Sugiura is actually best utilized as a hot tag as it plays to his energetic strengths. I loved the look on Milano's face as he was being bullrushed away from Nakamura. They get a little suplex happy, but once Shiozaki tags in the match elevates to the next level. Shiozaki chops the fuck out of Nakamura, but gets trapped in a flash triangle -> cross-armbreaker!!! Sugiura saves in a ncie bacllback to the Dome. The best part of this all is Shiozaki just cant seem to get his hands on that elusive Milano who is full splitting, back bending, putting ref on top of him his way out of trouble. Each spot is unique and it is infuriating because you just want Shiozaki to take this little punk's head off. Milano backslide -> 2! O thank God! Lariat, whiffs, damn back bend. Falling chop and he rolls out of the way. Just. Stay. Still! Milano inside cradle roll through into a GO BRAINBUSTER! LARIAT! FINALLY!!! Awesome build to a very satisfying conclusion. I feel like I have been beating a dead horse complaining about all these matches that have great opening and disjointed finishes that torpedo the match. This is how you build to a sweet climax. Shiozaki falls prey to Milano's underhanded tactics and is fighting out of a hole. Then he can't get his hands on him, but when he does I was popping five years after the fact in America. That is power. That is pro wrestling, BABY! If you are not believer in Shiozaki, watch this. I imagine this is Milano's career performance and what a great performance. Nakamura and Sugiura are along for the ride and have their best match of the 00s. Basically, Shiozaki and Milano wrestled a singles match and it was killer. ****1/2

Word. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takahasi Sugiura vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto - Tokyo Dome 01/04/09 Nothing captures how strange this match is as much as Sugiura coming out to "When Loves Comes To Town". Mutoh is suing for gimmick infringement. The best part of this match was the great reaction Misawa gets from the Dome crowd during his entrance and when he first enters the match. It is heart-warming witnessing that. On the other end, watching him take routine suplexes so close to his death made me cringe. The match felt very American to me. It is clear as the 00s progressed that wrestling between America and Japan has tended toward homogenization with the profilieration of long finish runs filled with nearfalls in American matches and more Japanese wrestling concerned more with spots than transitions. I was so sad to watch Misawa/Goto do a standing switch on a waistlock with absolutely no struggle. Goto literally just let Misawa out and then Goto threw a prefunctory elbow to complete double reverse to hit a suplex. I expect that bullshit in America and don't mind, but it was sad to see it in Japan. Another American attribute was everyone hit their finisher to level everyone right before the finish proper. I actually like that sequence usually it was just strange to see it in Japan. The whole match was weird. There was no flow and no real sense of progression. Two wrestlers would just sort of hit stuff on each other and that was that. Goto and Nakamura made it a point to go after Misawa on the apron, but that did not build towards anything. Nakamura lasted longer in the face of the vaunted Misawa elbow, but that may just be a function of it being 2009. Suigura busted out his one good spot when he hangs Goto out and it is misdirect to smoke Nakamura with a big boot. Sugiura did his Angle impression with suplexes, Ankle locks and Angle Slams and it is so amateur hour. Goto is boring as fuck. Misawa should have retired, but we all know that. Nakamura is better than this. I loved the flash submission with the cross armbreaker. Respect the cross-armbreaker. I know shit happened for like 12-15 minutes and I remember it all, but it seemed like nothing happened just like Orton/Ziggler match from this past RAW. Yep, the convergence of America and Japan is scary and sad.

You could run a strong NYC/ LI promotion around Ziggler. Dude has nuclear heat. Wait, I thought if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.

Thanks to Wrestling Culture #50, already had a template. Basically the only movement has been due to 00s Japan. Akiyama makes the list. Tenryu and Kobashi are the huge winners. 1. Ric Flair - The Man, sheer volume 2. Stan Hansen - Inching closer and closer 3. Mtsuharu Misawa - Best comeback 4. Toshiaki Kawada - Best knee selling 5. Kenta Kobashi - GHC Title Reign Takes Him To Top 5 (Great Underdog and Champion, a complete story) 6. Rey Misterio Jr. - Perfect Integration of Lucha & American wrestling 7. Jumbo Tsuruta - Mr. All Japan 8. Genichiro Tenryu - King Prick 9. Jushin Liger - Best Japanese Junior 10. Vader - Best big man ever 11. Eddie Guerrero - Most Entertaining Wrestler 12. Terry Funk - Ultimate Main Event Utility Player 13. Randy Savage - Intensity, credibility, ruthless 14. Barry Windham - Best ring movement 15. Bobby Eaton - Best punch 16. Ricky Morton - FIP 17. Arn Anderson - Best midcarder ever? 18. Greg Valentine - Best WWF Bellhop (Could carry anyone). 19. Shawn Michaels - Rockers run & 90s singles >>>>>>>> 00s comeback 20. Akira Taue - 1995 & 2005 21. Nick Bockwinkel - Thinking man's wrestler 22. Ricky Steamboat - What is about "Ricky's" and selling? 23. John Cena - Best wrestler of 00s 24. Shinya Hashimoto - Best Strong Style 25. Bret Hart - Best offensive moveset of North America 26. Jun Akiyama - White or Blue, he is still cool 27. Dr. Death - 1994 28. Steve Austin - Best Attitude Era Worker 29. Bob Backlund - God of Headlocks 30. Daniel Bryan - Sky is the limit...well you know... (wrote that before the injury, for me as a viewer it still is because I have seen so little of his indy work) 31. Chris Benoit - Separation of art and the man 32. Dustin Rhodes/Goldust - Saga continues... 33. Tito Santana - Blood feud worker 34. Rick Martel - Most consistent wrestler 35. Lex Luger - Best bodybuilder wrestler 36. Hulk Hogan - Most underrated 37. Brian Pillman - What could have been? 38. AJ Styles - Air, Land and Sea 39. Yoshinari Ogawa - My Spirit Wrestler 40. William Regal - Ring General 41. Ronnie Garvin - OW! 42. Yoshihiro Takayama - Bleach Blond & Badddddddd 43. Owen Hart - Best Younger Brother Brat 44. Curt Hennig - AWA salvages Mr. Perfect 45. Kerry Von Erich - Flair/Jumbo, need to see more 46. Jerry Lawler - Separation of the wrestler and the commentator 47. Yuki Ishikawa - Crazy hair, crazier punches 48. Kensuke Sasaki - POWER WOYAH (So that's his worst run, but the name is very apt) 49. Marty Jannetty - Rockers 50. Sean Waltman - Best Underdog Story...until now?