Superstar Sleeze

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,

I'd be shocked if they pushed Rey any harder than they did. He is an inverse Andre. He is a novelty because of his size, but not a long term world champion like a Cena. Orton or Batista are definitely most likely. I could see them trying Edge, but he was flopping as a face in 2004. God, I wish Eddie though. He was just so damn entertaining in 2002-2004. By far, my family's favorite wrestler. The only time my parents have been really upset about a wrestler's death. I think Eddie had real crossover potential with Latin roots and the fact that even non-fans just got his act and how fun it was. Size and past demons working against him. Ultimately that past behavior caught up to him.

- The Royal Rumble in '92: I don't know if i will rank the Rumble or not. I do know I like Rumbles quite a bit better than you do and I see that Rumble as the best. If I did do a ranking I would say ****3/4 or ***** and very strong top ten contender worldwide. - Bret vs Piper at WM8: A match I like a good deal but could see it falling in the very good but not exactly great range for me. I could see anything from a #60 ranking to not being ranked at all. - Flair vs Savage at WM8: One of my favorite all time angle type matches and the template for Flair in the WWF for me. Probably ****1/4 last time I watched and strong top 50 material for the year. - Bret vs Davey Boy at Summerslam '92: Been lower on this than most other reviews and think it is bullshit that Bret completely carried Davey Boy. Probably will make my top 100 but may not be in top half. - Bret vs Shawn at Survivor Series '92: I think this match is better knowing who the guys become and the ballsy nature of WWF giving these fresh guys 26 minutes on a main event PPV when those were at a premium. More commendable than a great match. - Bret vs Perfect at KOTR '93: KOTR 93 from any PPV before 1995 is the one Im the most sketchy on. I liked the SummerSlam 91 match a good deal so I have high hopes for this one. - Shawn vs Marty from RAW in the PWI MOTY and ****3/4 WON match: Like but don’t love feels appropriate for this. Probably leaning towards unlikely to make top 100 for that year. - Rock & Rolls vs Bodies at Survivor Series '93: Don’t remember much from this but love the teams so we will see. - Bret vs Diesel at Rumble '95: I didn’t like the KOTR match all that much. Hoping to see how they improved in the 6 months since then. - Bret vs Hakushi at IYH I: Fun match from my memory but not much else. Will be REAL surprised if this makes my top 100 - Shawn vs Jarrett at IYH II: I really love this one and think its one of Shawn’s more shining performances. Gets lost in the shuffle a lot when discussing great WWF matches. - Shawn vs Razor at Summerslam '95: I liked WM 10 more than you so I have high expectations of this one given your ranking. Even though I may not like it quite as much as you, probably a pretty solid contender for top 25. - Bret vs Lafitte at IYH III: Nice seeing Bret showing some viciousness as a face. Fringe Top 100 contender. - Bret vs Diesel at Survivor Series '95: A match I am very familiar with and like a good bit. Probably ***3/4 which puts it in the bottom half of the year. - Bret vs Davey Boy at IYH V: Don’t remember a lot besides the blade job. Will be interested to see if I prefer this or the SUmmerSlam match. I actually didn’t rank the Hart/Austin ambulance match. No idea why or my reasoning. I did think the actual match portion of Savage vs. Jake was good but of course the angle afterwards is great and pushes it upward. I ranked the overall package. I recognize that you are doing the rankings out of the year, but having watched pretty much every major WWF match from the 90s. I am basing my rankings out of where they place in 90s WWF list. WAHOO~! Five stars and match of the year for Savage/Warrior. I love, love that match and am glad I am not only one that would give it 5 stars. It is McMahon at his absolute best in creating a cinema moment. The Savage Wrestlemania story arc is the greatest thing McMahon has probably ever created. This was a great climax before the next year's ultimate feel good moment. I am glad I am not the only who likes Flair/Savage more than Hart/Piper. I need to rewatch Hart/Piper. I have watched Flair/Savage to death. It was a perfect ending to the Randy Savage Wrestlemania arc that starts at II. Bret vs Davey Boy is in my top ten WWF matches of the 90s for sure. Great, great finish. What's funny is I usually cant tell when another wrestler is carrying another wrestler, but this one seems quite clear to me. Hart is clearly telling Smith what to do in every chinlock and Bulldog is blown up pretty bad at points. Bret vs Shawn at SS '92 was a total borefest for me. Bret vs Perfect at KOTR '93 is really, really good and I think much better than the Summerslam match. I would say Top 20 of the decade for WWF. I conflate the Shawn/Marty series, but one of their matches would probably make a Top 50 matches of the 90s. They are fun sprints. RnRs vs. Bodies was tons of fun and my Boston crowd had no fuckin clue what to make of these four doing a rowboat spot in the middle of a match. I would say Top 30 or 40 of the 90s. Really fun. I have not seen that Bret/Diesel match in forever. I will have to check that one out. Bret vs Hakushi is a pretty overrated match. Bret by the numbers which is not bad, but I think it would struggle to make a Top 50 for the 90s. Shawn vs Jarrett is friggin' rules. Jarrett is at his Memphis best during the match and Shawn just owns. Top 15 maybe top ten. Shawn vs Razor II is up there as one of the best matches in WWF history. Everything about it is superb. I would say Top 5 for the decade. Bret vs Lafitte is a really good uptempo Bret match and much better than the Hakushi match. Top 50 match. Wow you are way lower than me on Bret vs Diesel SSeries. One of my all-time favorite subtle heel Bret performances. Bret is the king of the face vs face match and may be his best performance. I say ****1/4 easy and a top 15. Bret vs Davey Boy II rates lower than SSlam. I am pretty sure it has a relatively slow open. Top 25 match.

Andre vs Flair sounds like the best thing ever! Settling for the second best thing Piper vs Andre Andre The Giant vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - Philly 9/1/84 With Snuka out of action, Piper went around the horn with Andre for a couple month. Does it get better than the obnoxious piss-ant, Roddy Piper going up against the invincible Giant. I bet a lot people paid good money to see Andre tear into Piper. Piper does a good job protecting himself. He definitely lets himself get thrown around and gives the people what they want without being squashed. Eye-rakes, wrist tape and even going blow by blow with The Giant. Andre was great at ignoring the rules and just throwing everything at Piper whether to was belt shots or wrist tape. I wish this would happen more often now. Piper flees the scene after a big boot over the top rope to lose via countout. Entertaining bout.

This thread has been a great resource in uncovering how big Patera was in the late 70s and early 80s. Something I was totally unaware of before arriving on PWO. I have really liked what I have seen from Patera especially the classic Texas Death Match with Backlund. Ken Patera vs Pat Patterson - MSG 8/25/84 These two has a much more famous match in 1980 with Patera becoming the IC title match, which I do need to see. This match is just to re-establish Patera as a top tier wrestler in the WWF to the MSG crowd as he would go to be Studd' buddy in his feud against Andre. Even though Patterson has been in semi-retirement for a few years at this point, he still has got it. His punches look as crisp as ever and he has plenty of energy. Patera is no slouch in his own right. He is great as the cocky strong man character. He comes off as totally engrossed with himself and that his shit don't stink. Patterson catches him unawares with a cross body. Patera sells frustration and a bit of embarrassment so well. Patera was able to take over on a rope break with some really good forearms. He somehow ends up tangled in the ropes and Patterson tees off. Weirdly, Patterson wrapped Patera's leg around the post, but this is totally ignored. Patera hits a nice backbreaker and even though this is his match so to speak he gives Patterson plenty to shine before hitting a hotshot and applying his vaunted full nelson. I love the hotshot as a desperation heel move especially when a babyface has built up a lot of steam. Very good outing from both men with Patera establishing himself as a top flight heel and Patterson as the lovable vet putting him over.

WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff - Philly 7/7/84 Hulk Hogan in 1984 is the living embodiment of energy. He is running wild and unbridled. Orndorff is someone I always liked, but never thought he was a real upper tier worker. He is a good at heat seeking taunts and character work, but his work leaves a lot to be desired. He is no Valentine or Orton, but he gets more heat because of the "Paula" chants. The opening is a well-worked clowning segment with Hogan attacking Orndorff while he was in the robe jawing with the crowd. Orndorff sells the atomic drop like Rude and is generally amusing. What makes him better than a Studd or Steele is that he can bump and stooge better. An eye rake gives him the advantage and throws the "Hulker" (Dick Graham) into railing and hits him with a chair drawing blood. Hogan in 1984 was not afraid to wear the Crimson Mask. I like how there were two attempts at the comebacks before the final one. It is more fun than just one Hulk-Up that we would get later. Orndorff is content to stomp, elbow and eye rake. Hogan's follow up back elbow in the corner is so awesome. I loved that he bit Orndorff and did a front rake throwing it right back in his face. Oh yeah, the back fist and punch combo. Clothesline and Atomic Legdrop finish him. 1984 Hulk Hogan is just so much fun and he did not disappoint in this match. I would say Orndorff was a middling opponent for the Hulkster.

Slacking again... This blog chronicles the Best of Heavyweight Matches in NOAH of 2005. Begins with a discussion of how a wrestler needs to have credibility and cache with an audience like an authority figure (a politician, military general, CEO etc.. ) that just does not come from wins like a sports figure would. This comes up because of Rikio defeated Kobashi and Misawa at the Budokan in 2005 and was the GHC Championship, but he was unquestionably a flop. Of course, the bulk of the post is reviewing five great matches from NOAH. The two most famous of the year from the Dome show are not Match of the Decade contenders, but are entertaining enough. The first Tenryu tag match is really good and the second one getting Taue involved and building off the first tag match is one of the best tag matches of the decade. 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 6. Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka - NJ PPV 12/14/00 7. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 ****3/4 (Return to All Japan 90s tag style. Fantastic build to a exciting climax) 8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Tokyo Dome 07/10/04 9. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 10. Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - Budokan 12/23/00 17. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 11/5/05 (Action packed, young guns shine) ****1/4 21. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - Budokan 4/24/2005 (Tenryu's chest is a murder scene, Shiozaki bites off more than he can chew) ****1/4 29. Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 **** 46. Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki - Tokyo Dome 7/18/05 ***3/4 (Kobashi descends into self-parody and the excesses of the NOAH style) http://ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com/2014/07/2005-noah.html

That's a really good point about Rikio as he becomes increasingly useless as a match goes on. Morishima is weird. He has a great lariat. His elbows are generally fine, but fuck those Vader forearms are awful. My biggest problem with Wild II vs Sterness was just how weak everything looked in context of how NOAH was worked and just how everyone was going through the motions.

Watching all this 00s puroresu, it just sucks that Marufuji is bigger than KENTA. I am not saying KENTA is perfect and he definitely has his flaws (long-term selling), but he is 8 bazillion times better than the waste of space, gymnast Marufuji.

Disagree about Rikio and Morishima vehmently. Morishima brought it, man. He was looking to wipe the floor with some muthafuckas and prove that he belonged in the upper echelon. Rikio did absolutely nothing. He killed time early with Marufuji working inconsequential moves. In the middle of the match, he worked another boring stretch where he just threw out some stuff. His cross body was good because it was urgent and heated, but then he was content to go through the motions. Morishima was working like his job depended on this one performance. Yes, he let KENTA throw him around too frequently, but overall he seemed more confident in this match than ever before. I still cant get out of my head at the tail of the end of match the camera panning to Rikio/Marufuji on the floor barely touching to each other while KENTA and Morishima are killing each other and busting ass. Fuck both of them. KENTAFuji vs Wild II (Morishima & Rikio) - Budokan 7/16/06 Mori-Fuckin-Shima, welcome to the party, brutha, why dont you stay awhile? Talk about a breakout performance in my eyes. He looked like a cant miss prospect in this match. Morishima is someone I have not explored fully (I really want to watch the Danielson series after this), but if he is hitting these highs he looks unstoppable. I don't if in the other matches it has been a lack of confidence, he looked like a star in this match. The number one reason I want to watch the Morishima/Danielson matches were for his double hot exchanges with KENTA. KENTA reminds me of 2013 Daniel Bryan so much. He is a wrestling in a body that is not his own and is three sizes bigger than he really is. He is just a friggin' dynamo. The dude can sell his ass off when the time comes for it. Now, my big qualm with him is sometimes he wrestles too big. A superplex to Morishima or a powerslam should be treated like a big deal because of the size disparity, but because KENTA is trying to really show the audience that he is an equal these moves come off as ordinary moves. It is like Misawa or Kobashi is doing them. KENTA should be leveraging his size as an actual advantage by getting people to pop by saying "Holy shit look at that little guy superplex Morishima" by really struggling to accomplish the feat. EDITOR'S NOTE: Marufuji and Rikio fucking sucked. Yes, they took part in this match, but fuck them for ruining it with their laziness and apathy. I am a positive guy so I am going to focus on the good, but if the rating does not reflect my enthuasiam it is because I have to judge the match as a whole and unfortunately Rikio and Marufuji were a part of this match. The majority of the first ten minutes were relatively tame (give you one guess who to blame). However, guess who just rocked it from the get go. KENTA and Morishima, BABY! KENTA is flying all around like D-Bry off a hot tag and Shima murders him with a lariat and then another one. Shima goes for the Back Drop Driver, but Marufuji hits a superkick and a double kick stuns Morishima. There was a boring control segment on Morishima. Morishima catches Marufuji coming off the top with an overhead belly to belly. Rikio is a very pedesterian wrestler. He is just sort of there. His main source of offense is a slap. It is pretty much the only thing KENTA and Marufuji consistently sell from him. Rikio tags out. My notes just say MORISHIMA RULEZ~! Because he does. Morishima sprints in and bascially jumps and sits on KENTA. As a fuck you to Marufuji, he does a back handspring, but then just starts unloading on KENTA with forearms. He hits this ragdoll urnage/exploder thingy that looked awesome. The aforementioned KENTA superplex was in there somewhere, which I thought could have been highlighted more. The climax of this sequence was Morishima diving onto KENTAFuji on the floor. What follows was an excellently worked heat section on KENTA's ribs and midsection. Rikio would stand on KENTA and then Morishima would climb on Rikio for extra weight. Of course, double stomps and ab stretches. KENTA was really taking a pounding and he was milking it for everything it was worth. I have to mention this. Marufuji at one point comes in to save with the weakest looking little kicks to Rikio back. They looked downright dainty. It is too bad Morishima never really got a hold of that little chump. Rikio runs into a corner and KENTA hits a back suplex to tag in Marufuji for the lukewarm tag. Marufuji fucks up a spot and runs through his usual stuff: dropkicks to knees, human capture suplex, superkicks. Morishima hits a massive missile dropkick. Marufuji only postive contribution to the match was that bump. Marufuji escapes the Doomsday Device with a victory (a pretty neat counter). KENTA much too easily hits a powerslam and German on Morishima. Fuck it though at least we finally get a hot tag after Rikio's and Marufuji's and the crowd goes mild tags. KENTA beats the piss out of Morishima with his exploding knee (Bryan's current finish), wicked kicks to head, Sliced Bread/powerbomb combo and the Go 2 Sleep. Punk's and Bryan's finish by the originator cant get it done. Morishima's big run is a back drop driver and a lariat I totally bit on. Once it became Morishima's lariat and KENTA's barrage of cradles, I knew the finish...Draw. This is the tale of two matches: KENTA/Morishima rocking it and Marufuji/Rikio phoning it in. It is such a shame that Marufuji is bigger than KENTA. KENTA does suffer from trying to get all his shit in and not building to big moments. He definitely could sell, but needed to work on long-term selling. The offense and crowd connection was there. Morishima it was all about being able to hit that high level consistently. It is on the job training and thus it is a shame they just did not strap a rocket to these two's ass because the crowd was buying what they were selling. Just leave RIkio and Maurfuji in the dust. It is a tough match to rate. Rikio and Marufuji were not in there much. I tend to reward awesome more than subtract for apathy because I am a postive dude. ****

It is funny we are just a little out of sync. I have loved all the big Taue matches, but the singles matches you have ranked in top ten I have in the teens and this match you save Top 30 and I say Top Ten (currently number #7). Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jun Akiyama - Budokan 9/18/05 A dream tag team match that actually delivers in spades with a match of the decade contender. I have had an aversion to the big dream tag matches earlier in the decade (Hashimoto Z-1 and Kobashi's '02 return), but I thought this match was an action-packed, high-octane match that played off the the earlier Tenryu/Kobashi tag with excellent Taue/Akiyama interactions. It does say a lot that a dream tag featuring all 90s stars in 2005 was NOAH's best match in 2005. Yes, they did try harder to push the new generation into key roles the next year, but matches likes this showcase how unsustainable their current model was. As a fan though, let's rejoice and be glad because Akira Taue is fucking awesome. I loved, loved Tenryu's chickenshit act at the beginning. It is so rare for someone to actually have balls big enough to act like a coward in the FIGHTING SPIRIT~! dominated puroresu culture that it is very refreshing. If you recall, Tenryu's chest looked like a murder scene last match and is doing everything to avoid Kobashi's chops early. Frustrated Kobashi sics Taue on him, who has Tenryu and Akiyama reeling. Taue tags in Kobashi who is now licking his chops (pun fully intended), but Tenryu backpeddles and tags in Akiyama. Akiyama chops Taue off apron in retaliation. Taue DEMANDS to be tagged in to avenge this offense. Taue goes BEZERK on Akiyama whipping him into all sorts of railings. Crowd goes wild. TAUE! TAUE! TAUE! Akiyama hits a jumping knee and tags out to Tenryu. Kobashi/Taue conference and Kobashi tells Taue to stick with it. Taue controls Tenryu with an overhand chop and here comes Kobashi. CHOP WAR~! Chop wars are so much better with Tenryu because of his reactions. Sasaski is trying to be all tough and macho. Tenryu looks like this fucking hurts. Tenryu dropkicks Kobashi in the knee to end that. Akiyama knocks Taue off the apron again and dragon leg screw on Kobashi. Taue comes in and they do a runaround the ref. Taue cant get his hands on Akiyama, but Kobashi is able to tag out. Taue wins a suplex struggle over Akiyama and Kobashi hit a sleeper suplex that is actually consequential because it leads to the heat segment on Akiyama. Taue collects the Akiyama carcass to the outside and Kobashi whips him into repeated big boots. Akiyama selling of his neck is so good. I would say Akiyama rates behind only Kawada in terms of how well he sells out of the five. Everything is so chippy in this match as Kobashi is still jawing with Tenryu. Taue drops Akiyama throat-first on top rope. In one of my favorite spots of the match, Tenryu kicks Taue in the face when he has a chinlock on. Taue comes over makes him eat a big boot. Tenryu's face is like "What the fuck was that for" as he checks to make sure he still has a jaw. The transition to the home stretch is Nature Boy Kenta Kobashi vs. Total Package Jun Akiyama with Akiyama strengthening from every chop. In fact, he accidentally draws blood from Kobashi when he headbutt him on what should have been a nose-to-nose. Thats the intensity level right now baby! I am loving just how heated it is between these four. Tenryu is now licking his chops. Tenryu chop/punches in corner. He beats Kobashi down with double overhand fists. Kobashi comes back with spinning back chops and chops of his own. Kobashi instead of overstaying his welcome having turned the tide tags the fresh Taue in. That's what separates this from a lot of the big 00s tag is smart wrestling. Goes for Nodowa nothing doing. Tenryu scores a massive lariat. Tag to Akiyama and melee ensues. A rare Japanese miscommunication spot as Taue big boots Kobashi. Now Taue is double teamed. Exploder for two and here comes the guillotine choke. Kobashi saves and takes on both Tenryu and Akiyama at the same time. He eats an Exploder. Exploder on Taue! Taue pops up and Nodowa! TAUE! TAUE! TAUE! Taue looks to end it with the big splash. Akiyama meets him and looks for the Super Exploder. No! No! No! IT IS THE SUPER NODOWA~! HOLY SHIT! You can count to a million, Jess! 1-2-3! Match of the year! Everybody played their role so perfectly. Tenryu was the crotchey old man that picked his spots wisely. Akiyama was the firecracker and heavy hitter for his team, but doubled as a great seller for Kobashi and Taue's offense. Kobashi played this match perfectly. He was the big gun he turned the tide against Akiyama, but he never tried to play hero until the end. If he needed to tag out whether it was having his knee worked on or Tenryu's chops, he did. When Taue has been taken out by Akiyama, he sacrificed himself by trying to take on both and ended up eating an exploder for himself, but gave Taue that valuable recuperative time. Taue, Taue, Taue! What can be said about such a masterful performance other than just go watch it. He was being built for a GHC Heavyweight Title run and he looked like a million bucks here. The home stretch is one of the best built hom stretches in a while with a fantastic climax. Top ten match of the decade! ****3/4

I loved, loved Kobashi/Ogawa. I am surprised it didn't make the cut for you. Other than that I agree with your assessment. You seem a little higher on KENTAFuji than I am, but they do bust a barnburner next year against Misawa/Ogawa. 2003 was the best year since the year 2000 even if it was just one promotion doing all the heavy lifting. 1. GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - Budokan 03/01/03 2. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshinari Ogawa – Budokan 11/01/03 3. Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa - Zero-One 12/14/03 4. KENTAFuji vs Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama - GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Final 07/16/03 5. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 04/13/03 6. Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - NOAH 6/6/03 7. GHC Tag Team Champions Sterness (Akiyama & Saito) vs Burning (Kobashi & Honda) - Budokan 6/6/03 8. GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata - Budokan 9/12/03 9. AJ Styles vs Low-Ki - Z1 1/05/03 10. Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - G-1 Climax Finals 08/17/03

Akira Taue vs Naomichi Marufuji - Budokan 3/6/04 Taue's specialty is reigning wrestlers in and there is no wrestler on the NOAH roster that needs to be reigned in more than Marufuji. Taue rises to the occasion and pulls out a pretty good match from Marufuji. It is a straightforward story if the veteran giant against the undersized, plucky young hotshot. Taue dominates early with his size throwing around Marufuji. Taue mocks Marufuji by doing his own moves and then teasing the big dive to the outside. The crowd and I were ready to pop big for the dive, but it was for naught. While Taue was on the apron, Marufuji wisely went after the giant's legs and getting into the ring to apply a figure-4. After tangling up in the ropes, Taue wins a suplex struggle and hits a hot shot. He is selling the knee, but fighting through the pain. On the outside, Nodowa into post and Taue's heat segment is pretty tame. The match picks up once Marufuji hits a Nodowa when he is on the turnbuckles calling back to how Taue was hitting his moves. Taue tries for a Nodowa, but Marufuji flips out and hit a basement dropkick and running kick to head. Marufuji hits a Human Capture Suplex and then a superkick/sliced bread combo. I hate Sliced Bread No. 2. TAUE COUNTERS SLICED BREAD WITH NODOWA!!!! If that was the finish, FIFTY BAZILLION STARS! Taue counters a schoolboy roll-up with a triangle choke. If that was the finish, FIFTY BAZILLION STARS! Taue Nodowa and Dynamic Bomb only get two! Oh Shit! Marufuji counters Backdrop Nodowa and Taue goes to town with chops on Marufuji. I love Taue! Marufuji blocks the back drop Nodowa with holding his hand and converting into a cross-armbreaker, which Taue breaks with overhand chops. They told a stupid Spanish Fly tease and Marufuji wins with a superkick and intricate cradle. The finish run was wicked hot, but I thought the body of the match was pretty tepid. Everything made sense, but Marufuji just is not that fiery compared to Kobashi or Akiyama so there is a lack of struggle. The finish was lots of fun with some really cool moments like Nodowa counter to Sliced Bread and Marufuji countering the Nodowa, but not enough to make this a classic match. On a night where the theme was old guard versus new guard, it seemed like the new guard just was not there yet. They split the matches 2-2 with the big guns, Misawa and Kobashi going 2-0. Probably the most telling statement was that Akiyama defended against an outsider (Minoru Suzuki) rather than Rikio, Maurufuji, Morishima, KENTAor Shiozaki. The new guard still needed more time to develop unfortunately for everyone involved there was not much time left. ***3/4

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - Budokan 3/5/06 At a Budokan show that featured four old guard vs new guard matches, Takeshi Morishima looked to shine against the resilient Mistuharu Misawa. Early on, Morishima looked like an unstoppable force in the ring. His lariat was crisp and I wished that would his strike of choice. His elbows are fine, but Vader-esque forearms tends to leave a lot to be desired. Still he was showing great energy and mobility for a man his size. I have always loved Morishima's look and the Japanese commentators compare him to Terry Gordy. The match told the classic Misawa story of rope-a-dope with Misawa letting his opponent punch himself out and time his comebacks. Misawa hits a diving elbow, but takes more out of Misawa and Morishima hits a shoulder block from the top rope to the floor. While some of these spots looked impressive, Morishima felt like a plug-in-play wrestler in the Misawa formula and was not bringing that extra spark to separate himself from the pack of young guns. Morishima is bleeding from the nose for no apparent reason and hits a powerbomb. He looks for another on the ramp, but silly Morishima you can't powerbomb Misawa twice and Misawa-rana follows. Misawa goes offense with his usual aerial spots. He hits the Tiger Driver and then goes for the Tiger Driver off the apron, but Morishima throws him off the apron. Morishima is confident when hitting the lariat. Sometimes he look lethargic and indecisive in the ring. In the big spot of the match, Misawa hits a Tiger Driver off the apron onto the floor. So much JIGGLE~! on the slow-motion replay. The count is on, but Misawa rolls him in. Morishima hits him with a wild forearm. Morishima runs through his big offensive run: back drop driver, exploder, lariat and back drop driver. The final kick out gets a big pop and we all know it is over for Morishima. Misawa roocks him huge with a massive elbow in corner. Misawa relentless with elbows throwing the ref off. Morishima makes a final stand, but succumbs to the Elbow Onslaught. Misawa by the number is a great formula and produces enjoyable matches. Morishima went on offense early and Misawa peppered in his hope spots. Then Morishima got one big run before the eventual Misawa elbow barrage. It is up to the opponent to make them something special and memorable out of this well-designed formula. Morishima gave an uneven performance. There were some great spots, but there was something lacking in charisma and selling. Outside of the lariat, he did not seem to having anything he could fall back on. Morishima has the look and good fundamentals to build on. He just needed more time to mature. Unfortunately, 2006 was pretty much now or never for the NOAH young guard and no one was ready. Misawa pitched him a softball and Morishima hit a double. Aint nuthin wrong with a double except when you needed that home run. ***3/4