Alan4L
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Everything posted by Alan4L
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When you go back and watch a match that you considered one of your favourite matches of all time, there's always a chance that it doesn't live up to lofty memories. I felt that was very likely here, having seen some other junior matches that I LOVED at that time (Briscoes vs. Kotaro/Marvin being a prime example) not hold up so well, and also due to the fact that Marufuji is a guy who I've become really unenamoured with over time. Well this is still one of my favourite matches ever, and firmly in my top 2 for matches I’ve watched so far for the project. The big take-away upon watching it with 2014 eyes was how absolutely incredible Ishimori was in this match. He’s actually the glue that holds the whole thing together. He didn’t put a foot wrong, and he was the one constantly giving the match a boost whenever it needed it. Yes, the focus was Ibushi and this was absolutely his coming out party but Taiji was the MVP. KENTA and Maru are really fired up (stark contrast to today) and bring the goods as well. I would say this is the best finish on the set, as the timing on it is just ridiculous and the crowd are at a fever pitch for it. It was so conclusive, a great sequence.
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August is closing in mighty quick. An extension to October maybe would be good.
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better version video here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18e7vv_dragon-kid-and-shingo-takagi-vs-naruki-doi-and-masato-yoshino-dragon-gate-8-28-08_sport
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Enjoyed reading this thread! Most of the obvious ones that I'd have thought of have been mentioned but the one mentioned a few posts ago that I'd like to expand on is El Generico. I think his really great run started in 2007 (could argue late 2006 with BOLA and the Pac match at ASW) and really never slowed down until he finished up. 2011 was mentioned above as his possible best year. That had the incredible Sekimoto match in wXw (which as a live experience is up there with my most memorable), the Steen Wolf ladder match, the Dick Togo match, and a couple of other real good ones in PWG. What hurts that year for him though is how much of a nothing year he had in ROH due to them never putting him in meaningful matches (blame JC). It might be a little more "rough around the edges" than his later years but I have a soft spot for 2007. He was a complete madman all year long and one of the most exciting wrestlers in the world. Having crazy matches every time in PWG, making a serious mark in ROH with Steen (the Briscoes feud is one of my all time favourite feuds) and being awesome in Dragon Gate (when he made TV).
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[2003-08-17-NJPW-G1 Climax] Jun Akiyama vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Alan4L replied to Loss's topic in August 2003
this crowd is molten! The love for Tenzan is just out of control. Match is longer than I remembered and I reckon you could take out 5 minutes from the middle and it wouldn’t lose anything, but it was never boring for me due to the crowd heat and Tenzan’s charisma. The closing scenes are just out of control. This was the first tour where he was using the Anaconda Vice and you’ve never seen a submission so over. When he did the Anaconda Slam to put Akiyama back down to the mat, I actually thought the roof would blow off. Amazing match. edit: that was written before reading's Sleeze's write-up. I totally agree with you on Akiyama's amazing selling. The match certainly wouldn't have been as good with most anyone else in his role. He's really made the case for Best Of The Decade for me. -
Really enjoyed this. They don't do anything more than you'd expect from them but the storytelling is there and the charisma and facial expressions add alot.
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[2003-12-14-ZERO-ONE-Infinity] Toshiaki Kawada vs Naoya Ogawa
Alan4L replied to Loss's topic in December 2003
Here here! Watched the match this weekend and had much the same thoughts as you. I didn't have it especially high in the 2003 vote, but on rewatch I shocked at how much I underrated. Honestly I think this may be one of Kawada's best performances. He was like a relentless pitbull. Ogawa was so perfect at being Ogawa too. Super distinctive, super memorable match. -
Issue 105 of Fighting Spirit Magazine is now available
Alan4L replied to Brian Elliott's topic in Publications and Podcasts
The Billy Robinson piece is excellent! -
[2003-08-10-NJPW-G1 Climax] Yuji Nagata vs Yutaka Yoshie
Alan4L replied to Loss's topic in August 2003
This match is TIMELESS! I hope nobody sleeps on it because it's neither bold nor italic. It's a gem. Yoshie puts in the mother of all never say die performances, and Nagata goes about his business like a relentless serial killer. Yoshie does some of the best weeble-wobble selling down the stretch, Yokozuna would have been proud. -
[2007-02-17-AJPW-Excite Series] Shuji Kondo vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
Alan4L replied to Loss's topic in February 2007
This is amazing. Kondo puts together a hell of a match and really makes Nakajima look like a killer threat. Some really big spots all placed really well throughout the match. This holds up so much better than I would have thought - in fact it's actively better than I remembered. Lovely little touch of Nakajima using the Northern Lights Bomb and it getting an awesome near-fall. Kensuke's reaction was brilliant. He had to go back to his own playbook with the picture perfect German to get the job done. Kondo's mid decade run really makes him look like one of the best big match wrestlers in the world during the period. The sad revelation from this though is just how something was really lost along the way with Nakajima. He looked poised to be one of the biggest stars in Japan when this match ended. He had such babyface charisma, was developing into such an amazing worker and the crowds loved him. But it just never materialised and now he's just a guy who really doesn't have much fire and the fans don't seem to be behind him at all. But yeah, this match is the shit. Will do really well on my ballot. ****3/4. -
I loved this. Muto was like a dragon slayer in there just hanging around, staying alive and gradually chipping away at Kawada. I really enjoy the Muto big matches from this period because they're so different from most Japanese main events.
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I'm gonna be the defender of this one! Kojima is by no means a 100% homerun guy for me, there are times when I just find him very bland all together. But when he's fired up, and when he has that switch turned on, he can be really incredible. Kawada may be one of the best ever when it comes to REACTING to a fired up opponent. I love how it started with Kojima's big "fuck you!" crazy somersault body attack down the aisle followed by mimmicking Kawada's leg stretches. It set a nice tone. They didn't waste much time in this one, it was all action and it built well. Kojima gives a fantastic never say die performance at the end before Kawada lays down the final death blow (my only complaint was the terrible camera work for that). I loved this and it'll be amongst my high rankers for 2001.
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Thanks Mookie!
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this is awesome! thank you man
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Kawada vs. Muto and Muraham vs. Tanaka both totally held up for me upon watching them this past weekend.
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You've got me so stoked to rewatch that match now. Great write-up!! One of my must-haves as a wrestling fan is a better video quality version of that match.
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Okay, so I'm picking up on a theme here. BJW was way better than I remember it being during these years. I raved about that Kanemura trios match from 2006 already but now I've just watched another one that shocked me, and will place VERY high. BJW 2008 - Sekimoto & Yoshihito vs. Miyamoto & Sasaki WOW! So I did really like this at the time, I think I had it at ****1/2, but as I went to rewatch it yesterday a part of me was expecting it to not hold up at all (I thought maybe my original enjoyment was based mostly on dudes like Daisuke being new to me, and loads of nearfalls etc). Instead it went the other way. The nearfalls were even hotter, Daisuke was fucking amazing and in different ways to how he is now (which is really upping my opinion of his career as a whole), the action never stops and the crowd is with them the whole way through. In some situations the nearfalls in this match would be overkill but here it just works. It builds and builds and is just keeps getting bigger. It was like a game of Jenga, you just keep expecting it to be over but nope, it got bigger and more exciting. Miyamoto was soooo much better back then than how he is now. I wonder if it's a case of the Deathmatches taking a toll on him already. Sad but very likely. Where I'll have it: Top ten is not outside the realm of possibility!
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I would argue that I'm the biggest Minoru Tanaka fan in the world (outisde of Yumi Fukawa). I think he's one of the most gifted wresters ever. He makes everything look so easy, it's ridiculous. I think what hurt him was that they put him under a mask as HEAT in late 2002 just as he was getting into his prime years. It was such a dumb move. When he became Minoru again in 2006 it revitalised him. His last few years in New Japan were really strong and he played a huge role in Devitt's rise. Since he joined All Japan, he's elevated his game again and he's had some of the best matches of his career against guys like Kaz, Kondo, Omega and Yamato.
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yeah me neither. Was it a case of people wanting it to be more than it actually was?
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this show was really good. The best you guys have done in my opinion. Great job!
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Yeah the last few minutes were awesome. Makabe just killing dudes with spears and Korakuen losing its mind added to the atmosphere. Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka Vs. Dr. Wagner Jr and Silver King, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles, NJPW 2/3/2001 Hey! More Kanemoto and Tanaka! Let's hope Kanemoto gets a bit more of the spotlight here. ...He didn't. This was all about Wagner and King. They got to show off a ton of cool offense and seemed to get over with the crowd. I wish I could write a bit more but nothing really stood out to me. Felt a lot like Kanemoto and Tanaka were content to let the luchadores get their stuff in and just wait for the finish. Not a bad match at all but if they would have taken three minutes of Wagner/King control and let Kanemoto and Tanaka get a little more in, it would have been better. I do like Wagner in New Japan though. He looks so much beefier than they NJ juniors and it serves a great double purpose: it gets over his strength advantage and it looks even crazier when he hooks an arm or leg, starts twisting around, and ends up in a pinning predicament. Still looking for some good Kanemoto... Where I'll have it: Off the list. There would have to be a lot of outright bad stuff (and there isn't going to be) for me to move this in to a top 100, let alone a top 50. Fast forward to 2009 for Kanemoto vs Hayato. That's your Kanemoto money match.
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I just watched the other day. Enjoyed it alot, particularly the final third.
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Nice review man, I definitely need to get that one watched.
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C'mon lads, it's just been me and Ditch trading posts for the last while. Let's get some more talk going! I know August seems like ages away but it'll creep up on us soon enough. From the viewing people have done so far, I'm curious if anyone is starting to develop a feel for wrestler of the set? I'm thinking Jun Akiyama. His stuff holds up really well as alot of his strengths are kinda timeless. So far the big matches of his that I've watched all deliver what they advertise, and the smaller matches (such as the one I mentioned above) surprisingly over-deliver.
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Morishima & Yone vs Akiyama & Rikio, NOAH April 1st 2007 This is BY FAR the match of the set so far when it comes to be way better than I originally thought. I remember this happening and thinking it was pretty good but not great. Well I was wrong. It's fucking GREAT. Korakuen is super hot and all four guys bring some serious intensity. I think my favourite part of this is how well they sell the fatigue (which may have been legit considering the pace these four big guys were moving at), it just adds a whole load of drama down the stretch because you feel like any move could end it. You know who was in a lot of good matches but never gets any credit? Takeshi Rikio! Where I'll have it: Comfortably in my top 20 at this juncture. May very well stay there Vader vs. Kawada, AJPW Feb 17th 2000 Awesome cat and mouse stuff which built to a brutal and emphatic finish. Loved Kawada stealing Vader's punches and using them against him. Unfortunately we only get three Vader appearances on the set but if the other two are as good as this one I'll be happy. Where I'll have it: Feels like it could be around the 65-70 range.