[2003-01-10-NOAH-Great Voyage] Mitsuharu Misawa & Masa Chono vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Ditch]

I have this on the bubble, which is probably enough for it to be the Chono match of the decade. Not as much a cohesive tag clinic as something with lots of fun and highlights. Taue delivers probably his best performance of the decade to this point, which is crucial. And the finish is big enough to put an exclamation mark on things.

[Graham Crackers]

Very disappointing match. I mean, I know that Chono is in this but when I hear "big match Taue" I get pretty excited and this just didn't live up to those expectations.

[El-P]

I have no idea where this "great Taue performance" comes from, he did his bit and was good at it, but he certainly wasn't anything special at all. Also, that last kick he gave to Chono toward the end looked like shit, even for Taue. If anything, he was the "less good" of the four here. I say "less good" because everything this match was about worked wonderfully. And although it is a "dream match" on paper, the whole dynamic really wasn't about that part. If there are "goal" and "way" matches, this was totally a "way" match, in that it was a way to build toward not only Misawa vs Kobashi (as showed by the ending stretch and the dynamic between those two) and the eventual Kobashi vs Chono match. But they still sure delivered the "dream match" part of it, like the first exchanges between Kobashi & Chono or the super sweet double team Misawa & Chono put together (aka "double elbow smash" followed by "double kenta kicks"). Chono here demonstrates that it's not about playing every notes, but playing the right ones at the right time, and Chono, washed up 2003 Chono that is, played the few meaningful notes he can play exactly how he should have and getting the most out of every of his spots. Of course Misawa & Kobashi were all about renewing their classic feud, with an ending foreshadowing the big title match to come. So yeah, very good/excellent match that accomplished everything you should expect from it.