[2007-01-04-NJPW-Wrestle Kingdom] Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[dawho5]

This was pretty good. Triple Crown match between NJPW and AJPW so I'm 99.9% sure Suzuki doesn't lose. They skip the standard low-end opening stuff and go right to fireworks. Suzuki and Nagata both get busted open from chairshots outside (blade jobs). I liked Nagata's countering the early sleeper with an arm breaker. Good use of his own moveset as an on-the-fly counter. Suzuki gets the crap beaten out of him by Nagata in grand fashion. Then they go into a long slap exchange-based section of the match that makes me hate that this became so commonplace. Up until that point, it was a great match. Nagata eventually comes out on top and hits a big brainbuster, following up with a backdrop. Covers for 1,2,...pulls Suzuki up??? Apparently Suzuki's mind games and dickishness have more long-term useful effects, namely pissing off the opponent to the point that they do stupid things. Neat little detail they worked in I thought, especially given Nagata's penchant for getting pissed off. Suzuki gets the sleeper on, but Nagata is struggling to get an armbreaker. Nagata can't quite get to that point this time and passes out in the sleeper. Really good finish that plays off of the personalities of both guys. And the entire match seems to be built around Suzuki not being able to match Nagata's firepower, but being wily and willing to break the rules enough to get in the damage he needs to. I really like matches like this, where they take that sort of dynamic and build the match on that rather than doing the standard big match epic build. I'd give this right around 75 due to the slap exchange nonsense.

[Superstar Sleeze]

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Minoru Suzuki vs Yuji Nagata - Tokyo Dome 01/04/07

 

Nagata against a dickish heel that busts him open is always gold. Nagata would have been great in the South in the 80s. Suzuki doing the Burt Reynolds laying down on the ramp with the titles and saying "Come get me, big boy" was awesome. Suzuki is an absolute ass to start and suckers Nagata into the ropes. Where Suzuki is able to apply a triangle choke and then on outside he smashes a chair over his head to bust him open. Suzuki doing Burt Reynolds pose again in the ring with all ringside photographers taking pictures. Suzuki goes for the kill with the chair, but people are trying to stop him and Nagata is able to kick the chair back into Suzuki's face. The playing field has been levelled and now Nagata is going open a can of whoop ass. I loved this opening, but the rest of the match was too uneven to rank among the best Nagata matches. Besides the slapfests, it was the loooooooooooooong time between spots. I am not one to usually complain about this, but when a hiptoss out of an ab stretch has a 45 second before next contact I am going to zone out. Nagata had a bit more fire against Makabe and Murakami. Suzuki does well playing the overmatched heel but times his comebacks well with the sleeper and piledriver. Nagata is too blinded by hatred to pin Suzuki after a wicked back drop driver and pulls him up. Suzuki is able to knee Nagata in the head and applies the sleeper. Nagata goes for the armbreaker to get out as before, but does not have enough strength. Nagata passes out and in a great finish to an uneven match.

 

Minoru Suzuki is very entertaining to watch, but I have yet to see him really knock it out of the park. The Mutoh & Kobashi matches, which are thought were better than this were hosed by his opponent's idiosyncrasies. Here Nagata could not match his own level hatred that he could tap into against Murakami & Makabe. It is a great layout, but falls a bit short on execution. ****

[cactus]

These guys have great chemistry together and even disguise each others flaws. The spot where a worn down MiSU tries to initiate another slap exchange with Nagata, only to be clubbed into the other direction but Suzuki keeps slapping away at nothing was a great indicator of how good of a seller he is. Many other workers could of attempted that spot and it would of looked hokey, but not MiSu. This match has a big fight feel and is oozing with charisma.

★★★★¼

[JKWebb]

Nagata was really laying in those kicks! I agree its a great match in the **** range, and I loved the spot cactus talked about with the slap exchanges. Another great match on this WK card.