soup23 Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 These two are strongholds with NOAH in a lot of ways but I can’t recall that many singles encounters with them over the years. Takayama starts off dismantling Akiyama but Akiyama isn’t going to stand for that. He grabs Takayama’s leg and starts working it over in a huge way on the guardrail. I loved the way Akiyama goes into the ring and runs through a sharpshooter, figure four, and STF in quick succession to really crank on the leg. Takayama isn’t someone that is going down with a fight though as the “Hound” character in All Japan. He starts retailiating and really clobbers Jun including cranking his arm over the top rope in effectively painful fashion. Exceptional resourcefulness shown by Akiyama as with him really reeling, he goes back to the leg well and then throws in an Exploder to get a nearfall. He attempts a second one but then gets two crafty rollups and the second one is enough to put Takayama away. This was a load of fun to watch. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 Only 10:39 but they did a lot with the time. Akiyama has always worked over a leg really well and that's what he did to Takayama here. Takayama only really sold it when he felt like it, which brought it down some considering that Akiyama returned to the leg a few times, but I would still put this on any short list of strong sub-10 minute matches considering the match's positives. Takayama countered by going after Akiyama's bullseyed arm, which was bandaged up. Efficient as a wrestling match could be, where everything both guys did counted from the opening bell. Good stuff. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laney Posted January 29, 2017 Report Share Posted January 29, 2017 This was a good compact match with the time given being utilized well. Takayama overpowers Akiyama and brutalizes him with knee strikes. Akiyama counters this by focusing on Takayama's leg. A fun and quick match that is worth a watch. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cramerjason87 Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 Akiyama's selling gave the match a solid foundation. Super simple structure. Takayama's strikes looked good and he varied his offense enough to keep this interesting. Finish was smart. Really liked this even with the short match time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 I liked this a bunch, though it probably stood out more because it was atypical for the promotion. I'm a fan of UWFI Takayama, but this was probably the earliest I've seen him look like the major star he would become. That combination of heavy hitting, competent matwork and selling just enough vulnerability would become his trademark. They really packed a lot into 10 minutes, and I dug the way Akiyama pulled it out using guile more than force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB8 Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 Takayama looked like a wrecking ball in the early parts of this, especially with the big boot followed by the huge knee. Akiyama working a body part is always good stuff and I liked the leg work a lot. Also liked how Takayama responded by going after the taped up arm, which in true Takayama form often meant plain old big nasty boots to the elbow. Nice match, though like Childs I think it sticks out in part because of its un-All-Japan-ness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 Is there a better match where the participants have rhyming names? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroBoy Posted February 11, 2017 Report Share Posted February 11, 2017 Takayama's knees to the gut looked brutal and Akiyama sold them really well. Liked the legwork by Akiyama and he just carries himself so well in this. Not anything I would feel super compelled to go back and rewatch but a good wrestling match. A good ten minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordi Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Is there a better match where the participants have rhyming names? Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonsault Marvin Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 Good match. Akiyama's athleticism always impresses me. I liked his bump off the knee to the stomach and his dropkick off the apron onto Takayama. I thought Takayama was going to win, so I was plesantly surprised when Akiyama rolled him up for the victory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I'm a non-believer when it comes to Akiyama. He just doesn't have the tools that I admire in a wrestler. I reserve the right to change that opinion in a year or two, but for now I thought the only positive he showed here was some solid selling. He had a couple of pretty dropkicks, but his dropkick was pretty from his rookie year on. He executed the finish well. But as for going toe-to-toe with Takayama and making you think it's a war? Not the worker to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 8, 2017 Report Share Posted March 8, 2017 I absolutely love Takayama. His offense looks so explosive and aggressive, just sheer brutality. While not fast, he has a sneaky suddenness to his game that adds another unique wrinkle. This match was about as great as can be given roughly 10 minutes to work with. You had Tak work as this destructive force who Akiyama tries to pick apart through limb work when not getting toyed with. They even build a really great near fall, all the more impressive by having so little time to get there. The finish worked for this particular match and the direction they were going, but I"m a finish guy and this finish will almost always hold a match back a bit for me. Still one of the most fun watches of the month. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Franklin Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Seeing the words 'efficient' and 'compact' used to describe this match sums up my thoughts on it. Takayama looks really good in it, his knees were sold awesomely by Jun. I like that Takayama was beat with a roll up rather than put down with an exploder, as it keeps him strong and he seems to be building momentum in the new decade after just floationg though the 90's. ***1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JourneybyTrain Posted November 18, 2017 Report Share Posted November 18, 2017 Started off really nice, had me hoping for a more action-packed sprint given the time length, but they slowed it down and had a full match in the short amount of time. Akiyama is one of the better guys I've seen at controlling a workover though given the two guys never meeting in NOAH despite being corners of the promotion I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic. Still pretty fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drew wardlaw Posted November 30, 2017 Report Share Posted November 30, 2017 Between this and the Vader match later Akiyama is really showing how well he can work against big monster opponents. Akiyama comes off like a total badass here, even though hes smaller, standing up to Takayama and really cranking some legwork. When Takayama eventually takes over after working Aliyamas arm, Akiyama resorts to kicks to chop down the big man. I didnt expect Akiyama to win here either so this was a total surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superkix Posted November 30, 2017 Report Share Posted November 30, 2017 Yeah, this was good stuff and an easy watch. I like that Takayama was firing heavy early on and Jun's too slick a cat for that shit and he dropkicks Takayama's knee out from under him to set-up the legwork. I always love when Akiyama is working the hell out of a limb -- that apron dropkick to the guardrail was awesome. Loved Takayama's double arm suplex hold. For a big man, he pulls it off so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohheylook Posted January 22, 2018 Report Share Posted January 22, 2018 Woo boy this was great, but it helps that I love both men and I love both men In the year 2000. Going into this year, my pick and expectation Is that Akiyama is WOTY and Im expecting to be validated and this short little match puts him at a good start. Fwiw, I love Takayama. I love that he bumbles around and is so rough around the edges. I get that it can be unbelievable to some, but it makes it MORE believable to me. I love technical wrestling but having Takayama in there with the all time greats just wrecking shit is super believable to me. Not a blow away match but one that is super solid and features a nice array of work from the guys. Some of Akiyamas dropkicks to Takayamas leg and knee are really brutal (love the one off the apron). I tend to get upset or mark matches down that end with a forward rollup, as even opposed to a schoolboy or cradle, it just looks super unconvincing - would have loved to see the leg put into play for the finish (maybe a cradle that requires Takayama to use his leg to escape?) but thats small grapes. Excited to watch these guys throughout the year (and really any year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chess Knight Posted May 27, 2018 Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 Outside of his amazing 1996 tagging with Misawa, I've never been able to consistently connect with Akiyama. I do however appreciate him when he's ON, and is he ever on in early 2000 (the Vader match on 1/23 rules, and the Misawa match on 2/27 is one of the best matches of the entire decade). Takayama I basically always appreciate and is a constant contender for my top 10 favourite wrestlers of all time. They quickly ditch the nonsense trading blows (Akiyama standing toe-to-toe in a slugfest with Takayama lmaooooooo no) and make way for Takayama to do what he does best - MAUL A FOLK. Akiyama's selling overall was excellent, reminded me of John Cena at his best. He sold a knee to the gut by spinning in this weird way and it looked amazingly awesome. He sold another one on the outside by shooting his left leg to the side and that also looked really great. This was actually a bit of a WWE/Cena-style match in a way, with Akiyama taking a beating an then finding a desperate opening so he could work the big guy's leg, gradually chopping the tree down. Pretty unlike All Japan to run a match like this. Match only went 10m39s and they maximized almost every second they had, which is maybe my top compliment for a wrestler/match. I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klhare Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 This started like it was going to be a sprint, but it wasn't really even though it only lasted 10 minutes. They utilized every second. I thought Akiyama came off as very believable in how he struck down Takayama and got the victory. Good stuff here. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterois Posted May 10, 2020 Report Share Posted May 10, 2020 I like the way Akiyama works on his opponent leg on the guardrail, He is so fun to watch on offense. I also like the arm work, it captivates me. As far as I'm concerned, I can totally buy Akiyama going toe-to-toe with Takayama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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