[MTheBehemoth]

NOAH 1.25.2009 Kourakuen Show

Kensuke Sasaki & Katuhiko Nakajima vs. Jyun Akiyama & Syuhei Tanigu - **1/2

Takeshi Morishima & Mohamedo Yone vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagno - **1/4

KENTA vs. Kotarou Suzuki (GHC Jr. Title) - ***1/2
Disappointing. Main problem - Suzuki heeling it up (using weapons, fake blood, kicking KENTA in the balls) almost EVERY god damn minute. And it's not like Suzuki is a crappy heel. He's Great. First 10 minutes - Awesome stuff. But then they kept doing almost the exact same thing over and over and over and over again. The whole thing made Kotarou (weak competitor) and the referee (incompetent official) look like shit. If you're a KENTA fan - you'll love this match; but if you're not a KENTA fanboy - fuck this match.
P.S. Kotarou Suzuki selling GTS = Awesomeness.

[Bubz]

Just watched one of the 6 man tags from Fantasticamania and Okada bossed it yet again. He did a Tope Con Hilo and it was immense. That is all.

[Rah]

I was channel hopping yesterday when I realised the last channel in the international bouquet (a bouquet I never frequent except for TV5Monde) was Nippon TV.

There isn't a TV guide for me to check, but the thought of having NOAH (and AJPW at a stage) on my TV for years without me realising is damn frustrating.

[Obfuscation]

America needs to look into getting channels that show Puro over here. b/c if there is anything that Americans love to watch, it's Japanese pro wrestling.

[MF83]

And now for a plug: Puroresu.tv is starting a year by year 1990s project and could use help. 1990 is just getting started and taking a thorough look into the best decade of puroresu there ever was can only be an amazing experience.

[bigbuxxx]

Speaking of the 90's, I watched Kobashi vs Misawa from 1/20/97 last night. My second time seeing it but I don't remember it being so f'n good. It was a true war and it instantly got in my top 10 favorite 90s AJPW matches. Also watched their matches from 10/21/97 and 3/1/03 but that first one is miles ahead of the other 97 match and slightly ahead of the 03 match.

Also, heading to p.tv to see what's happening with that project . Was just thinking last night it would be fun to see something like this done again since many more people have gotten into puro since it was done.

[Yeah1993]

Fuck top ten AJ 90s match, that could be a top ten match of all time, period.

[Obfuscation]

Every Misawa vs Kobashi match I've seen has been nothing short of "you need to see this right now b/c it's kind of the best thing ever" type level.

[JoeRulz]

NJPW Wrestling World in Tokyo Dome

Antonio Inoki vs. Vader

Yeah, this was amazing, a perfect clash of styles. Vader was a brilliant monstrous aggressor, and Inoki had the crowd going, he was a loveable punching bag. This match has probably the greatest selling of a German suplex ever, Inoki’s face told the whole story. And not just that, but overall – this piece of art is just a tremendous ode to selling, and a vivid callback to the strong style warriors of the 70s and the 80s.

****1/4


NJPW Wrestle Kingdom II

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Good opening minutes. Tanahashi belittles Shinskay twice to show him who’s the Ace. Mind games are much appreciated. But Shinskay regains confidence through the matwork. Shinskay now controls the pace. But not for long, because Tana won’t let it slide, he attacks Shinskay’s legs. They go back-and-forth now, and this psychological war continues: tests of strength with stiff strikes, slaps and series of German suplexes. That’s some great selling from both. But suddenly, Shinskay fucks his arm up, and we got the turning point of the match. Tanahashi attacks it relentlessly. He’s being a dick. Shinskay selling it like a motherfucker, he has no chance in this match anymore. But wait, there’s still some fighting spirit left! He counters Tanahashi few times, finally catches him off guard, high-risk move and BAM! Shinskay wins! Fantastic match-up. Limb work in pro-wrestling can be tricky, it requires wrestlers who can make “boring” parts entertaining, and that’s where Tanahashi and Nakamura ruled, two exceptional wrestlers. Not a single dull moment, this is how you work a slow paced match.

****3/4


NJPW Circuit 2009 New Japan ISM – Day 9

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Not a classic, but still a damn good contest. The middle portions were good, the last chapter was great, but the opening stages of the match felt directionless and kind of vanilla. Sure, they were important in order to gain some advantage from a psychological standpoint, but I wasn’t particularly entertained. That’s why I enjoyed the finishing stretch immensely, Tanahashi is such a master in that department.

***1/2


NJPW G1 Climax 2003 – Day 5

Block B: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata thinks he can outpunch Big Tak? Well, think again, dipshit. Shibata was trying hard, but Takayama was just too damn big. When he decides he’s had enough, that’s it – grab your coat, son. Takayama was the best damn thing during Inoki’s “staged MMA wrestling” era.

***

[Obfuscation]

You ever see the epic Nakamura/Tanahashi championship match from February 2009?